In what seems to have become a semiannual event on Capitol Hill, Congress is once again facing the crisis of another government shutdown, and as usual, Americans are frustrated with the incompetency of their government. The New York Times reports eighty percent of Americans would find a government shutdown unacceptable, and according to recent Gallup polls, more than three-fourths of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing right now. Democrats hold only a marginal lead with a 34 percent approval rating compared to Republicans with 26 percent.
Americans are exasperated with their government and rightly so. The budget crisis is just one of many disappointments in recent years. Americans have had to watch their government fail to take action against many of the significant issues facing the country today, including a rapidly-expanding national debt and public shootings that have become disturbingly too frequent.
Surely the American people deserve better… Or do they?
Polls show that over the past four years, Congressional approval ratings have been consistently below 30 percent, yet what was the incumbency rate of the past two Congressional elections? 85 and 90 percent, respectively! Americans have no right to complain about the government if they’re going to continue to re-elect the same men and women who have failed them time and time again.
I realize that the approval rating corresponds to Congress as a whole, not individual members of Congress, but something is wrong when there is this large of a discrepancy between approval and re-election rates. In no way am I saying that Americans need to vote out the majority of Congressmen, but if we want Washington to do a better job, it starts with electing new officeholders.