Just 18% approve of job Congress is doing

[heartsurgeon]

linkyGeez, Bush is doing way better than Congress...

This is a gift to the Republicans, as weakness in Congress threatens the party in power (Democrats) more than those in the minority.

Hairy Reed and BugEyed Pelosi have run the congress into a mudhole. They have alienated their own base.

The immigration "reform" bill was a unmitigated disaster (which they tried to lay off on Bush..hah, that really worked out well), and they sign off on the Patriort Bill, while simultaneously denouncing it, Gonzales and Bush...a bit duplicitous wouldn't you say?

they can't hide from their actions now, and the public is taking notice.

 

[MustISO]

It's entirely possible that the people who are polled aren't sure who's in congress or who President Bush is. They may just be unhappy and blame congress for some reason. Just a theory.

 

[senseamp]

That is a great theory, but it seems to be hurting Republicans more than Democrats based on the polls.
http://www.pollingreport.com/cong2008.htm

Have you checked who is up for reelection in 2008 in the Senate.
Mostly Republicans. Anti incumbent sentiment will be very bad news for them.
But if they want to keep up their obstructionist ways because they think that they will be reelected for blocking what voters want done, good luck with that.

 

[nageov3t]

Geez, Bush is doing way better than Congress...

it's amazing how much people prefer a turd sandwich over a giant douche

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: heartsurgeon
linkyGeez, Bush is doing way better than Congress...

This is a gift to the Republicans, as weakness in Congress threatens the party in power (Democrats) more than those in the minority.

Hairy Reed and BugEyed Pelosi have run the congress into a mudhole. They have alienated their own base.

The immigration "reform" bill was a unmitigated disaster (which they tried to lay off on Bush..hah, that really worked out well), and they sign off on the Patriort Bill, while simultaneously denouncing it, Gonzales and Bush...a bit duplicitous wouldn't you say?

they can't hide from their actions now, and the public is taking notice.

Much to be said for your points.

 

[Pabster]

Things aren't looking good for Democrats in '08.

Gallup has this latest rating matching the lowest rating ever, and their "top" candidate has Gallup's highest negative rating in history.

I predicted Pelosi's tenure was going to be short, but it may be even shorter than I'd surmised. :laugh:

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: heartsurgeon
linkyGeez, Bush is doing way better than Congress...

This is a gift to the Republicans, as weakness in Congress threatens the party in power (Democrats) more than those in the minority.

Hairy Reed and BugEyed Pelosi have run the congress into a mudhole. They have alienated their own base.

The immigration "reform" bill was a unmitigated disaster (which they tried to lay off on Bush..hah, that really worked out well), and they sign off on the Patriort Bill, while simultaneously denouncing it, Gonzales and Bush...a bit duplicitous wouldn't you say?

they can't hide from their actions now, and the public is taking notice.

Nice FUD, Heartless. The truth remains:

Congress is doing fine except for the reason they were elected: The Bush War In Iraq . Iraq is seen by the American people as the single most important issue that Congress and the administration should address.

51% - think Republicans in the Senate are obstructing the Iraq debate

59% - favor setting a time-table for removing troops from Iraq

61% - think keeping US troops in Iraq will make Middle Eastern nations much more hostile to the U.S.

65% - think that the costs of remaining in Iraq outweigh the benefits

65% - feel that The Surge escalation is not making much difference or is it making the situation there worse

66% - favor removing all U.S. troops from Iraq by April 1st of next year, except for a limited number that would be involved in counter-terrorism efforts

68% - think George W. Bush should compromise with the Democratic leaders in Congress on Iraq more than he has

69% - think George W. Bush does not have a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq


So, dear Heartless, when you proclaim:

This is a gift to the Republicans, as weakness in Congress threatens the party in power (Democrats) more than those in the minority.

You are pissin' in the wind . . . .

 

[Jaskalas]

Dangerous time to be an incumbent, the level of unrest in this country is growing. Though will we ever rightfully blame both parties and come up with a real (third party) solution?

 

[Jhhnn]

Thanks, Heyheybooboo, for the clarification. Not that HS or the other resident Bushophiles will notice...

