Originally written on January 20, 2012
Americans loathe Congress. The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll shows Congressional approval ratings plummeting to 13%, a forty-year low. Disliking Congress is nothing new. They’ve only averaged an approval rating of 38% since 1974 in polls by ABC News/Washington Post and Gallup. But this depth of frustration is unusual.
Congressional Republicans have attracted
the most ire with a 21% approval rating. But
their Democratic colleagues are only slightly more popular, at 33%. Both parties have lost 17 percentage points in
their Congressional approval ratings over the last three years and have together
bottomed out at 13%.
This should result in a pink
slip. Imagine what would happen to
most Americans if their job performance ratings were so low? Everyone but Congress sees the
absurdity of this situation. Unfortunately,
the people can do little except wait for their terms to end.
Far from being embarrassed, many in
Congress blame one another for their dysfunction. “The American public are right to
be distressed, disappointed, anxious, angry about the failure of the Congress
to address the serious problems confronting our country,” said Democratic Congressman
Steny Hoyer of Maryland recently. What
Hoyer and his colleagues across the aisle don’t understand is that contrition cannot
replace the profound change that most Americans expect in Congressional
politics. Absent is any accountability
or remorse. Americans have seen
this sophomoric squabbling for years.
It’s become tiresome, as this latest poll indicates.
Why such historic levels of
disapproval now? Consider two
possibilities: brinksmanship and behavior. What Americans really resent is
the ease with which Congress gambles with their livelihoods. Who suffers from Congressional
intransigence? The people who
elected them. A low point came
last July during the debt ceiling and default crisis. The public’s outrage was palpable as partisan politics
threatened to undo America’s credit rating.
Making matters worse was the glib self-righteousness expressed by Republicans that a credit-rating downgrade was inconsequential. This is American financial exceptionalism at its most dangerous. Despite a last ditch agreement on the debt ceiling in late July, creditors and markets twitched. Proving Congress’s irrelevance, Standard and Poor’s downgraded the US credit rating, and the Dow Jones had its most tumultuous week since the 2008 financial meltdown.
“Congress fell off
the approval cliff last summer amid the budget squabbling that led the country
to near-default; it went from a dismal-enough 28 percent approval a year ago to
half that in October,” points out Langer Research
Associates. Most stunning of all, and
what probably jumpstarted the disgust with Congress, were the statements that
followed the debt ceiling agreement.
Democrats and Republicans cast themselves in heroic terms. Instead of being humbled by aspersions
thrown their way, they glibly asserted they had saved the day. Americans could only listen in amazement.
Here’s a
sampling: From House Speaker John Boehner, “I’m
going to tell you, this has been a long battle - we’ve fought valiantly - and
frankly we’ve done it by listening to the American people.” Or this from Majority Leader Harry Reid,
“I am relieved to say that leaders of both parties have come together for the
sake of our economy, to reach a historic bipartisan compromise, that ends this
dangerous standoff.” This is akin
to a medical team waiting to start CPR until
the patient is blue and then congratulating
themselves for saving a life.
The silver lining is that
President Obama could benefit from the public’s dim view of Congress, although
he’s not without his own problems.
His 48% approval rating is a glowing 35 percentage points above
Congress. This allows him to shift
some blame onto Congress and cast himself as a hardworking Democratic president
who has been thwarted by obstructionist Republicans in Congress. He may get some traction with this
narrative. However, of the four
presidents who began re-election years with approval ratings below 50% only one
was re-elected – Richard Nixon in 1972.
Most of the electorate is
grumpy, from conservatives who refuse to back Mitt Romney to liberals
castigating President Obama.
Congress may be an easy target, but no politicians are immune from the
anger that’s simmering in the electorate.
This is not a year to be smug if you are doing the people’s work.
Sources
Kane,
Paul and Jon Cohen. “84 percent of Americans
disapprove of the job Congress is doing, poll finds.” 16 Jan. 2012. The Washington Post. Web. 22 Jan.
2012.
Langer, Gary. “Congress Hits a
New Low in Approval; Obama Opens Election Year Under 50%.” 16 Jan. 2012. ABC News Blog. Web. 22 Jan. 2012.
Langer Research. “ABC News/Washington Post Poll: Congress and
Obama.” 16 Jan. 2012. Langer Research Associates. Web. 22 Jan. 2012
Real Clear Politics. “Congressional Job Approval.” 20 Jan. 2012.
Web.
Rowley, James. “Congress Returns Amid Historically Low Approval Ratings.” 19 Jan. 2012. Bloomberg Businessweek. Web. 20 Jan.
2012.
Wolf,
Z. Byron. “Obama, Boehner Announce Agreement to Raise Debt Ceiling,
Avoid Default.” 31 Jul. 2011. ABC News,
The Note Blog. Web. 23 Jan. 2012.
