Do as I say
I have to do a longer post on this when I can cite more examples, but here’s a good one to start off with.
The results of an AP/Ipsos poll today shows that President Bush has an overall approval rating of just 42 percent, and a disapproval rating of 56 percent. No shock here.
But get this: 60 percent of people polled (and the poll is designed to reflect the country as a whole) say they “disapprove of the way Congress in handling its job.”
Ah, you might think, looks like there might be some shake-ups in November.
Not likely. People bitch and moan a lot, but when they step into that voting booth, they reelect the incumbent 95 percent of the time over the past 20 years or so. Maybe longer.
It’s kind of like how, when polled, people say they want to live where they can walk places, shop at local stores, have a vibrant downtown, etc. — and then drive to the mall or Wal-Mart and let the little stores and non-chain restaurants rot.
I gotta follow up on this, but for now, let’s see how right I am about Congress. 95 percent.
Eric Berlin says:
One of the largest, most overwhelming problems in America today is one that is rarely spoken of: Gerrymandering. Congressional districts are cut into little odd-shaped pieces, along demographic lines, in order to guarantee that they will be “owned” by a particular party. This has proven to be enormously effective, and it is one of the primary reasons why so many congressmen get re-elected despite evident dissatisfaction. It is very, very difficult for a representative of an opposing party to uproot an incumbent congressman.
There are occasional flare-ups that bring this issue into the limelight — the “fleeing Democrats” of Texas is a recent example. And I was very excited for about fifteen seconds when it looked like Schwarzenegger was going to try to do something about this in CA, and maybe even begin a national conversation about the matter. But each time, the issue just doesn’t seem to capture the national imagination, and we wind up talking about Michael Jackson instead.