Poll: Will anti-Congress mood cause another 'wave' election?

[TomCADem]

Source: USA Today

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds signs that another "wave" election with the potential to dramatically change the capital's political makeup may be building.

Only 24% of those surveyed say most members of Congress deserve re-election, the lowest standing since Gallup began asking the question in 1991. Fifty-six percent say their own representative deserves another term, similar to responses just before tumultuous elections in 1994, 2006 and 2010 that changed control of the House or Senate.

And a majority of Americans, 51%, say President Obama doesn't deserve re-election; 47% say he does. In another question, Obama bests an unnamed Republican presidential candidate by 48%-45%, though he remains below the 50% threshold.

"Is there substantial dissatisfaction with the direction of the country, with the way things are, with the people in charge? The answer to that is yes," says Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report, who has written about the prospect of a fourth "wave" election in a row. Less clear is whether voters are ready to blame one party or the other.


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2011-08-08-poll-gallup-election_n.htm?csp=hf

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Well, what do you know? Nancy Pelosi may have been right. The House Republicans are the incumbents, and they are the ones entirely responsible for bringing the Nation to the edge of its first default, and whose actions led to the first ever downgrade in U.S. credit ratings.

Here is the irony. The U.S. credit rating is AA+, and it has a debt to GGP ratio of 59 percent. France is still AAA, but it has a debt to GDP ratio of 83 percent.

So, why does France have a higher credit rating. Well, the answer is the Tea Party. House Republicans have demonstrated that they are more than willing to actually default in order to achieve a narrow ideological, political victory. Apparently, the American people are starting to see it. We have a bunch of right wing wackoes in Congress who nearly brought the world economy to ruin due in large part to their unwillingness to consider even modest taxes to the rich.

[lonestarnot]

1. Told you so!

:7

[Tiggeroshii]

11. I've been saying the same thing will happen ever since right after last year's elections...

Thing is, I didn't think the GOP would make it this easy.

[JustAnotherGen]

2. If liberals and progressives

get out and vote - it's possible. I'm already actively engaged in the campaign for the seat of NJ's 7th district. We all need to get fired up now.

[w4rma]

5. It would be a lot easier to get fired up if the DLCers running the Party, currently, didn't tell us

to shut up every time we do. Honestly, the ball is in their court.

[Fearless]

7. +1000!

[JustAnotherGen]

16. DLC

Didn't give our candidate in the 7th support at all in 2010. So we are going to steal their thunder, their will, and get the person who CAN beat Lance elected by us . . . The people of Central NJ know better than some guy named Al what type of representative we need in Washington.

[rpannier]

6. I thought liberals and progressives were too small a group to matter

At least that's what I keep seeing on DU
That is, until we lose then it's the fault of the liberals and progressives

[Fearless]

8. Same as our POV on polling...

If Gallop or whatever support our beliefs, they're screamed from the top of every mountain. If they are showing negative things, the polls are rigged and don't actually prove anything.

[rpannier]

14. Agree 100%

[JustAnotherGen]

17. Well

we lost in our district in 2010 because the leadership was too busy trying to keep seats that were a lost cause. This was an easy win - small business owner, well loved science teacher, hate to say it but . . . Young and energetic. He lost to a geriatric elitist snob that continues to use the NJ he alt insurance program for current and former legislators that's MORE expensive to NJ tax payees than us paying for the Federal Health insurance Fed Officials have access to. That's just one little chip in the paint.

Now both the DNC and the DLC will ignore that sore point - but we won't. We've already started with grass roots signage that our candidate doesn't even know exists. It's the whisper campaign. The tiny ads taken out in the "town" weeklies, the notices on the tack boards in Quick Checks, convenience stores, the flyers left in the carts at Wegmans . . .

Listening to BOTH the DLC and the DNC has got us shit in the one hand and air in the other. Let the, focus on the President. The more they do - the better. This way if our house candidates lose - we can blame ourselves. But if they win, maybe they'll stfu and go away . . . Until they come back liberal and progressive.

