Public Opinion of Congress at an All-Time Low

[:1]I was going to post this in another thread, but I feel like it sort of stands on its own.

Congress Disapproval Rating is at an all-time high (84%).

84% of people that the government are supposed to be serving disapprove of Congress' actions. Remind me how I live in a Democracy again? What's really frightening is, if you look at the chart in the article, this isn't even anything new. Sure, the number is higher right now, but, in the last two decades, over 50% of people have disapproved. But we're still voting for these people.

Frankly, we have no one to blame but ourselves (or, rather, the ignorant people who just vote without knowing who they are voting for or, worse yet, don't vote at all).

Anyone think things will actually change?|||Aw, he still thinks he lives in a democratic country, how cute.|||One thing I've always wondered, why is it considered worse to not vote than to vote when you don't know who any of the people are? Yes, it's better to take the time to find out who is running and what they stand for and then vote, but I consider voting with no knowledge the worse of the two bad options.|||What peeves me most is how a lot of these congressmen have the gall to presume that they are acting in the best interests of their constituents, let alone that of the nation. And they continue to declare this in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary.

And this is before mentioning those accursed 'pledges' so many of them have made. Or how terrible the debt ceiling 'compromise' was. I have not been particularly impressed with Obama of late. I generally compare him to Ulysses S. Grant, and that is certainly not a good thing.

The more prevalent problem, I think, is voting while misinformed. It has become so easy for people to use only media outlets with a certain bent, and completely isolate themselves from the other side. And that side, naturally, says that everything the other side says is a lie. There is no rationalizing with these people, and that leaves the country without any means to start a healthy dialogue on the issues.

We are vastly in need of campaign finance reform, which SCOTUS has all but destroyed. I also think something has to be done about the spread of absolute lies over the public air waves. I'd hate to see a repeat of the Alien & Sedition Acts, but I think John Adams et al would be rolling in their graves if they saw the state of things now.

It's gotten to the point where the wealthy and their pet congressmen have lost any pretense of caring for the public good. If they don't change their ways, it will be only a matter of time before the rest of the country won't take it any more. We're begging for bread and they say: "Let them eat cake."|||People don't understand what democracy is supposed to be good for. It's not for electing suitable people to govern us, because guess what? Such people don't exist. There is not a single person in the entire world who is fit for the responsibility of handling the millions of citizens a country might have.

Look, asshats will elevate to positions of power no matter what. And don't assume for a second that there's a difference between them, either - I mean sure, there are various amounts of retardedness in the people that govern us, but some African dictator isn't really any worse than your average, democratically elected prime minister. The difference, and this is crucial, about a democracy is that it allows us to replace the very worst idiots with other idiots if they start to mess up things too much. It's not even that the new dregs would be any better than the old ones. It's just that as long as the current morons fear getting replaced, they'll behave. That is the sum total of what democracy is good for.

Do you think congressmen fears the people who voted for them anymore?|||Wow rasp, I can't disagree with your analysis...|||Quote:








Wow rasp, I can't disagree with your analysis...




You should. It's close to something I would have said, except I would have done so more colorfully.|||Quote:








You should. It's close to something I would have said, except I would have done so more colorfully.




He said that democracy works to the extent that we exercise our power to kick out the ones who don't behave. But we can't kick out congress, so they don't have incentive to behave.

Here, I said it less colorfully, and I dare say the point is even stronger due to it. I don't have issues with your position, J, but with your excessive colorfulness.

Not sure when that'll get through to you.|||Quote:








But we can't kick out congress, so they don't have incentive to behave.




Actually, you can, but you won't. Thus they won't fear.

Or, eh, well, don't you live in Canada? In that case, you can't, since Canadians can't vote in American elections.

Uhh, I hope.|||What you Americans need is more Canadians voting in your elections. It'll help balance out the media bias and the nonsense.