Here's the real reason that Repubs are terrified, whistling in the dark-

http://blog.washingtonpost.com...ilding_on_101_fin.html

I can almost smell the fear, even over the internet...

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Jhhnn
Thanks, Heyheybooboo, for the clarification. Not that HS or the other resident Bushophiles will notice...

Here's the real reason that Repubs are terrified, whistling in the dark-

http://blog.washingtonpost.com...ilding_on_101_fin.html

I can almost smell the fear, even over the internet...

OUCH! . . . . from your link:

. . . the new FEC report should be particularly troubling for Republicans. The most active fund-raisers this early in the cycle are usually incumbents. There are 21 incumbent Republicans up for election in 2008, compared to 12 for the Democrats, with one already announced open seat in Colorado. Yet individual Democratic Senate candidates, in the first six months of 2007, raised $47.6 million, compared to just $33 million for GOP Senate candidates.

 

[fskimospy]

I've been reading up on this recently, and what's interesting is that the Democrats appear to have their low approval ratings to blame for not being partisan/attacking Bush enough.

I'll try to dig up the polls later, but a significant majority in the country thinks that Congress is not doing enough to investigate and check the executive branch, and so they are dissatisfied with it. That's interesting because all the ultra right people here think that people are angry because Congress is harassing Bush too much... in reality they aren't harassing him enough.

Well that, and even in the best times Americans tend to view Congress rather unfavorably. In general Congress rarely cracks the 50% approval rating. It all tends to come down to the fact that the institution irritates people, but they like their individual representitives.

 

[CaptnKirk]

As I recall, there are at least 5 Republicans in office who have announced that they WILL NOT, seek re-election in 2008.

They are seeking their own personal damage control from Bush, and know that they most likely will fail if they do run.

There are also several GOP members who are investigating if they would have a better chance to serve if they change
their affiliation from GOP to Independant, or even to Democrats, so as to further distance themselves from the Albatross of Conservative Polatics.

If the 2008 elections do fully swing into the Democrat electorate, Executive, and the Congress gets a large enough
majority of Democrats in both houses, it may be the death knell for GOP Conservative Politics, as one of the biggest failures in policies
of all times, in as much as what they attempted to do was reject the public that had placed them in office,
and attempt to force morality on the entire country while stealing the countries coffers blind for their own immoral gains.

 

[umbrella39]

LMAO, the public IS indeed taking notice. This is a win for the democrats. Everyone in the country who is not a dumb sheep realizes that the dems can do nothing with bush in the white house and a minority who will not override vetoes. All the change that was talked about before the last elections has a big roadblock in the way called republicans, and the American people have gotten sick of that kind of obstructionism and your party in general. Enjoy your next dem president along with the dems retaining control of both houses in 2008.

 

[Craig234]

Originally posted by: Jaskalas
Dangerous time to be an incumbent, the level of unrest in this country is growing. Though will we ever rightfully blame both parties and come up with a real (third party) solution?

As I've discussed previously, no; the battle for a third party is uphill, and the only way for one to win that I see would be even worse than the two parties now.

The only scenario I see is if the special interests - the corporations, mainly - broke with the two parties and funded a ruthless third party with a big budget for marketing.

Of course, it'd say it's the party of change, and it'd find some low hanging fruit to get votes, but it'd really be about the backers' interests and be even worse for the public.

Look at the lesson of history - during the gilded age, the nation was happy to see most Americans working for almost nothing, in miserable conditions; the only thing that changed it was the labor organizing and battling, with people killed, for the rights that led to the political clout to fix things and create the middle class. Only organizing does that, and we're a long way from the public organizing. They have no idea how. Any organization is based on very monied interests for the most part; opposition is easily split. Look at the Reform Party disaster.

I think what we need to do is to protect the democratic party from corporate takeover and use it to fix things, as was done with FDR after the great depression, but even that's iffy now.

 

[Lemon law]

Its kinda odd that republirats celebrate the fact that congress can't do anything because the republirats are blocking it. But back in the bad ole days a year or more ago, the GOP was able to ram anything they wanted through congress, and as I recall, were polling a real poor congressional approval rating. Somehow that same 18% sticks in my mind.

