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dedjam
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They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29%
#6919192 - 05/15/07 09:53 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=27589
Quote:
May 15, 2007 Congress Approval Down to 29%; Bush Approval Steady at 33% Both ratings are slightly lower than 2007 averages
by Joseph Carroll
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll finds continued low levels of public support for both Congress and President George W. Bush. Twenty-nine percent of Americans approve of Congress, down slightly from last month's reading (33%) and this year's high point of 37%, while Bush's approval rating is holding steady at 33%. Both the ratings of Congress and the president are slightly lower than their respective 2007 averages. Approval ratings of Congress are higher among Democrats than Republicans, while Bush's ratings are much higher among Republicans.
Congressional Job Approval
According to the May 10-13, 2007, Gallup Poll, 29% of Americans approve and 64% disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job. Congressional approval is down 4 percentage points since last month, and is 3 points lower than the 32% average measured during the first five months of the year. The high point for the congressional approval rating so far this year was the 37% approval measured in February. Although ratings are quite low, Americans have been more positive in their assessments of Congress this year than last year, when an average of just 25% approved of Congress.
Even though Democrats now control both houses of Congress, the poll shows that only 37% of Democrats approve of the job Congress is doing right now. These marks are, however, significantly better than those given to Congress by independents (24%) and Republicans (25%). Democrats have been more likely than Republicans to approve of Congress this year, whereas Republicans expressed a higher level of approval prior to the change of power experienced after the midterm congressional elections in November 2006.
So far this year, Republicans' approval of Congress has gradually declined, from a high of 37% in mid-January to 25% in the latest poll. By comparison, ratings among Democrats have shown more fluctuation, ranging between 33% and 44% since January, and are down 6 points this month since early April. More generally, Democrats' ratings of the job the Democratic-controlled Congress is doing are down from a higher point of 44% in February, which is just after the control of Congress switched from the Republicans to the Democrats.
Presidential Job Approval
There has been little meaningful change in the public's rating of the president in quite some time. Thirty-three percent of Americans now approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president, while 62% disapprove. Bush's approval ratings have averaged 35% in 2007, and have fallen within a narrow range between 32% and 38%. Bush's ratings were slightly higher last year, averaging 38%. Bush has not received an approval rating above 40% in any Gallup polling since September 2006.
Republicans continue to be much more likely than independents or Democrats to support the president. Seventy-three percent of Republicans approve of Bush, substantially higher than the 27% approval among independents and the 9% approval among Democrats. Although the three party groups' ratings of Bush's job approval have been quite stable in recent months, since last May presidential approval ratings have shown somewhat more fluctuation among Republicans (ranging between 68% and 86%) than among independents (23% to 36%) or Democrats (4% to 15%).
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,003 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted May 10-13, 2007. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
How can that much of the country be dissatisfied with our government? Isn't it the governments job to represent the people?
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dedjam
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: dedjam]
#6919197 - 05/15/07 09:55 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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Other than complaining about Iraq (yet doing nothing to fix the situation) what else is congress up to? Other than taking away rights, do they even pass laws anymore or just spend money on pet projects?
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fireworks_god
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: dedjam]
#6919218 - 05/15/07 10:05 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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The representative system is inherently flawed and highly inefficent. We need to represent ourselves.
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Madtowntripper
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: dedjam]
#6919223 - 05/15/07 10:06 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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What would you like Congress to do about the Iraq war?
Dont confuse the Democrats having control of Congress with them being able to do whatever they want.
The Republican side of the aisle still controls a large bloc of seats, and they are dragging their feet in the sand all the way to the bargaining table on Iraq. In fact, they probably have less impetus to do anything now that Pelosi is in charge, and they can count on weak-minded Americans everywhere to point the finger at her now.
Just remember that her majority is razor-thin. What she can do is effectively limited by this, and when the President has said repeatedly that he will veto any bill about the war that contains anything except MORE MONEY, her hands are tied. She barely has the votes to push a bill through the first time, and she certainly doesn't have nearly enough to override a veto.
-------------------- After one comes, through contact with it's administrators, no longer to cherish greatly the law as a remedy in abuses, then the bottle becomes a sovereign means of direct action. If you cannot throw it at least you can always drink out of it. - Ernest Hemingway If it is life that you feel you are missing I can tell you where to find it. In the law courts, in business, in government. There is nothing occurring in the streets. Nothing but a dumbshow composed of the helpless and the impotent. -Cormac MacCarthy He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus
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dedjam
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: Madtowntripper]
#6919235 - 05/15/07 10:10 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Madtowntripper said: What would you like Congress to do about the Iraq war?
Dont confuse the Democrats having control of Congress with them being able to do whatever they want.
