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ljs22's avatar

Why are the approval ratings of Congress so low?

Asked by ljs22 (1082points) September 7th, 2008

When discussing the election, something the Republicans often toss out is the low satisfaction rate the nation has with Congress. Is it simply that Democrats don’t have enough of a majority to really get things done, or is there more to the story? I’ve also heard people say they don’t like Pelosi. Why, specifically?

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4 Answers

BonusQuestion's avatar

This congress is a “do nothing” congress because there is no clear majority. In Senate Democrats should depend on Liberman’s vote to win a majority.This could be one reason why they make no progress and it has such low rating.

JackAdams's avatar

People are becoming less and less happy with their lot in life, and naturally, they blame whoever is in Washington.

The US Congress has brought this on themselves, simply because politicians seldom keep their campaign promises.

This puts them, in my mind, one step below camel feces.

Harp's avatar

Voters who put the Democratic majority in place did so with high expectations that they would prove to be an effective counterbalance to the out-of-control Bush administration. They expected to see the administration called to account for its excesses, and they expected to see action taken to limit the prosecution of the Iraq war.

Those expectations didn’t materialize, largely because of the inability to override presidential vetoes. However valid the reasons, this situation has led to a general disappointment among Democrats. Combined with the predictable Republican disapproval, this adds up to abysmal overall approval ratings.

grayreason's avatar

It could be because they refuse to do anything about the current crises affecting the nation.

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