In either case, it now somewhat defaults to only half of the same thing. On the GWB upside, the united executive branch dominates the divided congress, on the GWB downside, the lack of a GOP rubber stamp congress now blends with GWB lame duckerry gridlock. Doing nothing is usually better than doing something really terrible so the current situation is still on balance better than having a rubber stamp congress.

Its also important to point out that a somewhat divided democratic party is also better acting in the national interest. Were the democratic leadership to seek it, they could, simply by not allowing any spending bills to pass, dictate a blackmail agenda to GWB by throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They could for example, totally defund the Iraq war or any of a number of similar steps. And because the dems don't act totally unilaterally, they catch the blame from the American public.

The point being this current gridlocks can't last much longer.

1. As many have pointed out, the GOP is going to have to start running away from GWB&co if they want to retain any hope of winning any elections in 2008.

2. GWB&co is definitely on probation. Even if maybe one person out of three still approves of some of the GWB policies, nearly everyone is extremely disturbed by
the competence questions. In short GWB can't seem to get anything that should be easy correct and people don't trust him.. And one more big Katrina sized scandal and GWB may be in real hot water. Nor should we forget all the congressional investigations that should be starting to bear fruit. Such conditions lead to volatility and when they went, look how fast the Shah and Richard Nixon fell.

3. Reading the tea leaves, no news is likely to be good news for the GOP. Quite frankly the public policies they brought to America for the past six years have all been slow acting poison pills. And as those chickens come home to roost as they inevitably must, despite spin efforts to the contrary, the blame is almost certain to land on the GOP where it belongs. I could list the most likely chickens to come in, but I simply don't want to type forever. The only question is will they delay coming home until after 11/08 or not.

 

[senseamp]

Republicans will be lucky if they can still filibuster anything in 2009.

 

[Lemon law]

Originally posted by: senseamp
Republicans will be lucky if they can still filibuster anything in 2009.

It may be true if there is a public bashlash against the GOP. But all rumors of the death of the GOP may be greatly exaggeratedly. Look at the beating they took with Goldwater and Nixon.

Hopefully the GOP will realize the reasons for failure was in allowing itself to be hijacked away from its core values by the beguiling but phony agenda of GWB and his merry bunch of neocons and corporate thugs.

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

Originally posted by: heartsurgeon
linkyGeez, Bush is doing way better than Congress...

This is a gift to the Republicans, as weakness in Congress threatens the party in power (Democrats) more than those in the minority.

Hairy Reed and BugEyed Pelosi have run the congress into a mudhole. They have alienated their own base.

The immigration "reform" bill was a unmitigated disaster (which they tried to lay off on Bush..hah, that really worked out well), and they sign off on the Patriort Bill, while simultaneously denouncing it, Gonzales and Bush...a bit duplicitous wouldn't you say?

they can't hide from their actions now, and the public is taking notice.

Nice FUD, Heartless. The truth remains:

Congress is doing fine except for the reason they were elected: The Bush War In Iraq . Iraq is seen by the American people as the single most important issue that Congress and the administration should address.

51% - think Republicans in the Senate are obstructing the Iraq debate

59% - favor setting a time-table for removing troops from Iraq

61% - think keeping US troops in Iraq will make Middle Eastern nations much more hostile to the U.S.

65% - think that the costs of remaining in Iraq outweigh the benefits

65% - feel that The Surge escalation is not making much difference or is it making the situation there worse

66% - favor removing all U.S. troops from Iraq by April 1st of next year, except for a limited number that would be involved in counter-terrorism efforts

68% - think George W. Bush should compromise with the Democratic leaders in Congress on Iraq more than he has

69% - think George W. Bush does not have a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq


So, dear Heartless, when you proclaim:

This is a gift to the Republicans, as weakness in Congress threatens the party in power (Democrats) more than those in the minority.

You are pissin' in the wind . . . .

Or another wayt to look at it:

49% think think Republicans in the Senate are NOT obstructing the Iraq debate

41% do NOT favor setting a time-table for removing troops from Iraq

39% think keeping US troops in Iraq will NOT make Middle Eastern nations much more hostile to the U.S.

