I don't think they're smart enough to know how bad of a job they're doing.

For the money they make, for not doing their jobs, why would they give a damn what the people think about them? Even if you took their pay and benifits away from them, they still have their under the table lobby money, which makes their normal government pay look sick. Oh, and don't forget their insider trading money they make from stocks. They really would feel hurt by the peoples opinion of them........IF, they had any feelings to start with.

yet many were RE- elected. so i ask, who are the true dumbass's here?

Best point yet scooter.

Of course not. These people have set themselves up for life at our expense.

Look at what Fuhrer Snyder did in Michigan with the Michisippi Republican Reich stag: Crammed legislation down the people's throats, and then passed laws making it tougher to recall them. Then they had the Wehrmacht Police close off the Capitol to quell dissent. Field Marshall Koch had his propaganda tents set up on the lawn 6 hours before sunrise. I'm sure that was spontaneous.

All of this "no rights at work" legislation was planned years in advance. THAT is why we tried to block it with Prop 2,....not the other way around as Herr Snyder would have people believe.

Legislatures around the country lack responsiveness to people's concerns. THAT is why We the People are near revolt.

The mid-term election will prove to be interesting for both the electors and the elected. The question I ask why would Congress work so hard to protect DOD spending but cast aside the importance of Social Security which is the safety net of the working poor. Social Security provides an actual retirement package for those citizens who will never realize a wage over $50K/year in earnings which is a majority of Americans. Why would any sentient thinking thing throw their own constituents under the bus to protect DOD spending? Does three votes from the wealthy trump thousands of votes from the middle class? From the actions of Congress it seems to be true and not a myth.

OK, almost all of us disapprove of Congress, and we say we want things to change, and then we go right ahead and reelect the same scalawags and rascals and send them right back to Congress. And they in-turn reelect the same failed 'leadership.'

This whole thing is more absurd than a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch!

Is the problem Congress, ... or is the problem us? We reelect these scoundrels, who fail time and time again to do their jobs. So we get the government we deserve. Until we the voters get a clue, nothing will change.

Put them all in the Unemployment line with no extended or any benefits for that matter. They suck worse than their terrible predicessors. F Grade..........

Well of course! If you only goal ... your sole purpose is to get reelected and, despite the dismal approval of the public, you keep getting reelected (reid, pelosi, boehner, etc) did why would you give a real chit about what the public "thinks." These politicans are there to tell us what and how to think.

I think Pelosi has only 2 brain cells left...both of which are fighting for control.

Unphased is fine. Unemployed is better.

I, for one, did NOT vote to re-elect my representative in November. I want Eric Cantor OUT of Congress. But the district is so gerrymandered that it will be a long time before he's voted out. I think it's time that the redistricting that happens after a census is taken out of the hands of the political party who has "power" and is instead put into the hands of a bi-partisan or independent commission. My father - who lives 3 1/2 hours away - is in the same "district" as the one that includes the next county over from where I live.

Congress only cares about getting richer on the backs of the taxpayers. They have no intention of representing the will of the people that elected them. The greed and corruption in our government, from the President down is so complete that I expect our government will collapse in a few years. They are completely disconnected from the people.

as people have stated we have to look no further than a mirror for someone to blame! we have become a people of blame the other guy! its time to start with personal responsibility! wake up america we are better than what we are becoming!

I think it's a mixture of piss-poor leadership in Congress right along with the voters who reelected these same scumbags into office. Considering the vast amount of differences of opinions here on the vine, I can with all certainty say that there are many different flavors of Kool-Aid being served. There are a lot of politicians who say, "you can all suck a big fat one and DIE! We hate your guts and we're gonna nuke your elementary schools!" And then there's the supporters who say, "You Republitards/Libtards don't know the first thing about A, B or C! You get what you paid for! BRING ON THE NUKES!" So it's a mixtures of BS that's just outright wrong.

Who's to blame for the bad congress? We are, the voters. While you can count me out of the mix as I didn't vote for a single one of these Teabag Douchetowels, the fact that they have an overwhelming majority of popular support pretty much closes the casket on this issue. They wanted to make Obama a one-term president at all other costs, and so did the voters in the deep south and midwest. Wadaya get? The worst, ineffective congress of all time, who couldn't even come together to help the people they couldn't give two rat turds about, all under the banner of getting rich and hate. Why hate? Look at Mitch McConnell, who filibustered his own proposal because the President thought it had merit, as one example.

Rick Santorum, during a speech in Florida, got a standing ovation for publicly calling Pres. Obama the n-word! Yes, he was defeated and dropped out of the race, but imagine if his daughter hadn't gotten ill and he was the presumptive nominee and not Romney...

