Only 8 percent say incumbents should be reelected

[last_texas_dem]

Source: Politico

>>>>A stunning 8 percent of Americans believe members of Congress should be reelected, a staggering indictment of the legislative branch as Democrats prepare to defend their majority in the midterm elections.

Eighty-one percent of people surveyed in a New York Times poll believe “it’s time to give new people a chance” to serve in Congress, the worst assessment of Congress since the newspaper began polling on this question in 1992.

But the 8 percent figure is staggering. Republicans see it as a reason to throw Democrats out of Congress, while Democrats want to blame Republican obstruction for the overwhelmingly negative feelings reflected in the poll.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s spokesman, Nadeam Elshami, said the House shares in the “frustration of the American people because we have passed the president’s agenda to create jobs” but blamed Republicans for obstructing legislation for short-term political gain.>>>>

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32893.html

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And yet, come November, over 90 percent of House incumbents will be reelected. Bank on it.

[Lil Missy]

1. What was the population of the poll sample?

[n2doc]

2. Yet somehow, these same people will vote to send their 18 term reps back in Nov. n/t

[CBHagman]

4. That is precisely what I was going to say.

Seriously, we've often heard of polls in which those surveyed like their own Congress critters but view the body in general as appalling.

[razorman]

12. The attitude seems to be, "My rep is OK. All the others suck."

[provis99]

17. ding! ding! ding! you win the prize.

[Robb]

7. Yep. nt

[Captain Hilts]

3. They're talking about other people's congress critters, not their own. nt

[Mithreal]

11. exactly

[Jefferson23]

5. It's time to give new people a chance? I think it's time to have public funded elections.

[OneBlueSky]

6. this has been a conundrum of U.S. politics for as long as I can remember . . .

when asked, Americans always say "throw the bums out" . . . but when it comes to their own representative or senator, they continue to vote them back in . . .

somehow the electorate seems to not understand that to throw the bums out, they have to start with their own bums . . .

[prezpeng]

8. We need to keep

the good ones with all the good experience, as starting over each time will work against us. With age does come wisdom...so we are forced to take the good with the bad, we must not change the system...we will crash, plus the devil you have is better than the devil you may get... especially when you are talking about evil Repuglickers.

[Mari333]

9. the corporations who own the politicians will make sure their candidates get in

or try their damndest to do so. Fake astro turf candidates who sing the praises of populism and turn right around and vote for their corporate overlords.

until corporate money and lobbying money is removed from the current system, there isnt hope.

[LiberalFighter]

10. Voters don't have the right to decide the members of Congress for other districts.

If they want to vote them out then they need to move to the district that allows them to vote. Otherwise they should STFU.

[rasputin1952]

13. Essentially, that's the whole thing in a nutshell...

Voters want officials from other parts of the state/country to be voted out...the keep re-electing their own...;)

[LiberalFighter]

14. Too bad we can't do it.

We would be able to elect all Democrats if that were the case.

[winyanstaz]

15. Throw all of them out...

[treestar]

16. How as this asked?

They mean other people's incumbents.

Everyone wants their own guy to have the power seniority gives in Congress. They send the same people back over and over again. But the other states, sure, they should stop sending those rats to Congress.