Grr;225683 wrote:
well heres a little food for thought.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.

Last month, 11% of voters gave the legislature good or excellent ratings. Congress has not received higher than a 15% approval rating since the beginning of 2008.

The percentage of Democrats who give Congress positive ratings fell from 17% last month to 13% this month. The number of Democrats who give Congress a poor rating remained unchanged. Among Republicans, 8% give Congress good or excellent ratings, up just a point from last month. Sixty-five percent (65%) of GOP voters say Congress is doing a poor job, down a single point from last month.

Voters not affiliated with either party are the most critical of Congressional performance. Just 3% of those voters give Congress positive ratings, down from 6% last month. Sixty-three percent (63%) believe Congress is doing a poor job, up from 57% last month.

Just 12% of voters think Congress has passed any legislation to improve life in this country over the past six months. That number has ranged from 11% to 13% throughout 2008. The majority of voters (62%) say Congress has not passed any legislation to improve life in America.

To put that into perspective, G W Bush, the one responsible for absolutely everything wrong for eternity, has a 12% rating. So if Bush is so fucking bad, why do people think hes doing a better job than congress, but blaming him for everything?

http://www.pollingreport.com/CongJob.htm says that they were at 13 to 22% approval rate....but whatever, still incredibly low.

Aside from that though, the average American voter isn't informed enough to realize that even w/ the House/Senate having a majority of Dems, they still don't have enough power to override a Bush veto. So every time he threatens to veto, the bill gets killed (exception being farm bill and a few others).

I blame them for not trying to pass more bills in spite of this. For that reason I'd give them a low mark too. Of course, I realize that most of these bills would get vetoed, but at least it would show an effort for change....which is (IMHO) the real reason why they get such low marks...no one is willing to make any changes....hence the reason Obama is getting a lot of public support (for the right or wrong reasons), people think that with him in there the House/Senate will have a better chance of making changes and that they will have an ally in the White House that won't veto everything.

I'm fully ready to blame BOTH parties.

Polico.com wrote:
Congressional approval ratings tumbled to new lows in a spate of recent polls, as high gas prices and a sagging economy continue to hurt the public’s perception of the legislative branch.

In the latest Rasmussen poll, the percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings fell to single digits for the first time in the polling firm’s history.

According to the July 1 survey of 1,000 likely voters, only 9 percent of respondents said Congress is doing a good or excellent job, while 52 percent surveyed said Congress was doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that category.
Republicans, eager to portray Democratic leaders as running the Congress into the ground, pounced on the numbers. But the negative perceptions of Congress as a whole do not seem to be greatly affecting views of the majority party.

Democrats still enjoy a 12 percentage point lead on Rasumssen’s generic congressional ballot, despite the negative views of Congress as a whole.

In addition, Democrats can point to a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken in mid-June, which found that by a 52 percent to 33 percent margin, people said they would rather see Democrats retain control of Congress in November.

That 19-point spread favoring Democrats is the largest recorded for either party since the question was first asked in 1994.
Those numbers, however, did not stop eager Republicans from seizing on the dismal generic congressional approval ratings.

Freedom’s Watch, a conservative lobbying organization, blasted out the results of the Rasmussen poll, seeking to portray the Democrats in disarray. Republicans, on the other hand, have their own perception problems, as some American citizens still believe they are the party in charge.

“Not only does Congress have an approval rating below bubonic plague and head lice, I saw a recent poll that as many as 40 percent of people still believe that Congress is in Republican hands," Rep. Jeb Hensarling told the Christian Science Monitor. "I wish we could get a little accuracy out there about who is in charge – and let those ratings fall where they may."

SPANISH-RICE;225603 wrote:
how were we at -5% unemployment?

we weren't. Unemployment went up 10% more than it already was...which was approximately 4.5%....it went up to 5% which was an increase of 10% vs the previous unemployment rate

Last month, 11% of voters gave the legislature good or excellent ratings. Congress has not received higher than a 15% approval rating since the beginning of 2008.