Is the left spotless? No. Pelosi keeps getting reelected and, even as speaker of the house, she sucked. She was one of the most ineffective speakers in history who was told to sit down and STFU when the Repubs filibustered everything during the opening years of the Obama Administration. When everyone was in attendance (which was extremely rare), the Dems had the supermajority for all of 72 hours during the opening 2 years of Obama's presidency. Of course, so many Dems decided to go on vacation that their supermajority was nixed and the Repubs had a filibustering field day on the hill! I believe one guy even read the entire novel, "War and Peace" or "Gone with the Wind," IIRC, just long enough for a bill to die, horribly. And in those 72 hours did the Dems use that supermajority to their advantage?

Nope.

How did they all get elected and reelected in the first place? How does anyone get elected?

We are the problem. We are to blame. We need to come together and say "enough!" Hold recalls, hold these frauds accountable! Of course, if we don't give two craps, it means nothing in the end, and insanity rules. You know, if I keep punching a moving train over and over again, thinking I'm going to derail it, I'm going to end up losing both arms before the train even bothers to slow down for a red signal ahead of it. But hey, if at first, second, third, forth (all the way to fifteenth in some cases) you don't succeed... keep voting in the same lunatics. Maybe the 22nd time will do the trick... maybe...

In the August NBC/WSJ poll, even though only about one-in-ten Americans approved of Congress, four times as many said that their own representatives deserved re-election.

Perhaps we should be paying closer attention to our own representatives and to what they do (or fail to do) and to how they vote. That information is readily available.

Perhaps the real problem is that the American voting public is too gullible and too apathetic to choose our representatives wisely. The bozos in Congress take advantage of our laziness and lack of interest... they know that once they're in, they're likely to stay in unless they're involved in some sort of scandal.

We hand off the responsibility of governance to them and when they fail to accomplish anything, we just keep sending them back. That's what needs to change.

The Tea Party reps have been the worst, with their constant obstructionism and misguided ideology. VOTE THEM OUT.

Carl-404329

I think Pelosi has only 2 brain cells left...both of which are fighting for control.

That's still one more brain cell then then either Boehner and McConnella have left. Course together, they have two brain cells. Shame they sold out the American people for corporations.

As for Congress.... 12% approval rating? It doesn't phase you?? I was raised that you if you didn't do your job, you were fired. Why are re-electing them?

Problem is we get a choice of the piece of garbage we have who is almost never challenged by anyone from their own party, don't want to lose that partisan seat, running against what we know is a piece of garbage from the other party, so we end up voting for the lesser of two evils. Independents rarely get in unless they left one of the 2 major parties (Lieberman), then they caucus with their old party for the most part. Members of the other parties, Libertarians, Green party etc. usually end up being spoilers as they only garner enough votes to bring one side or the other down. We as voters are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Only thing I can see breaking the cycle is term limits, 3 terms for the house, 2 terms for the senate, and no lobbying for 5 years after leaving congress, good luck getting them to vote for limiting their own power.

Then we have the political problems with the supreme court who is supposed to be apolitical but can't tell the difference between a living human being and a corporation.

We're screwed

I only voted for two incumbents on the last election. One was head and shoulders better than the misogynistic, bible-thumping, control-freak fruitcake, good-ol'-boy's club member running against him. The second, the Sheriff, actually does his job, and does it well. Every other one on the ballot I voted against.

BTW, did everyone notice that our wonderful legislators, top to bottom, voted a raise for themselves. What a slap in the face of the American public. I took a major pay cut for three years, and then when our contract was re-negotiated, we agreed on no raises for three more years. (Yes, we are union, and we did everything we could to help out our employment situation. I work for the state, and because of our willingness to be flexible, knowing the great economic downturn, and supporting the efforts of all, we saved our state over a billion dollars, that with a B, too.) And these congressional clowns (and president) voted to give themselves a raise. What hubris!

Vote them all out. Find some decent people in your/our communities and get them running. My son retires from the air force in a few more years, and I have encouraged him to think about running for office when he gets out. He's got more smarts, more fairness, more ethics, more everything, and he would be a darned fine person to hold a political position. I know we have more good people out here/there. (It would never do for me to run, I'm not PC enough.) It's not too soon to start.

Agree antistupidity- I can count one one hand where I did not vote for the lesser of two evils.

A friend of mine recently made a substantial campaign contribution to Missouri Republican Congresswoman JoAnn Emerson when she ran for re-election in November. Then, a couple of weeks after she won, Emerson announced she was resigning in order to take a position as President and CEO of a major company that offered her the salary of 1.9 million dollars a year.