Are you seriously saying that if Dems did have full control things would be better? Do you really think 1 side is that different from the other. The left and the right are BOTH failures at representing the people.
What would I like congress to do? Their job in representing the people of the United State of America...dont over complicate things.
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Madtowntripper
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: dedjam]
#6919238 - 05/15/07 10:12 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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You cant kick and scream and say you want things done differently, and then not lay out any concrete solution.
You're the one who said you wanted something done. So what do you want?
-------------------- After one comes, through contact with it's administrators, no longer to cherish greatly the law as a remedy in abuses, then the bottle becomes a sovereign means of direct action. If you cannot throw it at least you can always drink out of it. - Ernest Hemingway If it is life that you feel you are missing I can tell you where to find it. In the law courts, in business, in government. There is nothing occurring in the streets. Nothing but a dumbshow composed of the helpless and the impotent. -Cormac MacCarthy He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus
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dedjam
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: fireworks_god]
#6919239 - 05/15/07 10:12 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
fireworks_god said: The representative system is inherently flawed and highly inefficent. We need to represent ourselves.
federal ballot initiatives ftw!
Or better yet, lets get back to a union of state governments so there isnt this giant clusterfuck at the federal level. Although, that would be to constitutional for our current representatives...republican or democrat
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fireworks_god
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: dedjam]
#6919248 - 05/15/07 10:16 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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Yes, the state governments should have much more freedom. Medicinal marijuana has really illustrated how the states have had their rights impeded.
I think we have the ability to create a system by which we can represent ourselves. Like an online system.
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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nub
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: dedjam]
#6919260 - 05/15/07 10:22 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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they could easily just create a domocracy from either mailed or online survey type forms or lotsa votes at the begining and then we'd have like less taxes and poor and rich and wars, But the problem isnt really with what to do with our government it is more how to gain control to deside what to do with our government. with all the world power fuckers at or in relations with our heads of government offices all abouts, u think changing of president would matter we need a total social revolt but too many of "us americans" are blind to the shadows and dont care to see, so we are stuck in this shit until something drastic happens to open their eyes or simply let the corrupt leaders die. :/ its our world and were jsut living threw it.
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fireworks_god
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: nub]
#6919275 - 05/15/07 10:27 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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Our government can take the form that we wish it to, if we consciously choose to change it. We clearly, in this moment, have no faith in our government, as they simply do not act upon what we say, only posture to it to get elected. I think we are aware of this and do not know what to do about it. Well, there are people who will stand for us and they are starting to appear in the political scene, people like Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul, from what I have gathered. Our government will change to suit our needs.
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Seuss
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: fireworks_god]
#6919472 - 05/15/07 11:36 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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One term limits for all elected officials at the federal level would rid us of 66% of our problems. Laws that expire after a few terms would fix the other 33%. There will always be at least 1% of rounding error.
One of the problems with congress is the big ego sitting behind the empty desk. Everything that is important, for the most part, has been done and voted upon. Congress is bored, and mostly useless, but the big ego just won't go away, so they dig for "important issues" that need new regulations, such as violent video games, or homosexual marriage. By expiring laws every few years, we give congress something to do other than mess with our personal lives. With one term limits, we end career politicians and most of the corruption that goes along with them.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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Madtowntripper
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: Seuss]
#6919536 - 05/15/07 11:52 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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No rounding error.
66% + 33% is 100%.
I think.
Somehow.
-------------------- After one comes, through contact with it's administrators, no longer to cherish greatly the law as a remedy in abuses, then the bottle becomes a sovereign means of direct action. If you cannot throw it at least you can always drink out of it. - Ernest Hemingway If it is life that you feel you are missing I can tell you where to find it. In the law courts, in business, in government. There is nothing occurring in the streets. Nothing but a dumbshow composed of the helpless and the impotent. -Cormac MacCarthy He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus
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dedjam
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: Seuss]
#6919537 - 05/15/07 11:53 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Seuss said: One term limits for all elected officials at the federal level would rid us of 66% of our problems. Laws that expire after a few terms would fix the other 33%. There will always be at least 1% of rounding error.
One of the problems with congress is the big ego sitting behind the empty desk. Everything that is important, for the most part, has been done and voted upon. Congress is bored, and mostly useless, but the big ego just won't go away, so they dig for "important issues" that need new regulations, such as violent video games, or homosexual marriage. By expiring laws every few years, we give congress something to do other than mess with our personal lives. With one term limits, we end career politicians and most of the corruption that goes along with them.
All great ideas...
All impossibilites with the current system.
What elected official is going to limit their own terms, their own power, and their own money? None, or atleast not enough to make a difference to the majority. Without the ability to make laws on a federal level, the people really are powerless to the whims of their elected officials.
