In the eyes of the public, members of the U. S. Congress are not doing their job.
At the moment 75% of Americans disapprove of the actions, or inactions of Congress, with only 20% approving of the job Congress is doing (Gallup Poll).
In other words, the one thing most of us agree on is how little respect we have for the work the people we send to Washington to represent us are doing.
That’s really not news because we’ve all heard reports about the low approval Congress has had for years, but there is more to the story than you might think.
In fact, the rest of the story IS the story.
In January of 2009 the American public gave Congress an approval rating of 19%. This was at the beginning of the financial crisis President Obama faced that was caused by the Republican financial policies of the George W. Bush administration.
From mid 2009 and early 2010 that percentage rose to just above 30% as President Obama brought the country back from the brink of financial disaster.
But he never got the credit he deserved for what he did, and in 2010 Republicans took control of the House of Representatives and Mitch McConnell launched his now infamous strategy in the Senate, “If Obama is for it, we will be against it.”
Soon Congressional approval fell to 18% and has hovered in the teens ever since, reaching its lowest in November of 2013 when it hit 9%.
What these facts tell us is that the drop in the percentage of Americans who approve of the job Congress is doing is commensurate with Republicans controlling the House and, more importantly, Mitch McConnell’s leadership of Senate Republicans during the Obama years until today.
You will find extensive details about this development in my book, Evangelicalism and the Decline of American Politics, in which I connect the dots between the evangelical mantra, “compromise is betrayal,” and the strategy of obstructionism among Congressional Republicans.
The amazing thing is that this is something Mitch McConnell has bragged about.
During Obama’s first term McConnell openly stated that blocking everything Obama wanted to do was on behalf of the goal of making him a one term president.
In Obama’s second term the goal was to keep Obama from having his legislative victories, even if they would have helped the country, such as immigration reform, in order to help Republicans keep the Senate.
It was during this time that McConnell blocked Merrick Garland, Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, from even getting a hearing, one of the most shameful acts ever in the Senate, but something McConnell recently cited as his proudest moment as a Senator.
What is more, by his own admission, his obstructionism during the Obama years is now directed at House Democrats. If Democrats in the House send the Senate legislation, McConnell says Senate Republicans will automatically oppose it.
As Senate Majority leader, McConnell sets the legislative agenda for the Senate. Thus far, he has refused to allow any vote on any bill passed by the House. Not one.
So when Americans blame all members of Congress for not doing their job, they are painting with too broad a brush.
The evidence is clear and irrefutable. Congress is broken for one reason and one reason only, Senate Republicans led by Mitch McConnell.
But here’s the real story behind the story. Republican voters are saying by their vote that they approve of what McConnell is doing.
Republican voters claim to want to make great again. Frankly, that’s a crock, proven to be by the fact that they support keeping Mitch McConnell in power, the man who is the second greatest threat to our democracy, Donald Trump being the first.
McConnell will remain that threat as long as Republicans control the Senate.
The good news is that Democrats and independents can change that. There are more of us registered to vote than Republicans and independents.
So if we turn out to vote in 2020, we will save our country from the crisis, chaos, and decline we are now experiencing by defeating Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump with one fell swoop.
What a great day for America that will be.
linnposts.com 
Jan,
Your assertion that McConnell is the 2nd most dangerous man in America is correct, and you precisely state why!
Being not as civil as you, I would simply add that he has NO balls 🙂
Bill Blackwell
Bill, I like your description better than mine.
Exactly, Jan. A president who actively destroys in the name of getting even and a senator who blocks all action is a very bad combination. Add to that the systematic destruction of a non-ideological court, we have a must-win situation.
And win, we must, Charlie!
. . . And Harry Ried’s record for passing legislation coming from the House is . . . . . . . what ? ? ? How much did HE bring up before the Senate ??? How about that obstructionism???
Don’t talk in generalities, give me specifics. I gave some. I can give many more. Read my book. There are plenty of examples of Republican obstructionism in it. What I don’t get is why people like you support what is happening. Compromise is how our system works, and it did reasonably well until McConnell gained power. Don’t know why any American would support what he is doing. Makes no sense.
This man Mitch McConnell reminds me of Pierre Laval, the French politician who worked for the downfall of the French Third Republic, and the setting up of the pro-fascist Vichy government.
A contemporary once said of him: “…Everything about him (Laval) is black; his clothes, his hair, his eyes…his very soul.”
Nigel, what is stunning about people like McConnell and Laval is that they bring about the fascism they claim to be trying to prevent. Political evil always wears a white hat.
Hi Nigel, we likely agree on most political things as indicated by our mutual respect for and agreement with Jan’s posts. And while I agree that the general sentiment behind the quote you posted could apply to both Laval and President Trump, I must express considerable discomfort to the point of anger that they word “black” would be an acceptable description of the ugliness, incompetence, meanness, immorality, greed, selfishness, divisiveness, etc., that I assume the author intends. There has to be a better word. I don’t for a minute think you would express it that way but I felt compelled to address the quote. I mean no offense.
Thanks Jan. Congressional Republicans are spineless when it come to standing up to President Trump. The next election is our only hope
2018 lit the candle of hope, Wilbur. 2020 is when we make sure it is gets to full flame. It really is our ONLY hope. May all Americans realize it.
spot on Jan, likely a more dire scenario if McConnell aka “grim reaper” is the majority leader in the new Congress.
I’m hoping voters will turn out in record nubers to throw out Trump and McConnell. We can if we vote.
Just in the spiirt of what you would have done to me when I was your student, Gallup is the pollster and gallop is what horses do:-) Otherwise, great reflection.
That was a typo I completely missed. Thanks for catching it, Loren. Teachers are also students.