| Confidence in Congress at record low[Thread Closed/No Clear Topic] Posted: 6/20/2008 11:24:23 AM | http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080620/pl_politico/11232;_ylt=As72hns3BbBaQXPz9SFX8lQb.3QA
David Paul Kuhn 1 hour, 32 minutes ago Only 12 percent of Americans now have confidence in Congress, the lowest percentage in the 35 years that the Gallup Poll has tracked the number.
Americans now view Congress less favorably any of the 14 other American institutions tracked by Gallup, including big business, newspapers and health maintenance organizations.
Even as President Bush’s approval rating languishes at a record low, more than twice as many Americans have confidence in the presidency — 26 percent — than have confidence in Congress.
The Democrats have controlled both houses of the Congress since January 2007. It remains to be seen whether the Democratic Party brand will find itself chained to the poor public view of the legislative branch. A recent analysis of ABC News-Washington Post polls found that in April the Democrats held a 24-point lead over President Bush as "the stronger leadership force in Washington." Today, it's a tie.
While Americans have long viewed their local representative more favorably than Congress as a whole, the public's current view of Congress is exceptionally poor. Today's 19 percent approval rating (a different measure than “confidence”) ties the record low of August 2007 and March 1992.
Friday's survey showed an across-the-board disapproval of Washington, with only 32 percent of Americans expressing confidence in the Supreme Court.
The sense of malaise extends beyond the capital — Americans show less confidence than in 2004 in all 15 of the American institutions tracked by Gallup. That includes schools, organized labor and the military (which about 7 in 10 Americans show confidence in; it receives the highest percentage of the 15 institutions). Only banks and the criminal justice system have seen as precipitous a decline as the three branches of the federal government. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/20/2008 11:41:06 AM | | ...aside from the scandals the last congress was rife with its no wonder. these **stards were elected to stop a war and get rid of criminals and they've done neither..... | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/20/2008 2:09:09 PM | I wonder why they don't stop the war? The criminal thing is just an opinion..they can't do anything about an opinion.
Even if the democrats win the election there will still be "some" that won't be happy because the war will keep on going. But at least the left will churn up the true believers with more dead end promises. It will be a replay of an "I'll tell you what you want to hear if you elect me" like the last election was. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/20/2008 2:17:17 PM | The republicans have blocked more legislation in the last two years than any other in history. Considering the broke the record for senate fillibustering in 2007 with a full year to spare...
http://www.americablog.com/2007/12/gop-senators-break-record-for.html
Factually confirm able, of course congress looks bad, they pass a bill, and then the GOP senate prevents it from happening, then they reflect that this is a "do nothing" congress.
As for the congress not stopping the Iraq war, what are they going to do? Refuse to fund it? Bush and his sociopath party (look at how dishonest they are with the entire filibuster thing, they filibustered freaking mothers day!) would just leave the troops there to die, then blame the democratic party for not funding them. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/20/2008 2:25:22 PM | Wow
12% for Congress 26% for the President 32% for the High Court
Kind of makes you wonder when the shooting is going to start aye? | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/20/2008 2:38:56 PM | Every form of government is at record lows. Hell, I bet that the post office has lost supporters. budumbump Our nation is at war, our economy blows and our Chief is as popular as herpes. When we begin to stumble, as a nation, we are quick to blame every form of government we have, anything to keep from excepting our own responsibility. *points finger* He did it! Our proud refusal to admitt that we have messed up as a nation, embarress me, to be frank. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/20/2008 2:47:43 PM |
As for the congress not stopping the Iraq war, what are they going to do? Refuse to fund it? Bush and his sociopath party (look at how dishonest they are with the entire filibuster thing, they filibustered freaking mothers day!) would just leave the troops there to die, then blame the democratic party for not funding them. You can't expect to win a game of chicken when you believe your opponent is crazier than you are. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/20/2008 6:41:29 PM | | All I can say is "wow.. that is a low approval record (arrow pointing down) and the Democrats are in charge of both the House and Senate.. shameful | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/20/2008 8:50:39 PM | | ^^^ and you really think 2 years of dems running congress (barely) after 8 years of republican scandle including soliciting sex with children and toe tapping in bathrooms has nothing to do with it? get real...... | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/20/2008 11:21:35 PM | | The Democrat Congress Majority was elected to bring change to the House and Senate.. what we've gotten is bipartisanship, hearings galore and a RECORD LOW APPROVAL RATING. They'e have two years to prove themselves and this is what they gave us.. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/21/2008 12:58:04 AM | ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Yup, the same old failed liberal ideas is all that congress has been able to come up with. Which has led to bipartisanship these past two years. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/21/2008 4:44:24 AM | People will realize how it will take a unified government by the people to get the criminals out and the people will vote Democratic across the board so the Republicans can figure out how to buy their loyal base back. Bullies are losing political power rapidly and will be even more resounding but in the end, the democrats will have to turn into prosecutors. Just because the evidence behind the accusations is being concealed behind 'executive privilage', doesn't mean it won't come out shortly after Obama is leading a Democratic congress. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/21/2008 4:51:12 AM | Yes truly the Democratic party is unreasonable in it's bi partisanship.