35% think that the costs of remaining in Iraq do NOT outweigh the benefits

35% feel that The Surge escalation is making much difference or is it not making the situation there worse

34% favor NOT removing all U.S. troops from Iraq by April 1st of next year, except for a limited number that would be involved in counter-terrorism efforts

32% think George W. Bush should NOT compromise with the Democratic leaders in Congress on Iraq more than he has

31% think George W. Bush does have a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq


Sure does look better than Congress's approval rating

 

[Phokus]

If heartsurgeon thinks the GOP is going to pick up seats in '08, he'll be in for a rude surprise. By all accounts, the GOP is in deep trouble with the public and they know it.

 

[fskimospy]

Originally posted by: blackangst1

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

Originally posted by: heartsurgeon
linkyGeez, Bush is doing way better than Congress...

This is a gift to the Republicans, as weakness in Congress threatens the party in power (Democrats) more than those in the minority.

Hairy Reed and BugEyed Pelosi have run the congress into a mudhole. They have alienated their own base.

The immigration "reform" bill was a unmitigated disaster (which they tried to lay off on Bush..hah, that really worked out well), and they sign off on the Patriort Bill, while simultaneously denouncing it, Gonzales and Bush...a bit duplicitous wouldn't you say?

they can't hide from their actions now, and the public is taking notice.

Nice FUD, Heartless. The truth remains:

Congress is doing fine except for the reason they were elected: The Bush War In Iraq . Iraq is seen by the American people as the single most important issue that Congress and the administration should address.

51% - think Republicans in the Senate are obstructing the Iraq debate

59% - favor setting a time-table for removing troops from Iraq

61% - think keeping US troops in Iraq will make Middle Eastern nations much more hostile to the U.S.

65% - think that the costs of remaining in Iraq outweigh the benefits

65% - feel that The Surge escalation is not making much difference or is it making the situation there worse

66% - favor removing all U.S. troops from Iraq by April 1st of next year, except for a limited number that would be involved in counter-terrorism efforts

68% - think George W. Bush should compromise with the Democratic leaders in Congress on Iraq more than he has

69% - think George W. Bush does not have a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq


So, dear Heartless, when you proclaim:

This is a gift to the Republicans, as weakness in Congress threatens the party in power (Democrats) more than those in the minority.

You are pissin' in the wind . . . .

Or another wayt to look at it:

49% think think Republicans in the Senate are NOT obstructing the Iraq debate

41% do NOT favor setting a time-table for removing troops from Iraq

39% think keeping US troops in Iraq will NOT make Middle Eastern nations much more hostile to the U.S.

35% think that the costs of remaining in Iraq do NOT outweigh the benefits

35% feel that The Surge escalation is making much difference or is it not making the situation there worse

34% favor NOT removing all U.S. troops from Iraq by April 1st of next year, except for a limited number that would be involved in counter-terrorism efforts

32% think George W. Bush should NOT compromise with the Democratic leaders in Congress on Iraq more than he has

31% think George W. Bush does have a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq


Sure does look better than Congress's approval rating

Is this a sarcastic post? If not, it is one of the stupider posts I've seen in awhile.

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
As I recall, there are at least 5 Republicans in office who have announced that they WILL NOT, seek re-election in 2008.

They are seeking their own personal damage control from Bush, and know that they most likely will fail if they do run.

There are also several GOP members who are investigating if they would have a better chance to serve if they change
their affiliation from GOP to Independant, or even to Democrats, so as to further distance themselves from the Albatross of Conservative Polatics.

If the 2008 elections do fully swing into the Democrat electorate, Executive, and the Congress gets a large enough
majority of Democrats in both houses, it may be the death knell for GOP Conservative Politics, as one of the biggest failures in policies
of all times, in as much as what they attempted to do was reject the public that had placed them in office,
and attempt to force morality on the entire country while stealing the countries coffers blind for their own immoral gains.

As a conservative I would love to see a Democratic house, senate, and president for 4 years if not 8. No more excuses. Put up or shut up. It's obvious that things aren't perfect in the government right now, but I want to see the democrats actually put in place real plans to makes things better. What's the worst they could do? Raise taxes (probably good for us after a lot of tax cuts) and what else? If they actually reformed anything I would be shocked. I say 8 years becuase I have a strong feeling that after 4 years the excuse would be that it wasn't enough time becuase GWB screwed everything up so bad.

