Everyone Hates Congress

Just about everyone hates our federal legislative branch. And the general distaste for our elected lawmakers extends more or less equally to both parties.
From Politico's report on the new CNN/ORC poll:
A new CNN/ORC International poll finds two-thirds of Americans saying Congress is the least productive in their lifetime, with 73 percent saying lawmakers have done nothing to address the nation's problems.
…Democrats and Republicans share the blame almost equally: 52 percent of those surveyed believe the policies of congressional Democrats will move the U.S. in the wrong direction, while 54 percent say the same thing about the policies of congressional Republicans.
In general, this has not been a good year for politicians who want to be loved by the public. In November, Congressional approval ratings hit a record low. And while they are up a little since then, they're still pretty dismal, with 80 percent disapproving and 13 percent approving, according to the RealClearPolitics poll tracker.
President Obama is doing significantly better. But he's not exactly winning over the people, either. RCP's poll tracker has his approval rating average at 42.4 percent, with 53.8 percent disapproving.
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Everyone hates Congress, just not their congressmen. I mean, their congressmen mean well. It's the fault of all the other congressmen that keep their congressmen from getting things done.
Thus 98% of incumbents are reelected.
Fuck you sarc! I was going to reply with exactly the same thing.
Ha ha!
/Muntz
I hate my congresscritter, but it seems no matter how often I vote against it, it never goes away.
I can accurately predict the outcome of an election by taking the inverse of my ballot.
Same here, except that when I write in "FUCK YOU CROOKS" I'm pretty sure I already know he won't win because the only grassroot support he has is me.
Voting just encourages the bastards.
I'm from Massachusetts so it goes without saying that I hate my Congressman
Same comment, but include congresswoman.... "granny" Warren makes me sick.
Mine is terrible. I'd put him in the 2nd quintile of people to vote out. However, FL 2 did vote Allen Boyd out for switching to Yea on Obamacare, and Steve Southerland has taken that to heart. (Of course, he's trying to exempt the military from COLA "cuts" where the only cut is from 4% COLA to 2.5% COLA.)
If I actually had a congressperson, I'd hate her. But since she has been on a leave of absence since last spring, I have to content myself with hating everybody else's congresspersons.
And rightfully so.
Who the fuck cares. Congress is a joke of a rubber stamp. The executive branch is in the driver's seat. And you have a problem with that, they'll just send one of the alphabet soup agencies to screw with you.
Who the fuck cares.
Exactly what got us into this mess to start with.
Congress is a joke of a rubber stamp.
It's not even that under Obamunism. Obama threatens to veto Congress rubber stamping his actions, so they don't even vote on doing so at all.
"with 73 percent saying lawmakers have done nothing to address the nation's problems."
And what exactly do these people want Congress to do? Pass more legislation? Spend more $ to "solve" our nation's problems? If 73% wanted congress to cut taxes, cut spending, and repeal oppressive legislation, that might be something worth raising a glass to.
I remain unconvinced that the sheeple want congress to do anything that promotes life, liberty, and property.
I've never, ever met a normal* person that wants Congress to do anything.
*As opposed to deranged zealots that demand action on their pet cause.
That same 73% remains unaware that lawmakers have caused most of the nation's problems, no doubt.
It's obvious to libertarians, but otherwise it seems that very few people understand that the logical conclusion to responding to the shitty consequences of shitty rules with more shitty consequence creating rules is a totalitarian state where every nuance of life is governed by some shitty rule backed with state violence.
You reminded me of a conversation I had with a (formerly) liberal (now far less so) friend of mine.
I explained to him that it doesn't matter how you define law or what law is; people are free, and it's their choice to exercise their freedom regardless of circumstances.
His shock & awe was pretty amusing; however, it got me wondering how many people cannot comprehend the freaking basics of Liberty.
"I will accept any rules that you feel necessary to your freedom. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do."
/Fires toy cannon at Epi
Aww, someone wants to play with their Christmas toys. I see your toy cannon and raise you my dick.
This just got much more exciting. Who has the lube?
I would berry my dick so deep inside that ass whoever could pull it out would be crowned king arthur
Listen, strange men lyin' in wait distributin' boners is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical anal ceremony.
