Republicans, Don't Blame Bush, Blame Your Wishy-Washy, Pork Stuffed, Spineless, Selves

House Incumbents at Risk, Poll Finds
Percentage of Americans Who Approve of Their Representative Has Fallen Sharply

By Peter Baker and Claudia Deane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 8, 2006; Page A03

Most Americans describe themselves as being in an anti-incumbent mood heading into this fall's midterm congressional elections, and the percentage of people who approve of their own representative's performance is at the lowest level since 1994, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

As attention turns to Connecticut for Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's Democratic primary showdown today, the poll found some of the same political currents that have buffeted his campaign flowing through the national electorate. The public has soured on politicians backing the Iraq war, which Democrats consider the most important issue of the election.

Eighty-one percent of Democrats say the war was not worth fighting, and 70 percent feel that way "strongly." A majority of Democrats, 54 percent, say a candidate endorsing Bush's Iraq policy would be less likely to get their vote, compared with 37 percent for whom it would not make much difference. Two in three Democrats say it is time to begin decreasing troop levels in Iraq, although only one in four supports immediate withdrawal.

Especially worrisome for members of Congress is that the proportion of Americans who approve of their own representative's performance has fallen sharply. Traditionally, voters may express disapproval of Congress as a whole but still vote for their own member, even from the majority party. But 55 percent now approve of their lawmaker, a seven-percentage-point drop over three months and the lowest such finding since 1994, the last time control of the House switched parties.

If they lose this fall, Congressional Republicans have no one to blame but themselves. In the past 5 years, they have out-spent the worst of the Democrat Administration/Congress teams with record pork-barrel spending. They have been spineless and half-hearted in supporting the President's agenda which, of course, has resulted in poor poll numbers for both the President and the Republican Congress members.

A little advice, probably too late for most of you; if you're going to support the Presidents agenda, do it whole-heartedly. Stop worrying about the latest poll numbers and boldly state your reasons for doing so. If you are going to oppose the Presidents policies, do it boldly and give substantive reasons. In both cases doing what is politically expedient, according to the latest poll numbers, is not going to win you friends either among the people or in the Paleo-press. We want decisive leaders representing us not spineless, weather-vane, poll watchers. Stop trying to curry favor with the press, they hate you. Get over it. The Washington Post and the New York Times will never support your Conservative agenda, either switch parties and become a Democrat, or stop worrying about your press coverage.

The President has been mostly right in Iraq (though more troops would probably be a plus) and in the rest of his foreign policy. Western Europe is a lost cause, but Eastern Europe is still partially sane. The President totally wrong on illegal immigration, until you get control of your borders, any other "comprehensive solution" is a waste of time and will achieve nothing. Eighty percent of the people of this nation know this, why can't you in Congress and the President figure this out?

Regardless of the outcome, this promises to be an interesting election year.

Full Story: Incumbants on the Edge

What do you think?

To leave your opinion click on the word "COMMENT(S)" below