[No Elephants]

19. Sounds good to me. The only check, even in name, we've had of late

is the House Progressive Caucus.

Maybe we should draw up our own pledge for Reps.

"If elected, I promise to join and vigorously support the House Progressive Caucus. Oh, and slavery always sucked, from every possible perspective, and, in hindsight, still sucks."

I'd vote for that person.

Luckily, I do that every two years: Mike Capuano, one of the very best. If only he were more charismatic when he speaks, he would have beat Brown handily, but he is not slick. Just sincere.

[No Elephants]

18. It may depend upon whether you label yourself and your ideas as "liberal."

If you don't, they poll very well. If you do, you suffer from all the work the RW did to make "liberal" a dirty word.

As to elections, obviously, groups of any size matter a whole lot in battleground states, even in non-Presidential races.

And then, there is the "The left has nowhere else to go" factor. If the left supports a centrist official, no matter what, then it seems as though all voters are either centrist or Republican or Tea Party, doesn't it?

Yes, especially if that is the way that Republicans, Democrats and the bought and paid for media choose to spin it.

And isn't that the perfect excuse, er, reason for Democrats to go further and further to the right? (Ironically, the justification for that is to avoid the unthinkable result of having a rightist win the general election.)

See how it all folds in on itself beautifully, like cake batter?

[onehandle]

3. France's infrastructure and quality of life is light-years ahead of ours.

Their problem was our problem. The banks.

They have a more stable future. Ours is unraveling. Tea Party or not.

However, the Tea Terrorists did indeed force us into the downgrade.

[No Elephants]

20. French Exceptionalist!

j/k

[russspeakeasy]

4. Teabaggers don't care any more for this country than

johnny mccain did when he picked the witch from wasilla. He showed his true colors with that pick
and this group of asshats has shown it's true colors by declaring war on the low income and elderly.:evilfrown:

[jimlup]

9. The propaganda is already coming thick and fast from the other side...

They fight will continue and we will not win unless we really bear down and work like hell for it. Screw Obama - he's on his own but we need to get the congress back into Democratic control.

[No Elephants]

22. And by Democratic control, do we mean any Democrat will do? If so, I disagree.

[Roci]

10. The only problem with all this

is a historical trend that says "Throw the bums out, all except for the bum that represents me."

[No Elephants]

21. And that is yet another problem with pork.

[ThoughtCriminal]

12. Unfortunately for the GOP

When you replace "Unnamed" with anybody actually in the Party, they're in deep trouble.

[JournalistKev87]

13. What can I do to help elect progressive reps in Chicago?

Are there any organizations I can join in my town/county? Been looking to get involved now for a while.

Did I mention I hate tea?

[No Elephants]

25. If anti-tea is your only dislike, answering your question is easy.

Donate to the DNC and join any establishment Democratic organization.

If you dislike weak sauce Democrats almost as much, then answering your question is much harder. The system is tightly geared against populist* Democrats.

*Sorry, I have no clue what "progressive" means, given that the Progressive Policy Institute was founded by a co-signer of the 2003 PNAC memo and co-founder of the DLC. I do understand "classic Democrat," "FDR Democrat" "liberal Democrat" and "populist Democrat," though.

[Kablooie]

15. It's stupid to ask if people want most of the congress to be thrown out...

The only thing that matters is if they think THEIR Congresspeople should be thrown out.

[No Elephants]

23. Wanna stump most people? Ask them how their representative voted on the last ten issues important

to them.

[tjl148]

27. Name them

You might get 5% to answer that right. I doubt if 25% know their representative's name.

[michreject]

24. Something to leep in mind on the 12 elections

In the Senate, the Democrats have 25 seats up for re election while the repubs have only 10.

The anti congress attitude could hurt us there.

[No Elephants]

26. Seems like an excellent reason for lively Democratic primaries.

[AndyTiedye]

29. So the Battered and Bruised "Winner" of the "Lively" Primary Can Get Mauled by the Repigs

uh huh. :wtf:

[Hasso]

28. If I read this poll correctly,

that means we retake the House, but lose the Senate???