Americans Are Still Disgusted With Congress

A new Gallup Poll has been released about whether Americans approve of the job Congress is doing -- and unsurprisingly, they still overwhelmingly disapprove. The poll (taken between July 10th and 14th of a nationwide sample of 2,027 adults -- with a margin of error of 3 points) shows that only about 15% of Americans give their approval (which probably means that 15% haven't been paying attention, because the 113th Congress has done NOTHING to solve the nation's serious problems).

And that poll is no outlier. The bottom chart above, from RealClearPolitics, shows the results of the last five polls taken on that subject (the CBS News/New York Times Poll, the CNN/Opinion Research Poll, the Fox News Poll, the Gallup Poll, and the Economist/YouGov Poll). None of those polls give Congress more than a 16% approval rating -- and the average of the polls is only 13.6%.

Americans are clearly disgusted with Congress, and that disgust crosses all the political lines -- from the right to the left. I believe that disgust springs directly from the inability of Congress to get anything done. Congress has had the opportunity to improve their image, and threw it away. They could have passed a bill mandating background checks on all gun sales (which was supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans), but didn't do it. They now have a chance to pass immigration reform (also supported by a large majority of Americans), but it is becoming clear that bill will also die.

The problem is a complete inability by some to be willing to compromise for the good of the country. In the past, regardless of which party was in power, the two parties could find some middle ground and work out a compromise -- a compromise that didn't give either party all it wanted, but gave both parties part of what they wanted. And somehow, that worked for the good of the country.

That is no longer possible. The Democrats are not blameless, but they have at least showed a willingness to compromise. Unfortunately, the new crop of Republicans in Congress (the teabaggers) have showed no willingness at all to sit down and work out a compromise. They want everything, and they are willing to shut down Congress until they get it -- and because of that, they must accept the blame for this current gridlock.

Personally, I would like to see a progressive agenda pushed through Congress, and I understand the desire of right-wingers who want a conservative agenda. But I am smart enough to know that we live in a real world democracy -- and in this kind of government, it is rare that either side gets all it wants. We all need to rediscover and re-commit to the art of compromise.

Until the Republicans are willing to once again compromise for the good of all Americans, they must be voted out of power. This gridlock must end. We have too many pressing problems to allow it to continue.