Republicans Vote Against Moms; No Word Yet on Puppies, Kittens
By Dana Milbank Friday, May 9, 2008; A03
It was already shaping up to be a difficult year for congressional Republicans. Now, on the cusp of Mother's Day, comes this: A majority of the House GOP has voted against motherhood.
On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, "Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day," when Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), rose in protest.
"Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote," he announced.
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who has two young daughters, moved to table Tiahrt's request, setting up a revote. This time, 178 Republicans cast their votes against mothers.
It has long been the custom to compare a popular piece of legislation to motherhood and apple pie. Evidently, that is no longer the standard. Worse, Republicans are now confronted with a John Kerry-esque predicament: They actually voted for motherhood before they voted against it.
Republicans, unhappy with the Democratic majority, have been using such procedural tactics as this all week to bring the House to a standstill, but the assault on mothers may have gone too far. House Minority Leader John Boehner, asked yesterday to explain why he and 177 of his colleagues switched their votes, answered: "Oh, we just wanted to make sure that everyone was on record in support of Mother's Day."
By voting against it?
If Boehner's explanation doesn't make much sense, he's been under a great deal of stress lately.
There's the case of one member of his caucus, Rep. Vito Fossella (N.Y.); the father of three from Staten Island yesterday announced that he has a fourth, a 3-year-old love child with a woman from Virginia. That admission was prompted by his drunken-driving arrest in Virginia last week, when he told police he was on his way to see his daughter. "I think Mr. Fossella is going to have some decisions to make over the weekend," Boehner said at his news conference yesterday, cutting Fossella loose. Fossella was spotted on the House floor, in tears, speaking to the chaplain.
For the record, Fossella did not participate in the Mother's Day vote.
Neither is Boehner likely to be helped by a Senate ethics committee decision yesterday exonerating Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) over his use of the "D.C. Madam's" call girls. The Senate cleared him because the prostitution occurred when he was in the House -- and the House can't punish him because he left for the Senate. The madam, meanwhile, killed herself by hanging last week.
Then Boehner must grapple with the problematic case of Don Cazayoux. The Democrat last week won a House seat in Louisiana vacated by Republican Richard Baker. The seat hadn't been held by a Democrat since 1974, and President Bush won 59 percent of the vote in the district in 2004. "The loss in Louisiana is a wake-up call," Boehner admitted yesterday.
Worse news could come for Boehner on Tuesday, when Mississippi voters decide on a replacement for Rep. Roger Wicker (R) in a district where Bush won 62 percent of the vote in 2004. The seat should be a safe one for Republicans, but Democrat Travis Childers is running even with Republican Greg Davis -- a potential sign of things to come in November, when Republicans stand to lose another 10 seats.
Whatever happens in Mississippi, Boehner has enough trouble to preoccupy him here in Washington, where House Democrats have been passing their agenda with little thought for Republican preferences. "The majority has taken, once again, their go-it-alone policy," Boehner lamented yesterday. "It's time for Democrats and Republicans to work together."
To induce this working together, Boehner decided to stop the House from working at all. As House Democrats tried to pass legislation to ease the mortgage crisis on Wednesday, Republicans served up hours of procedural delays, demanding a score of roll call votes: 10 motions to adjourn, half a dozen motions to reconsider, various and sundry amendments, a motion to approve the daily journal, a motion to instruct and a "motion to rise."
The high point came just after 6 p.m., when, after one of the motions to adjourn, 61 members lined up to change their votes, one by one. Forty-six went from aye to no, while 15 changed from no to aye. The maneuver ate up 28 minutes in all -- and caused an eruption by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who accused the minority of a "filibuster by vote changing."
"I know that probably all of you did polls on that and focus groups on whether or not you should vote aye or nay," Hoyer mocked. "What just happened is not appropriate for the House for either side, to simply use a device of changing votes, of voting late, of lining up in the aisle and coming down every 30 seconds or so with one more vote."
But the dilatory maneuvers continued, and the Democrats finally announced that they would postpone the vote on the mortgage bill until Thursday, thereby pushing a war spending bill to next week.
Finally, Republicans decided yesterday to suspend their shenanigans; it was time to catch flights to their districts. "Never underestimate the desire of members to go home," Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith explained.
They might also need some extra time with their mothers.
Heh Pelosi ain't the problem. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/21/2008 7:13:41 AM |
They'e have two years to prove themselves and this is what they gave us. As bad as they are isn't it odd that they have a lower rating than the 'president' and the party who dragged us halfway around the world to fight a war that didn't have to be fought and ran up a huge deficit to boot. Any objective person would say those things are far worse than the little Congress has managed to undo in two years. But hey, I'm not a Republican so my views are reality-based.