[i]Listen, strange men lyin' in wait distributin' boners is no basis for a system of government.[/i]
Au contraire. People have a right to boners from strange men. In fact, I'd like to take this opportunity to advocate for "single-payer" boners. 'cause God knows the free market doesn't handle it.
and also I need to stop commenting at the Seattle Times.
Come and see the boners inherent in the system! Help! Help! I'm being rape-raped!
You know, you're not fooling anyone: you are obviously being not unresponsive!
I feel happy! I feel happy!
it got me wondering how many people cannot comprehend the freaking basics of Liberty.
That's what happens when people become accustomed to having to ask permission before doing anything. When it becomes ingrained that you can't do anything without getting permission from authority, the concept of liberty becomes difficult to grasp.
Congress doing nothing is generally better than Congress doing anything at all to address any given problem - which only proves to me that this poll is total horseshit. You are polling people who are retarded enough to complain that Congress sucks because it is passively doing nothing instead of actively and vigorously fucking things up.
I want Congress to resign and not come back. Followed by the president.
The fallacy of polls like this is that they assume that people hate Congress because of inactivity and want bipartisanship. Which may be true of some people but not all, probably not even a majority.
I dare say that a lot of people right now hate Congress because Obamacare is fucking up their lives and they are uninformed and uninterested in the details of how it was passed.
I dare say that a lot of people right now hate Congress because Obamacare is fucking up their lives and they are uninformed and uninterested in the details of how it was passed.
Depends on what kind of mood you catch me in. Today, I say the reason for polls with these results is because people feel like they aren't getting enough "free" shit courtesy of my tax dollars.
The only bipartisanship I want is to reduce the budgets of the NSA, TSA, USDA, EPA, etc. Aside from that, gridlock is good.
The scary part is, if you ask most of those people who profess to hate Congress why they do so, you'll get some variant of the Bipartisan Do-Somethingism battle cry.
OMFG WHY DON'T THOSE LAZY BUMS PASS MORE LAWS?!
73 percent saying lawmakers have done nothing to address the nation's problems.
What are these idjits talking about? Congress has already addressed them by causing or worsening nearly every problem we have as a country.
Do they actually think they can solve these problems? Sorry, but that's not in the job description.
If we didn't have politicians to ruin our lives, who would?
Tony excluded.
Hey, comparing Tony to a politician is just mean!
To who? Politicians?
That was too easy....
President Obama is doing significantly better.
I saw this at a relative's house yesterday, with the WH Christmas card magneted to the fridge.
I thought it might ruin the holiday spirit by asking them why they had a picture of an egomaniacal, bumbling, war criminal on their appliances.
If it weren't for Obama's diehard zombie fans I imagine his approval rating would be abysmal. Plus, he's seemed to have managed to leverage a certain number of "he's a total fuckup but he means well" braindead supporters too. Hopefully, they will all lose their insurance plans and suffer for their support. People need to start feeling the effects of their decisions, or nothing will ever change.
Plus, he's seemed to have managed to leverage a certain number of "he's a total fuckup but he means well" braindead supporters too.
Ahahaha, I seem to recall that being said by conservatives about a certain president not so long ago.
Same old shit, different day!
Some conservatives, perhaps. However, I think W lost a large portion of that constituency when the comment started making the rounds about not "waiving that old piece of paper in my face" (whether it was apocryphal or not). Only the neo-cons stayed loyal to the end. The rest woke up and recalled the saying "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions".
People need to start feeling the effects of their decisions, or nothing will ever change.
Except, these are the exact people who will never accept the premise that this is somehow not the fault of the enemy tribe.
My one cousin is ready to take the fateful step away from Camp Proglodyte and into the welcoming arms of rationality and possibly, libertarianism. I can feel it; he's especially bitter over Obamacare. But, he works in the arts, so he would be an outcast, if he did.
I saw an "OMG -- Obama Must Go" sticker on a car window in my overwhelmingly liberal California town today. The tide is turning.
Congress: Don't look at us! We've already given the Executive Branch all our powers!
SCOTUS: Yeah!
