tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post861821476375097027..comments2024-01-16T03:42:46.705-05:00Comments on The Downward Spiral: Gallup: Congress's Approval Rating Slips to 10%, More than 90% of Incumbents Will Be Reelected AnywayBill Hickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17551954408189665078noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-71304029332461757712012-08-16T19:32:54.023-04:002012-08-16T19:32:54.023-04:00Ugh...I've never read that one before. Lenny ...Ugh...I've never read that one before. Lenny certainly was a tortured soul. Bill Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17551954408189665078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-28819923221496526962012-08-16T18:26:08.632-04:002012-08-16T18:26:08.632-04:00In the general election people do not vote for con...In the general election people do not vote for congress based on the candidates policies or track record. They vote based on the fact that he or she is part of my "tribe". Those tribes are "D" or "R". In a Presidential campaign - when the candidates are well known (or at least their "branding" is known) - there are 5-8% of voters that are actually swing voters. In congressional elections I doubt whether as much as 2% of voters "swing" from the parties they traditionally vote for. Which will not impact a district that traditionally votes 55-60% for a particular party. And Yes, I realize that 1/3 of voters are registered as "Independent", but the vast majority of them always vote one party .. in fact they think that the party they always vote for is not conservative enough or not liberal enough .. so would NEVER vote for the other party. And only about 2 percentage points of the electorate ever votes for third parties no matter how perfectly those parties actually reflect their beliefs. <br />So - clownish appearance and stupid shit will not generally cause a seated representative to lose a re-election !<br />Yep - it is frustrating. There ARE better systems, but the US will never make any changes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-37590844098150920232012-08-16T15:17:58.895-04:002012-08-16T15:17:58.895-04:00It might help if the parties would put up some dec...It might help if the parties would put up some decent human beings as candidates. I think we're pretty tired of voting for the lesser evil.sharonsjnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-50173016337534340412012-08-16T12:20:21.271-04:002012-08-16T12:20:21.271-04:00Just FYI Bill, something that made me think of spo...Just FYI Bill, something that made me think of spoiled rotten nation (tm): http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/08/come-here-father.htmlGailhttp://witsendnj.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-6429482234627314282012-08-15T21:41:23.505-04:002012-08-15T21:41:23.505-04:00What kills me is I see pictures and video of a lot...What kills me is I see pictures and video of a lot of these stooges and just shake my head that anyone would vote for them based upon their clownish appearance, to say nothing of the stupid shit that comes out of their mouths.Bill Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17551954408189665078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-44917906090823381982012-08-15T19:05:37.633-04:002012-08-15T19:05:37.633-04:00The problem is that you never see the following qu...The problem is that you never see the following questions asked together (at least you do not see the results)...<br /><br /><i>Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job?<br /><br />Do you approve or disapprove of the way your Congressional representative is doing his/her job?</i><br /><br />The reality is that just like everybody considers themselves to be "above average" drivers (a numerical impossibility), everybody thinks the guy they voted for is okay and the problem is everybody else. That is, "Why don't all those [pick your generalized grouping] morons keep voting for the same idiots?"<br /><br />Human beings are not rational.<br />bmersonnoreply@blogger.com