Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Poll: Voters want to throw out bums in Congress
This article shows the great distrust the people have in our government. A record 74% of voters don't want to see the congress members reelected in 2014. But most people blame the Republicans for the government shutdown, which is deserving. But the polls 42% say the GOP can handle the government better while 39% say the Democrats can. Last year 90% of House Members were reelected and 91% of Senators were. I think in 2014 we will a house cleaning of congress because honestly they are a bunch of bums right now. I think we will just have to live with Obamacare for now and maybe the next batch of congress members can repeal it then, but not now.
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When 74 percent of people want to have their members of Congress defeated in the upcoming election there is a problem. Less than half of the voters want to see their representative re-elected? This is astonishing. 40 percent of people say that both the GOP and Democrats can better manage the government. I think that it is very surprising that the numbers are so close together. I assume that the GOP is saying that the Democrats can better manage the government and vise versa. Many would think even still that the GOP would be much higher according to what has happened recently with the government shutdown. Though a majority of the "bums" will not be throw out, I hope this shutdown opens a few eyes.
ReplyDeleteI understand the reasoning behind the two contradictions pointed out in this article, but they still surprise me. First of all, despite the completely justified “anti-incumbent” attitude because of the government shutdown, still almost half of voters want to reelect their representative. This is astonishing, but Ian, I disagree-- this percentage seems surprisingly high to me when you consider the recent dysfunction in our government. Also, according to the statistics, 42 percent of people in the poll said that the GOP can better manage government, but much of the blame for the shutdown is put on Republicans. I guess that turnover of Congress and change in government in general are slow , but we can only hope that after this shutdown, awareness will go up or as Ian said, hopefully it “opens a few eyes.”
ReplyDeleteIt's about time people have shown their displeasure with congress. It's been long overdue for congress to be thrown under the bus and rightfully given the blame for much of the dysfunction in Washington today. And to be honest, I think it's surprising that the disapproval rate is only at 74%. That means 26% of registered still approve or are undecided on the performance of the congress, which is shocking. With these statistics the way they are, I'd expect the high majority of the current congressmen and women to lose in the next election.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time people have shown their displeasure with congress. It's been long overdue for congress to be thrown under the bus and rightfully given the blame for much of the dysfunction in Washington today. And to be honest, I think it's surprising that the disapproval rate is only at 74%. That means 26% of registered still approve or are undecided on the performance of the congress, which is shocking. With these statistics the way they are, I'd expect the high majority of the current congressmen and women to lose in the next election.
ReplyDeleteIf 74% of people want to see members of Congress lose re-election, this means that supporters of both parties are dissatisfied, and rightfully so. Yes, it may be the Republican's fault for constantly trying to get Obamacare repealed (and failing every time) and subsequently leading to the shutdown, but you can't put all the blame on just one party. With the shutdown in place, both parties need to work together and resolve this issue, and maybe then people will be (somewhat) satisfied with the government. But I don't see that changing any time soon. People are dissatisfied with both parties! Considering how high these disapproval ratings are, I would not be surprised to see some major changes to who's in office in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis article exemplifies the dysfunction within congress. 74% of people don't want to see there congressmen re-elected! This is a shocking statistic. This means that many people are unhappy with our current state of government. Who could blame them? I am sure that our currently polarized state of government has something to do with this overwhelming unhappiness. It is the job of our congressmen to do what they think is best for the people who they are representing, and I don't think that the majority of voters feel looked out for by their congressmen.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that 74% of registered voters want most members of Congress to lose in 2014 is not surprising. With everything that has been going on in the government lately, including the continued decline of political efficacy in general, people have a reason to want change. I agree with Maddie, however, and am surprised that 48% of these people still want to see their representative re-elected. If people are willing to blame both parties and not just the opposing one, they should be able to put aside their "soft spot for their own member of Congress," and vote solely on who can bring real change. Hopefully the time between now and the next election will only strengthen voter involvement.