The percentage of Democrats who give Congress positive ratings fell from 17% last month to 13% this month. The number of Democrats who give Congress a poor rating remained unchanged. Among Republicans, 8% give Congress good or excellent ratings, up just a point from last month. Sixty-five percent (65%) of GOP voters say Congress is doing a poor job, down a single point from last month.

Voters not affiliated with either party are the most critical of Congressional performance. Just 3% of those voters give Congress positive ratings, down from 6% last month. Sixty-three percent (63%) believe Congress is doing a poor job, up from 57% last month.

Just 12% of voters think Congress has passed any legislation to improve life in this country over the past six months. That number has ranged from 11% to 13% throughout 2008. The majority of voters (62%) say Congress has not passed any legislation to improve life in America.

To put that into perspective, G W Bush, the one responsible for absolutely everything wrong for eternity, has a 12% rating. So if Bush is so fucking bad, why do people think hes doing a better job than congress, but blaming him for everything?

tjamz;225579 wrote:
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
----- **subprime crisis **

.

how were we at -5% unemployment?

Parker;221389 wrote:
a very nice email i got from my sister

Subject: In Just One Year

This email comes in three parts.
Part 1:
In just one year.  Remember the election in 2006?
Thought you might like to read the following. A little over one year 

ago:

1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high.
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%.

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:

1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon.
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase).
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate 

(stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars.
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!

Remember its Congress that makes laws and appropriates money not the 

President. He has to work with what's handed to him.

Quote of the Day........"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in 

the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change
it." -- Barack Obama

Ahhh... let's go through this little list, shall we?

1. Consumer confidence plummet;
   ----- subprime crisis
2. The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon;
   ----- Iraq war, oil speculation (aided by the Enron loophole), and foreign growth
3. Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
   ----- **subprime crisis **
4. American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
   -----** subprime crisis **
5. Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
   ----- subprime crisis
6. 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.
   ----- **subprime crisis

**So, the problems with this country have to do with the subprime crisis, the Enron loophole, the Iraq war, and foreign growth.

Exactly which of those is the Democratic Congress resposible for?

Wanna know what IS interesting....? McCain's chief economic advisor is one of the architects of the legislation that allowed the subprime crisis and the Enron loophole, when he rushed through a bunch of bank deregulation as a senator in 1999; otherwise there would have been a far smaller economic breakdown (and maybe no Enron scandal and less oil speculation, too).

As for the "quote" that Obama allegedly said:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/change.asp

Not only was it a political in-joke, it was directed at presumptive nominee John McCain.

Tad218;222184 wrote:
But if tjamz loses the bet, the economy continues the trend it's on his neighbor won't have a home anyway. But at least the Iraqis will be getting their shit together :icon_salut:

I agree that Obama's tax plans are confiscatory, but if he loses I don't think he'll go around taking peoples houses.

:icon_geek:

tjamz;222170 wrote:
or...when Obama wins, I get a total of $10...

you know 5+5=10...right?

Right, but if he wins by the time you pay for your neighbors healthcare you'll only get $2 of it.

reshalghoul;221405 wrote:
Edit: I always make sure to wear a helmet (brain's too valuable) and I don't drive like an asshat. What's the name of the trucking company you manage (no reason)?

Make an intro thread and I'll think about it.

you know 5+5=10...right?

tjamz;222034 wrote:
willing to make a small wager there gsr? Say $5....nothing big, but just something to keep it semi-interesting?

I'll put $5 on it.

a bit of exaggeration on the amount of time, yes. wasn't it like six or eight hours for democrats, versus 1.5 to two hours for republicans?

Kinda shocked when I checked this the other day, as McCain had a substantial lead a few weeks ago.

DelSlow;222036 wrote:
Chuck i bet you $10 someone will win the presidency.

Clever.