No trolls to respond to yet, but I tried some new recipes over the extended Christmas weekend and thought I'd share this one here. It's an Alton Brown kinda recipe, very time consuming and labor intensive, but my in-laws said it was good enough to do again:
Pub-style burgers
2 lb sirloin tips, cut into 2-in squares
1/2 stick butter, melted
buns, good ones from the bakery, not 8-pack wonder
1 onion, caramelized
bacon, cooked
Extra sharp cheddar
BBQ Sauce
Mayo
Dill pickles
Place the cubed tips on a cookie sheet and freeze until firm, about 35 minutes. Load about 1/4 at a time into food processor. Use 1-second pulses about 35 times, until ground. Return to cookie sheet and process the rest of the meat. Pour melted butter over meat and coat with about 1 T of pepper. Use a fork to gently combine.
Form into 4 (1/2-lb) balls and gently press into 4" diameter patties. The butter will solidify and the patties will look like they have chunks in them, but you'll appreciate the chunks later. (cont'd)
Preheat the oven to 375 and heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high temp. Meanwhile, liberally salt and pepper both sides of the patties.
Cook the patties for 2 minutes, flip, and cook 2 more minutes. Transfer the patties to a baking sheet and put in the oven for 5-9 minutes. Med rare is supposed to be about 130 with medium at 135.
When done, put the patties on a plate to rest for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly coat the buns with butter and place in the skillet until golden. Rub with a cut clove of garlic.
To assemble:
Lightly spread mayo on both buns to reduce sogginess from other toppings. Put caramelized onions on bottom bun, followed by dill pickles and romaine lettuce. Add BBQ sauce to top bun. Top patties with extra sharp cheddar and return to oven. Bacon can be reheated on the same pan if desired. Put patty on top of bottom bun, add bacon, and close the top bun. (cont'd)
I haven't come up with a good side, but honestly you're eating 1/2 lb of ground sirloin so you might not have room for more. I had a porter in the house, and it went well, but you might try it with other freakish libertarian delights such as IPA, or in a pinch, deep dish pizza.
Also, I cooked the bacon, caramelized the onions, and then grilled the buns before starting the burgers. That worked pretty well for the timing but means you should start cooking 45-60 mins before you want to eat.
And yes, I am very bored at work today, but happy to have a decent-paying job. Merry Christmas!
Served with tater tots.
Sweet potato fries. But you have to roll them in a little bit of corn starch to get that crispy texture outside and soft on the inside.
Oops *oven to 300.
For a low carb guy, the bun and the porter are both the side dish and desert!
We always see these polls, but they are effectively meaningless, because we don't know WHY 80% or whatever is the latest percentage, disapproves.
I think if this were clarified by listing each nay vote with a short explanation of WHY that voter disapproves of congress, it would not be very comforting for those of us with the liberty gene.
Most explanations would be something like 'My rent is too high, why can't they fix this!', or 'I still cannot sign up from my free healthcare!'.
IOW, we would have to go down the list a long ways to find even a few libertarian like responses.
I'm always seeing headlines in the local newspaper decrying "the least productive Congress EVAH!!!," with no thought or analysis given to the fact that hundreds of statutes being passed every year has not lead to some socially just society these progressives are pining for.
Quantity over quality, always, it seems.
Maybe the problem is not with Congress but with the unrealistic expectations from the public about what Congress is supposed to do. The idea that a group of 500 is going to solve the "nation's problems," a nation of 320 million people, is ludicrous; It's insane. But looking at what my kid is being taught at school, that's what the Amerikan Pulbic Skool Seistem achieved through 100 years of endless propaganda: Make people believe things that are very not so.
With a budget of 3.8 trillion dollars a year, they could solve a lot of problems. But it's easier to just give it to those who vote.
I seem to recall that was the point of the train in the tunnel section of Atlas Shrugged. All the people who died had either supported or approved the system that in the end, killed them.
A fMRI scan will tell you who is really 'qualified' to become a Congress member.
My problem is that the IRS was used for political purposes and no one gives a dam.
You know it will be used by republicans if they take power. It's one thing to use it against conservative groups, but an entirely different matter to use it against liberals. It's just not fair.
My congressman has done nothing on the record that I can find to do anything about it.