Nixon after Watergate; BP after the Gulf oil spill; America adopting communism; According to Gallup polls, all three historical or hypothetical scenes received higher popularity ratings than our current Congress.
A recent Rasmussen poll found that just 9% of likely U.S. voters think Congress is doing a good or excellent job. And that was before the Supercommittee’s super failure this November.
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The Supercommittee's Challenge
The bipartisan committee of 12 lawmakers, bestowed with almost limitless power to restructure our nation's budget a few weeks shy of an election year, failed to cut $1.2 trillion from the budget to avoid serious spending cuts in defense and other programs.
Analysts say the cuts will trickle down to state economies, like those with military bases.
It probably sounds crazy to even ask, but where's the silver lining?
The Silver Lining
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the failure shines a brighter light on the nation's 'enormous fiscal challenges,' but most of us would agree the light couldn't be much brighter. With the unemployment rate sitting at 9.0%, voters will go to the polls in 2012 with jobs on their minds. That leads me to the real silver lining.
The unpopularity of Congress, combined with this latest upset, could inspire a wave of political hopefuls ready with more ammunition to challenge the career incumbents many blame for the nation's staggering deficit and troublesome economy.
Does that equal a better economy in the near future?
We can't say for sure. But new ideas could be brought to the table to challenge the stale ones which frankly haven't gotten us anywhere.
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The Young & the Restless
This trend of political novices challenging the establishment has happened everywhere from Washington to Egypt. One example that is familiar territory for me happened in the Texas Legislature.
In 2008, the Democrats were revved up to get one of their own into the White House, and independents were shifting enthusiastically to the left. With the economic meltdown, bailouts and two wars raging, Americans were looking for something different.
That energy created a trickle-down ballot effect, where candidates at the bottom of the ticket benefit from the rally of support for the top -- in this case, our current President Barack Obama.
Democrat Wendy Davis won a seat in the Texas Senate held by Republican Kim Brimer, who had served in the Legislature since 1989. Six Republican house members were ousted by Democrats in 2008.
How the Ballot Effect Changed Washington
By 2010, the economy wasn't showing enough improvement for the new White House to maintain popularity. Again, voters were looking for change. Enter the Tea Party.
You may not agree with their politics, but they successfully capitalized on a growing anti-Washington sentiment during the mid-term elections, helping to send 87 new Republicans into the House. (It's worth noting that only 10 of them joined the Tea Party caucus once they got to Washington, though.)
The Investing Answer: It would be naïve to say freshman lawmakers aren't vulnerable to the same pressures that cause their longtime colleagues to bow to lobbyists and vote with their reelection campaign in mind. But there are plenty of advantages to new blood. Not only do they drive voter participation, they bring a fresh perspective from the world outside the beltway.
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