The public hates almost everything Congress has done

The public hates almost everything Congress has done

Byron York
Washington Examiner
Chief Political Correspondent
Sept. 13, 2010

Gallup has released a new poll asking respondents to assess the major accomplishments of Congress in the last two years: the national health care bill, the stimulus, the bailout of auto companies, the bailout of major banks and financial institutions, and the financial regulatory reform bill. The pollsters found majority opposition to all those measures, with the exception of financial reform.

The numbers: Bank bailouts, 61 percent disapprove versus 37 percent approve; national health care, 56 percent disapprove versus 39 percent approve; auto bailouts, 56 percent disapprove versus 43 percent approve; stimulus, 52 percent disapprove versus 43 percent approve. Only financial reform, with 61 percent approve versus 37 percent disapprove, is a winner for the representatives and senators seeking re-election.

Although the bank bailout was passed with significant bipartisan support, the news is terrible mostly for the House and Senate Democratic leadership. It's even worse for Democrats when you single out the opinions of independents. Just 32 percent of independents approve of the bank bailouts; 35 percent approve of national health care; 38 percent approve of the stimulus; and 40 percent approve of the auto bailouts. Sixty-two percent of independents approve of financial regulatory reform.

The most partisan division is found over the national health care bill. Sixty-nine percent of Democrats approve of the bill, opposed to just 13 percent of Republicans, and 35 percent of independents, who approve.

Given the bleak news for Democrats, it's no surprise that you're seeing more and more stories like this. The current Democratic majority is a party that wants to look to the future, not events in the distant past of 2009 and 2010.

I would submit that if those polled actually knew the truth about the so-called "financial reform" bill, that they would massively disapprove of that as well. Of course the mainstream media never mentioned that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac escaped any "regulatory reform" under this farce of a bill. And they never highlighted the massive transfer of power to the federal government over all financial institutions (except Fannie and Freddie) that this bill represents, or the tsunami of regulations these institutions can expect which will raise consumer prices for financial services as a result of that regulatory burden.

This is what the mainstream media does, they select the "facts" they present while omitting others. Yes, they don't exactly lie about the bill, but by omitting certain facts, they are in effect lying. It is just lying by omission. Denying the people vital information needed to correctly evaluate things like the "financial reform" bill. And this lack of information is clearly reflected in the polling.

It is easy to understand why the people objected to the stimulus bill, the auto "bailouts" (or takeover in the case of GM), and the "health care" bill. In the case of the first two, nearly two years later neither measure has really worked and that is something not even the mainstream media can hide. In the case of the "health care reform" bill, the people only need look to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and just about anything else the government has taken on in grand fashion and they can see the abject failure these programs have become over time.

But the banks and Wall Street are much easier to demagogue. It's the classic liberal playbook play, the "evil" rich against the downtrodden proletariat. The class warfare card if you will. And the vast majority of people just are not educated enough in economics to understand the problems the Democrats "financial reform" bill will ultimately create. And the mainstream media made sure that they did NOT get the facts they needed to properly evaluate this bill. The polling makes this very clear.

Can't argue with that. If one didn't have the internet, can you imagine the shit that would be forced upon this country in this day and age.... from both parties? For years, they had a ride made easy. Not anymore. It's over. Then the politicos on The Hill can't stand it when an organization calls them out on it.

On free speech.... how about the case where HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ letter to the health insurance lobby? Oh , this is good............
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/obamacares-threat-to-free-speech/

Oh trust me Tex, I know all about Sebelius' letter. This is what liberals do in this country. And it is only getting worse. Anyone that does not parrot the party line is a "hater" a "(name the category)phobe", a "racist" and even "anti-American." It would seem free speech only applies to those on the left in this country. All others need not apply.

What gets me about that letter is that if there's actually misinformation, then it's the gov'ts job to say so and then point out how that misinformation is wrong. Otherwise, if they can't defend the "misinformation", then they need to fess up or shut up.

TexasBlue wrote:What gets me about that letter is that if there's actually misinformation, then it's the gov'ts job to say so and then point out how that misinformation is wrong. Otherwise, if they can't defend the "misinformation", then they need to fess up or shut up.

Normally that would be the case, but we have a whole new cast of characters at the helm these days. We have an unapologetic Marxist as President, and his equivalent as the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader. We cannot expect these people to passively accept descent from the peons below them... those "bitter clingers" who "cling to their Bibles and guns."

ps: feel free to incorporate any of these smileys that I'm currently linking to on your site...

dblboggie wrote:ps: feel free to incorporate any of these smileys that I'm currently linking to on your site...

Done.