Satire from http://thedesperateblogger.com/2011/08/country-divided-over-congressional-recess/Should Congress continue as normal with its summer recess, or return to Washington to work on the myriad of crises facing the country?
It appears that the people are as divided on this issue as their representatives are on everything else, albeit with a far more civil tone.
“Who let these bastards leave their posts in the first place?” asked longtime credit card model John Q. Public, “Can you name anybody else who screws up their job that bad who doesn’t get fired – let alone a five-week paid vacation?”
Others expressed a desire to see both the House and Senate remain in session for other reasons.
“I want to know they’re in Washington and not among the general population – especially young children,” said Fr. John W. Gacy of Our Lady of the Holy Assault Weapon Church in Devil’s Lake, South Dakota, “when they’re back in their states and districts, they always seem to find excuses to spend time in and around schools. Frankly, it weirds me out. I feel better knowing I can turn on C-Span and get a live shot of their empty seats, knowing that there’s a slim chance they could show up on my screen at any moment.”
Others, however, see things differently. Most who favored that the summer recess continue shared the view that those in office should have ample time to meet face-to-face with their constituents, with priorities ranging from ‘so they can face the music’ to ‘so they can see what they have done’ to ‘so that the voters can not only share, but also demonstrate how they feel’.
Of course, others cited different reasons.
The most common answer among this group wasn’t so much an answer as two questions: “Why shouldn’t they take time off? Haven’t you seen enough of what happens when they don’t?”
Or, as Minnesota’s Tim Pawlenty, a self-described politician who expressed gratitude for being noticed put it, “The less time they’re in D.C., the less harm they can do. Right now, even I’m more qualified than most of them. That’s why I’d been hoping to land a job there.”
But while 14% of those polled approve of the job Congress is doing, 17% believe that their representative should be re-elected. Renowned political psychologist Tony Vita explained this discrepancy, or as he describes it, “phenomenon”:
“People view their Congressperson as someone who represents them and their ‘home’, and consequently develop an almost reflexive defense mechanism – perhaps because they believe this person is somehow a reflection of themselves, or perhaps because they view them as an authority figure — like a parent — on whom their quality of life depends. This is why so many seem to blindly support whoever their representative is, often in spite of the fact that they would have chosen someone else. Just as with most adults who would tell you that they’ve always loved their parents, these voters suffer from a sort of offshoot of Stockholm Syndrome. Unfortunately, until an effective treatment can be found, the public should anticipate unacceptably high levels of incumbency.”
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