Zogby sez:
Bush wins a positive job rating from 58% of Republicans, 29% of independents, and 11% of Democrats. Among those with a household member who is now or at one time served in the Armed Forces, 37% give the President positive marks, compared with 26% of those with no household member in the military who give him a positive job rating.
Meanwhile, Congress wins just 18% positive approval from Democrats, while 80% of Dems give them negative marks for their performance so far. Republicans watching the performance of the Democratic-controlled Congress are more harsh—just 12% give it good marks, while 86% said they are doing only a “fair” or “poor” job in Washington. Political independents appear to agree with Republicans on this count—just 16% give Congress positive marks, while the balance give it a negative rating.
Most are not happy with the overall direction in which the nation is now headed, the poll shows. Just 24% said they think things in the country are going well, while 64% said they think things are off on the wrong track. The main problem is foreign policy, the Reuters/Zogby poll shows. Just 22% approve of foreign affairs as practiced by the Bush administration.
The Democrats should be able to do the math, but they are not paying attention to these numbers. The numbers they are looking at show that the people are more and more self-identifying as Democrats and that they loathe the Republicans more than any other institution in America. So, why rock the boat, eh?
Not only are they idiots and cowards but they are failing their country. If Bush gets us into another shooting war with Iran the Dem leadership in Congress will be equally to blame, because they have seen the signs of his intentions for months now and yet have done noting to rein him in, on Iraq or Iran.
They may be idiots and cowards, but that’s not the main reason why they’re not doing anything to get us out of Iraq. The main reason is that they take their lead more from the foreign policy establishment than they do from the American people when it comes to “foreign policy”, and that establishment is united in its belief that US interests would be gravely injured if we left, so that we simply cannot afford to leave, no matter what the public thinks.
Both Dem and Republican congressmen belong to the ruling elite. As members of the elite, they follow the goals of the elite, as opposed to following the goals of the public for the simple that they represent it. They see their task not as carrying out the wishes of the American people, as many progressive bloggers seem to think they do, but as carrying out the wishes of the elite, while managing public opinion in such a way that it does not turn away from them to a dangerous degree.
I don’t think a political class anywhere, in any country, does something the people want but it doesn’t, if it can figure out how not to do so while still getting elected. So this isn’t about how “evil” or “corrupt” our Democrats in Washington are. It is about how progressive bloggers go on with their illusion that our representatives are ordinary people like you and me, as opposed to politicians.
If you can show me I am wrong, please do.
As Arthur Silber has observed recently:
join your local anti-recruitment campaigns. The only way to stop it is by making sure our RULERS have no more cannon fodder. We also need to start civil disobedience efforts, only in a way that won’t alienate the public. Stropping traffic type civil disobedience is stupid. Protesting at recruitment offices is smart.
This next election is probably not going to end the war, even if a Dem wins. The Dems just don’t want to stop any more than the repukes do. Any type of action that can hurt the elites economically is a must too.
Civil disobedience is the only way.
Politics isn’t the answer, and neither bitching and moanin = carrying signs and signing petitions et all. The truth is our rulers don’t give damn about the opinions of anyone but the other rulers. They don’t have to because they control both major parties. When our party loses the excuse is not enough votes, when it wins the excuse is that it is too risky. It is an endless loop, until we recognize they are rulers, and not Representatives. We need a more proactive approach.
If I had the answer to that question, I’d retire. Rich.
How unlucky for the American public! With Bush’s poll numbers in the toilet, the Democrats seem content to sit back and run out the clock. When Bush was riding high, they didn’t dare oppose him for fear of incurring the wrath of the voters. My question is, under what magical and incredibly fortuitous set of circumstances might the Democrats do something other than roll over?
This is what happens when you elect middle of the road candidates and trumpet former Republicans.
And there needs to be mass public demonstrations to put a face on this dissatisfaction. Blogging alone won’t change the paradigm. Boots on the ground, people.