Last week, Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.) made an intriguing presentation to his colleagues at the Capitol, complete with charts and graphs to visually aid his argument.
And what was the topic? To sum it up simply, the public hates our friggin’ guts, Bennet told his legislative counterparts.
Only nine percent of Americans approve of Congress, according to a recent Gallup poll, Bennet showed.
To really get the point across, he demonstrated how much worse that approval rating was in comparison to other woes and evils. The public gives the IRS 40-percent approval, for example, and even BP had a higher rating (16 percent) right after last year’s infamous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Here’s a video of his presentation:
And what was the topic? To sum it up simply, the public hates our friggin’ guts, Bennet told his legislative counterparts.
Only nine percent of Americans approve of Congress, according to a recent Gallup poll, Bennet showed.
To really get the point across, he demonstrated how much worse that approval rating was in comparison to other woes and evils. The public gives the IRS 40-percent approval, for example, and even BP had a higher rating (16 percent) right after last year’s infamous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Here’s a video of his presentation:
(posted on youtube by SenatorBennet)
Here’s an image of the chart Sen. Bennet used in that presentation:
Here’s an image of the chart Sen. Bennet used in that presentation:
(snagged from the Washington Post)
The goal of Bennet’s presentation was to remind other senators how the public is really paying attention to their actions and results, as many in Congres continually fail to recognize. As a result, he implied, they need to overcome the polarity and start working together.
(Well, try telling that to our own Jim DeMint, Sen. Bennet. He was the one senator to vote against a bill aimed at getting jobs for military veterans.)
While Bennet offered some notable comparisons in his presentation, there are actually many, many other things – bizarre ones, even – that have higher approval ratings than our U.S. Congress does right now. For example:
Now, how low can you go?
On a brighter note, at least public opinion is far, far greater for the president, and even improving; 43% approve of Pres. Obama, according to a recent Gallup poll (…and even though 18% think he’s Muslim).
The goal of Bennet’s presentation was to remind other senators how the public is really paying attention to their actions and results, as many in Congres continually fail to recognize. As a result, he implied, they need to overcome the polarity and start working together.
(Well, try telling that to our own Jim DeMint, Sen. Bennet. He was the one senator to vote against a bill aimed at getting jobs for military veterans.)
While Bennet offered some notable comparisons in his presentation, there are actually many, many other things – bizarre ones, even – that have higher approval ratings than our U.S. Congress does right now. For example:
- 45% of Americans (and 70% of Republicans) think waterboarding is “sometimes justified”
- 44% believe we shouldn’t bother getting UN approval before invading a foreign country (thus violate treaties)
- 36% say purposefully defaulting on mortgage payments is okay
- 30% approve of pornography
- 25% reject the concept of evolution, saying it definitely did not happen, in approval of the “earth is only 6,000 years old and we once lived with dinosaurs” freako-theory
- 12% believe cloning humans would be morally acceptable
- 11% think polygamy is okay
Now, how low can you go?
On a brighter note, at least public opinion is far, far greater for the president, and even improving; 43% approve of Pres. Obama, according to a recent Gallup poll (…and even though 18% think he’s Muslim).
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