Yes, you can vote someone out of office, but the replacement is going to be just as bad because they are still human. In the end you only are left with a few choices when voting anyways...if you dont like them too bad. The majority of citizens are content with being screwed over anyways.
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zappaisgod
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: Seuss]
#6919577 - 05/15/07 12:01 PM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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I think that by having the term limits so radically enacted you would see a tremendous increase in the power of the party chairmen and backroom operatives.
Remember this as well; Term limits limit the choices available to the electorate.
I am very ambivalent on term limits
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RosettaStoned
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: dedjam]
#6919654 - 05/15/07 12:17 PM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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Of course they all suck, they are only dissenting for our benefit.
-------------------- "Government big enough to provide you with all you need is also big enough to take everything you have." ~ Thomas Jefferson "Without stupid, faggy potheads we wouldn't have wars." - Zappa
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FrenchSocialist
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: zappaisgod]
#6920211 - 05/15/07 02:21 PM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
zappaisgod said: I think that by having the term limits so radically enacted you would see a tremendous increase in the power of the party chairmen and backroom operatives.
Remember this as well; Term limits limit the choices available to the electorate.
I am very ambivalent on term limits
I think term limits may serve as a means by which to bring new ideas to an otherwise stagnant system because people tend to become more closed minded as they age. Change generally comes not from conversion as much as it does replacement. Even in science, arguably the most self-correcting and objective system, change primarily comes more from the older generation being replaced by the younger then it does from the older generation converting to new ideas on the basis of evidence. People generally don't like to change their minds for emotional reasons, and as most people age this tendency becomes more chronic. The cause for why the tendency for closed-mindedness becomes more chronic is due to the fact that they will have invested more resources into what belief systems they now hold, and due to the fact that they are also more able to rationalize any information that contradicts their currently held beliefs. It's harder to deconvert someone who's been a christian for a decade then it is someone who has been a christian for a year. It's also harder to change the beliefs of someone more knowledgeable then someone less knowledgeable because intelligent people are more capable of coming up with excuses by which to dismiss contradictory evidence.
The negative aspect of term limits is that they tend to establish a system more susceptible to sensationalism and corruption. The sensationalism is caused by the need to remain popular. This makes it so that politicians no longer use polling for the purpose of being informed so much as they become dependent on them for their very lively hood. If a politician is dependent on majority beliefs for their very lively hood they may have to go along with such beliefs even if their own conscience dictates otherwise. This may not be a good thing if the general public is under the influence of irrational beliefs. Also in a system where the politicians do not independently have enough wealth to win an election, the politicians will become dependent on private finances in order to advance their careers or maintain their positions. In order to secure such finances the politicians may have to compromise their devotion to the public interest and their own conscience.
I do not think myself so much ambivalent on the issue of term limits as they are currently implemented as I think their initial application was rather thoughtless. Studies were not done on the effect of such term limits, which is evident by the fact that they tend to be of a very short and arbitrary nature. The fact also remains that any elective system or recall system with popular participation can replace politicians on the basis of need. And last, term limits may, if left unchecked, lead to the very stagnation they are meant to alleviate. As older generations are more likely to vote and on average have more wealth. These two factors allow the elderly to disproportionately influence elections. If politicians were more independent of elections such disproportionate influence may not be as effective.
-------------------- "Both liberty and equality are among the primary goals pursued by human beings through many centuries; but total liberty for wolves is death to the lambs" -- Isaiah Berlin
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Seuss
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: FrenchSocialist]
#6920475 - 05/15/07 03:17 PM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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> The negative aspect of term limits is that they tend to establish a system more susceptible to sensationalism and corruption.
At the same time, would could argue that not worrying about being re-elected would encourage officials to become as corrupt as possible as quickly as possible to profit as much as possible during their short time in office. *shrug*
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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WhiteRabbitt
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: dedjam]
#6920713 - 05/15/07 04:14 PM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
gopenguins said: Or better yet, lets get back to a union of state governments so there isnt this giant clusterfuck at the federal level. Although, that would be to constitutional for our current representatives...republican or democrat
And we all know how well that turned out...
-------------------- You gotta jump and swing up to hit me in the knees.
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dedjam
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: WhiteRabbitt]
#6921450 - 05/15/07 07:04 PM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
WhiteRabbitt said: And we all know how well that turned out...
Pretty damn well till ol Abe decided to disregard the constitution.
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Seuss
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Re: They all suck - President at 33% Approval, Congress at 29% [Re: dedjam]
#6923466 - 05/16/07 05:53 AM (16 years, 10 months ago) |
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> Pretty damn well till ol Abe decided to disregard the constitution.
As long as you were a white male. (Ignoring the racial aspects and inequalities, I agree with you.)
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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