My friend was really ticked off, contacted Rep. Emerson's campaign manager and said he wanted his money back. The manager said that the contribution was to support the Republican Party, to which he replied, "No, I gave that money to HER specifically, not to the GOP."

Anyway, now there has to be a special elections held that is going to cost the State taxpayers $ 952,000. Also, the good folks of the Eighth District of Missouri will be without representation for a few months after Emerson leaves on Feb. 8.

So, let's see ... all those millions lost that were donated for her re-election, and now add another million for a special election.

Another Republican member of Congress sticks it to the People.

Anybody wonder what four turds in a row look like? Top pick says it all.

Guaranteed turnover: TERM LIMITS with ZERO extension of benefits or pensions at separation.

"Elected official" should NOT be a career

Of course Congress is unfazed by public disapproval - these crooks don't give a flying f..k about the People.

Ohio's 8th Congressional District:

Population (2000)
630,730

Median income
$43,753

Ethnicity
90.4% White, 6.4% Black, 1.2% Asian, 1.3% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American, 0.1% other

Would you people please wake up and GET RID OF JOHN BOEHNER!

yet many were RE- elected. so i ask, who are the true dumbass's here?

Exactly right, Scooter. Two hundred years ago there would have been a hanging party for these clowns rather than reelections. Should tell you everything you need to know about how far this Country has fallen.

And it's not just the fiscal state of our Country. It's the illegal, anti-Constitutional wars, criminal illegal immigration, the education system - there's such a disconnect between these dolts and the will of the people - it's a complete 180. Alice in Wonderland never had a better vision.

Three hundred ten plus million of us and this is the BEST we can come up with? Christ, we REALLY ARE doomed, I hate to say.

Perhaps if the voting public would vote these people out of office on election day, like I did in November, they would take notice. Until that happens, nothing will change and everyone will continue complaining. You as a registered voter have that power.

Why would they care, they already got what they wanted a PENSION and Health care, Unless We can take those benefits away for not doing their JOBS they really don't give a SH_T! Until the sheep wake the hell up these idiots will be there year after year, these morons don't get it, the RED states are the Welfare cases, these people live in poverty and think they are doing good as long as they got a CAN OF BEER!

They all should be tarred and feathered and run out of town. Perhaps the only way to try to control this mess is to elect as many independent politicians who are not connected to either party. Remember this next election.

The two party system in America is a total scam - the same garbage gets elected every time.

We, the people, are to blame. We allowed the legislature to do nothing except work for Big Business. It is good to see people coming together in agreement after the dismal mess we just witnessed. If we stick together we can make a difference. We are a powerful bunch when working together. We can begin recalling our representatives in the legislature today, if we want.

Intellect

The question I ask why would Congress work so hard to protect DOD spending but cast aside the importance of Social Security which is the safety net of the working poor.

Nobody was exactly protecting the DOD at this point. The cuts that were put on 2 months delay were out of concern for the jobs that would be lost by Private industry. Sitting in the wings is a republican proposal that will cut the DOD by about 50 billion per year (Current Budget is $700 Billion).

The big reason these program saving cuts were not made is that the democrats don't really want to make any cuts. They want to tax their way out of it even though doing so is clearly impossible.

Social Security provides an actual retirement package for those citizens who will never realize a wage over $50K/year in earnings which is a majority of Americans.

Social Security was never intended to be a retirement plan. It was supposed to be a retirement supplement. Over time it has become treated as a retirement plan and a load of money the federal government to borrow. This is why social security is again headed to insolvency.

Now, if you really wanted to treat Social Security as a retirement plan you could, but you have to get our government's hands out of it. Treat it like the current 401K system and privatize it. This was proposed by Reagan and the conservatives in the 80's. The idea was picked up by more than 20 countries. None of the plans are anywhere near broke and the worst managed one has twice the return in benefits to the recipients.

Frankly why should they care? We re-elected these bozos, so as far as they are concerned they have carte blanche to do whatever they feel is in the best interest of their donors.

If a tornado hit Ohio, I'm sure John Boehner would have voted for a bill that day.

The Tea Party only wants to stick to it's "no taxes" mantra if they are sticking it to blue states.

Cowards....all of the republicans are.....

Maybe now we can get rid of Boehner as speaker of the house and get someone else in there willing to lead the GOP.

GTR5. I've got the feathers and a rail. Maybe someone can come up with some torches and pitchforks, as well. I think we might find someone with tar.

Old joke: A guy is driving through Washington D.C., and there's a huge traffic jam. As he sits in traffic, a cop is walking down the road and talking to each driver. Finally, he gets to the guy's car. The guy asks, "What's happening?"