ReplyDeleteThese statistics are very shocking, yet very unsurprising; especially with how the parties are acting when it came to the Shutdown and the hard decisions that had to be made. Personally I think that Congress needs a full sweep and to re-vamp the views of the elected officials to actually match with the attitudes of the people. I strongly suspect the high percentages of 90% and 91% reelection for both to be extremely lower at the next election process.
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool! I think it says a little more about human nature than about politcs, which is cool. I think this is basically the elctorate refusing to take the blame for the disfunction in congress. Yes, this shutdown is politicians like Ted Cruz's fault, but the people who elected him also share the blame. People should stop voting by party and by ideologies and start trying to vote for candidates we think would be able to work well with others to try to really address and fix the problems in our country, of which there are many.
ReplyDelete74 % is an extremely high number of people to be unsatisfied with the people who represent them. Yet, I wouldn't necessarily say I found it surprising, considering all the problems currently happening in our government. I agree with will that the 90% and 91% reelection expectations will lower before the next election.
ReplyDeleteI think that while it is important to get rid of the people who are doing "nothing", I think it is also important to know what you want from these representatives and let them know. I just read an article in the NY Times about California's new voting system and Californians are voting based on candidate rather than party and so far the new system is working really well. They also are letting representatives have longer terms which means that these representatives can think about legislature that they want to pass and have time to get voter feedback.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Can you try to find that article and email me a link, or post a link here?
DeleteThanks!
I disagree with Will. I don't think that there needs to be a "full sweep" of congress in order to get things done. I think that the representatives who are hindering progress should be removed not every single member, or close to it. There is still 26% of the people who want their current members to be reelected.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sam. I don't think it is necessary for a full sweep, but hopefully these low approval ratings, especially after the shutdown, will force the elected officials to realize that compromise is not a bad thing, but instead a completely necessary part of running a successful government. Hopefully they will realize this, and those who cant shouldn't be re-elected.
ReplyDeleteThis article confirms what we have been talking about in class. There is very low political efficacy right now in the United States. The recent government shutdown once again proves why this is. The American people are clearly tired of the antics going on in Congress and want changes to be made.
ReplyDeleteThe article mentions that in 2006 and in 2010 only half of voter wanted to see most members of congress defeated, and in those years the house majority flipped. Now that 74 percent of people want to see most members of congress defeated, the upcoming 2014 election could feature a drastic change of majority or an increase in the house's current majority. Such changes in majority could greatly influence modern politics and would make for interesting discussions in class.
ReplyDeleteWhat tends to happen is that people who are polled say that "Congress" is doing a bad job, or that "members of Congress" should not be reelected... but then when asked about their OWN Representative, they all of a sudden have a much better opinion. That is because members of Congress can deliver programs and funding for their constituents to keep them happy!
ReplyDeleteIt does not surprise me that 74% of people want to see a change in the members of Congress. Almost 3/4 of people are unhappy with elected officials, which reflects how poorly Congress is viewed by the people, thus weakening trust in government. 74% is a shockingly high number. Possibly, the 2014 election may produce a change in who are elected officials are, and perhaps the unhappy 74% will change their minds. If much of the elected officials are changed in 2014, our country may see some major political changes.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very intriguing because of it's incredible statistics. 74% of people want to see the majority of congress to be defeated in 2014. 39% of people say that Democrats can better run the government. 41% of people say that the government would do better in the hands of the GOP. If 74% of people want to see a change in congress but can't decide on which party to elect, it will result in a divided government. As this is where our government stands currently, and the close polls show it could continue, I believe that there will not be a huge change in the culture of Washington even if the personnel change. I believe our government will remain divided.
ReplyDeleteOn one hand, I am very happy with the fact that the people have displayed interest in utilizing their right to choose their representatives, however I am skeptical as to how many of those polled will actually put their words into actions come election time.
ReplyDelete