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/21/2008 11:51:54 PM | every war is a choice. we didnt have to fight any of them. 8th grade history teaches us that, regents in ny state. i guess other states arent as fortunate. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/22/2008 6:55:16 AM |
Obama is leading a Democratic congress. I shudder to think what will happen to our current National Security plan if we face a Democrat Congress and Democrat President who are like minded in reverting back to pre-911 thinking mode. If my concerns are correct then we may as well post "welcome terrorist" signs in our airports and telecommunications buildings. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/22/2008 8:44:15 AM | I for one, would welcome a president that is obviously literate.
I believe that if: Al Gore, or John Kerry, or Bill Clinton, or George HW Bush, or Barack Obama were in chcarge, 9/11 would not have happened.
An intelligent person, would have questioned what was going on after the first plane hit. With today's technology, that just doesn't happen.
Bush is at fault for 9/11 and must live with his inadequacies, just as Peral Harbor haunted FDR for the remainder of his life. The only difference being that FDR had a conscience. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/22/2008 12:46:28 PM |
I shudder to think what will happen to our current National Security plan if we face a Democrat Congress and Democrat President who are like minded in reverting back to pre-911 thinking mode.
Yes, what would happen if people weren't scared all the time of the boogy man? | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/22/2008 12:54:56 PM | Scared all the time of the boogy-man? Is it better to be scared of global warming boogy-man...or the Bush is out to get us all boogy-man? We've seen for years what terrorism is...real is real. The global warming and the Bush is gonna get us all things require buying into some nutty conspiracy to hold it together and seem like it will fly.
One boogy-man is real and the other two are leaps of faith...that's what a lemming does just before it gets its final moment of truth. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/22/2008 1:19:06 PM |
Scared all the time of the boogy-man? Is it better to be scared of global warming boogy-man...or the Bush is out to get us all boogy-man?
Funny, you posted something today about not relying on wikipedia for your arguments, yet you really do hate peer reviewed scientific literature on global warming. We've seen for years and years that global warming in fact is occurring, even your hero George W. admits it's a problem now.
We've seen for years what terrorism is...real is real.
Yes, real is real. What that has to do with terrorism being a thing to base your entire countries existence around is another. The UK didn't destroy their entire way of life and legal process due to the conflict in Ireland. You didn't see them invading Norway to prevent them from getting non existent WMD's and giving them to the Irish.
But hey, back to the topic, tell me, what do Republicans have against mothers anyway? | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/22/2008 1:25:07 PM | | Nearly every congressional race for the past couple of decades has been run on the premise that congress is bad and only outsiders can make things better. Congress itself brought its own image down. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/22/2008 1:45:31 PM |
Yes, real is real. What that has to do with terrorism being a thing to base your entire countries existence around is another.
As compared to basing your entire country's existence around global warming.
Funny, you posted something today about not relying on wikipedia for your arguments, yet you really do hate peer reviewed scientific literature on global warming.
The only way a person could take offense to my post on wikipedia is if they used it as fact knowing it was crap...worse yet would be if they didn't know it was full of crap and used it as fact. Only two options there dishonest or dumb.
Peer reviewed scientific information isn't a bad thing...unless you used bad fact to beat everyone else into submission with it. Then it takes on cult status...worshiping at the "algorian church of the holy global warming" might be your great option in life but not mine. Acting like it makes someone look stupid for not going to "global warming sunday school" is...well...stupid. | |
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| Confidence in Congress at record low Posted: 6/22/2008 1:52:50 PM |
As compared to basing your entire country's existence around global warming.
Poor argument on two accounts I'm afraid, I've never advocated voting for somebody purely on their position on global warming (I'm not a green party voter after all) but also because it shows an inherent logical flaw on your part....
http://www.fallacyfiles.org/tuquoque.html
Exposition:
Tu Quoque is a very common fallacy in which one attempts to defend oneself or another from criticism by turning the critique back against the accuser. This is a classic Red Herring since whether the accuser is guilty of the same, or a similar, wrong is irrelevant to the truth of the original charge. However, as a diversionary tactic, Tu Quoque can be very effective, since the accuser is put on the defensive, and frequently feels compelled to defend against the accusation.
The only way a person could take offense to my post on wikipedia is if they used it as fact knowing it was crap...worse yet would be if they didn't know it was full of crap and used it as fact. Only two options there dishonest or dumb.
who said anything about taking offense? I'm just pointing out that you have a double standard in regards to your information sources. Basically if it supports your views it doesn't matter if it is peer reviewed and receives scientific scrutiny, but if it doesn't support your views suddenly it's a questionable source, no matter how rigorous it's been looked at by peers.
Peer reviewed scientific information isn't a bad thing...unless you used bad fact to beat everyone else into submission with it. Then it takes on cult status...worshiping at the "algorian church of the holy global warming" might be your great option in life but not mine. Acting like it makes someone look stupid for not going to "global warming sunday school" is...well...stupid.
Uh huh, in other words as long as it supports your views, any source of information is ok.
So back to the original topic, what do Republicans have against mothers day? | |
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