I am tired of excuses on both sides. It's time for someone to take action and I believe that the democrats have the best chance of actually making that happen (notice I said chance, not likelyhood). Maybe someone will finally do something good for the US, but trust me I am not holding my breath.

 

[Lemon law]

We are now talking 14 months and change until the 08 elections and the day of reckoning. The usual conventional wisdom is that six months is an eternity in politics.
One hell of a lot of things will happen between now and 11/08. Now ask your self, what is the chance that the events of the next 14 months will be good news for the GOP, what is the chance that the events of the next 14 months will be good news for the Democrats, and what is the chance that the events of the next 14 months will be good news for the entire nation. Now repeat that same process for bad news. And no cheating by using irrational exuberance or over optimism, we have had an overdose of that in the last seven years.

And think that simple thought experiment will show why 2008 is very unlikely to be a year to be bullish on the GOP.

GWB&co. is so bad that most of us can hardly bear it as it is.

 

[senseamp]

Originally posted by: Lemon law

Originally posted by: senseamp
Republicans will be lucky if they can still filibuster anything in 2009.

It may be true if there is a public bashlash against the GOP. But all rumors of the death of the GOP may be greatly exaggeratedly. Look at the beating they took with Goldwater and Nixon.

Hopefully the GOP will realize the reasons for failure was in allowing itself to be hijacked away from its core values by the beguiling but phony agenda of GWB and his merry bunch of neocons and corporate thugs.

Those are GOP core values. The rest is just lip service to conservatives.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: thepd7

Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
As I recall, there are at least 5 Republicans in office who have announced that they WILL NOT, seek re-election in 2008.

They are seeking their own personal damage control from Bush, and know that they most likely will fail if they do run.

There are also several GOP members who are investigating if they would have a better chance to serve if they change
their affiliation from GOP to Independant, or even to Democrats, so as to further distance themselves from the Albatross of Conservative Polatics.

If the 2008 elections do fully swing into the Democrat electorate, Executive, and the Congress gets a large enough
majority of Democrats in both houses, it may be the death knell for GOP Conservative Politics, as one of the biggest failures in policies
of all times, in as much as what they attempted to do was reject the public that had placed them in office,
and attempt to force morality on the entire country while stealing the countries coffers blind for their own immoral gains.

As a conservative I would love to see a Democratic house, senate, and president for 4 years if not 8. No more excuses. Put up or shut up. It's obvious that things aren't perfect in the government right now, but I want to see the democrats actually put in place real plans to makes things better. What's the worst they could do? Raise taxes (probably good for us after a lot of tax cuts) and what else? If they actually reformed anything I would be shocked. I say 8 years becuase I have a strong feeling that after 4 years the excuse would be that it wasn't enough time becuase GWB screwed everything up so bad.

I am tired of excuses on both sides. It's time for someone to take action and I believe that the democrats have the best chance of actually making that happen (notice I said chance, not likelyhood). Maybe someone will finally do something good for the US, but trust me I am not holding my breath.

Almost exactly how I feel. There hasn't been a conservative that gave a crap about the Constitution in decades or so it seems, and in my mind you cannot be for the conservation of freedom and not actively support it. I think the reason that Conservatives are so despised here is that they are so rare, but there are many wolves wearing the skins of them.

Both conservatives (not necons) and liberals have some good ideas and some absolutely awful ones. It seems best to chose what works for the people of our country and ignore who thought of them.

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: heartsurgeon
linkyGeez, Bush is doing way better than Congress...

This is a gift to the Republicans, as weakness in Congress threatens the party in power (Democrats) more than those in the minority.

Hairy Reed and BugEyed Pelosi have run the congress into a mudhole. They have alienated their own base.

The immigration "reform" bill was a unmitigated disaster (which they tried to lay off on Bush..hah, that really worked out well), and they sign off on the Patriort Bill, while simultaneously denouncing it, Gonzales and Bush...a bit duplicitous wouldn't you say?

they can't hide from their actions now, and the public is taking notice.

Looks like the Republicans are on their last throes. So many people are dissatisfied with the Republican schemes and filibustering. The Republicans are weak on terror, weak on Iraq, weak on health care. They don't stand a chance next year.