People Hate Congress

Las Cruces, NM – Recently I heard a report that an estimated 13% of Americans still are against interracial marriages. Which is supposedly roughly the same percentage that believe they were visited, at some point, by Extra Terrestrials. However, even more interesting is that, as of today, that is roughly the same percentage -depending on who does the polling-that also approve of congress. In other words, it’s rare to find someone who thinks congress is, over all, doing their job right. As rare, it seems, or perhaps even rarer, then ETs.

But, surprisingly, or perhaps not too surprisingly, (it all depends on what surprises you) there is not often a massive turnover in congress. (Take the elections in two weeks, no large turnover is expected in the house, and everyone is still guessing about the senate, despite the basement level approval ratings.) And when there is a sudden flip in control, it is usually more of a referendum on a president and his policy, or a party and its mistakes, than it is about the actual congressman.

For most Americans who actually know who their congressman or woman is, they usually tend to think that he or she is doing a fine job. People are opposed to pork barrel spending. But if it is earmarked for them, they don’t seem to mind. Americans tend to hate congress. But they love their congressperson.

That can make it hard then, to cut spending. Everyone wants it done in a general sort of way. But begin cutting, and someone is going to start screaming. “Cut the pork, just not mine.” As long as plenty of representatives figure out a way to “bring home the bacon,” there won’t be too much complaining from constituents. That is not all that like to change. Perhaps less likely than that someday we will finally have proven that there really are little green men from Mars who kidnap people from the Bermuda Triangle when they bored, and helped to build the pyramids for the fun of it.

Andrew C. Abbott