The cop says, "Terrorists have taken over Congress. We have stopped traffic for safety concerns. The terrorists are demanding $10 million ransom or they will throw gasoline all over the congressional members and set them afire. We (the cops) are going down through traffic to collect donations."

The guy asks, "How much are people donating?"

The cop replies, "About a gallon each."

deleted by author

Robert in Oregon

OK, almost all of us disapprove of Congress, and we say we want things to change, and then we go right ahead and reelect the same scalawags and rascals and send them right back to Congress.

Congress is polarized because America has become so polarized. It has become so polarized because you have two groups that have become so polarized.

As long as the Democratic Party plays the spoiled child and continues to falsely call Republicans Racists, bigots, religious zealots, and Homophobes there will be no meaningful changes.

It is partisan and polarized because the democrat see that as a way to gain & maintain control of people.

For all of those of you out there asking, "How did they get re-elected?' It is called Gerrymandering and is done by both parties when they are in power. Some districts end up looking like snakes so that the party in power keeps getting elected.

A warning! To all those of you mentioned the boot of Bonehead! "There are far worse republicans out there than that dweeb! I hope a teabugger will get the job and be the final nail in the republican coffin!

Db, Take a dose of reality fella? Or gal?

Go to a congressional district represented by a Tea Party supporter. Spend some time among its people. Several things will become clear.

1. These districts are remarkably homogenous. Usually, they are populated by middle-aged and older white folks who prefer their venue, at least partially, precisely because it is populated predominantly by people very much like themselves. Generally, they abhor diversity.

2. These folks are much more concerned with maintaining their culture and heritage than they are about abstract philosophical or political concepts. They understand that American demographics are changing in ways that threaten their culture. They are quite willing to throttle democratic principles and mechanisms in pursuit of protecting their "way of life".

3. Many folks in Tea Party districts view the federal government as a threat to their culture and a potential rival in a future armed conflict. Therefore, steps they can take to weaken the federal government, despite negative consequences even to themselves, are actively sought and pursued.

4. Tea Party constituents are often viewed (especially by liberals) as espousing political spin or outright lies. Examples are the birthers, the militias, the survivalists, the anti-communists, and the end-timers. We find it difficult to comprehend that these folks actually believe their extraordinary (even absurd) positions. Yet, they do. Surely, some of them do stretch the truth and engage in political spin. But, by and large, they actually do believe the things they say. Visit some of the right-wing blogs for an easy view of this. But, time in their communities will convince you.

5. Many Tea Party members believe they are engaged in an existential struggle with liberal ideologies. They see themselves as substantially disadvantaged by the "liberal media", the international "New World Order" (fronted by the United Nations), and a worldwide Islamic conspiracy bent upon world domination and (especially) destruction of (their) Christianity.

Here is how the foregoing might be relevant to the subject of this article: Tea Party members of Congress have little allegiance to the United States as a whole. They believe the United States is irrevocably broken and must either be destroyed and rebuilt and/or they must protect their constituents from it however they can. Thus, we should not expect for these representatives to act in politically rational ways (as we have come to understand that).

The Tea Parties do not want to strengthen the United States (government). They want to weaken it. They will take whatever steps (i.e. weakening U.S. credit by refusing to raise the debt limit) they can to do precisely that. We must formulate our response with this fact firmly in mind.

Social Security was never intended to be a retirement plan. It was supposed to be a retirement supplement.

It is a supplemental plan. Many people have saved for retirement and Social Security is supplemental. Some had medical expenses that wiped out their savings so social security ends up being there only income and some did not earn enough to save on their own so it has become a retirement plan for them. However Social Security and Medicare pay for themselves through payroll taxes.

Nobody runs social security as well as the government. Privatization has proven to be a mistake. Privatization is a way to increase costs. Here in Nebraska, the state tried privatizing DHHS. Three companies got contracts, two failed with a few months and the third kept demanding more money once the state downsized. The state finally took it back and is doing the great job it did with much less money than the private companies did.

The house of Tea Insanity are the culprits !

Mary Jones-1616541

I don't think they're smart enough to know how bad of a job they're doing.

>>>

Ha! You got it. Combine that with the fact that they are living in "their own world" down in Washington and you see why this stuff happens. Many of them are not very smart, and neither are the people that elected them. Look at BARNEY FRANK for god's sake. Half the things he says embarrasses me.

I am not picking on either party here, I am an independent. Frank and Kerry happen to be the closest to home for me and in my opinion both embarrassing.

Ok kids, here's what we've got to do to fix this mess and get Congress back to doing the people's business and stop all the monkey business.

1. Get rid of the Gerrymandered, bullet-proof districts that insure a Republican or a Democrat is elected each and every time. They've got to go. These bozo's have got to be answerable to ALL the people ALL the time.

2. Reinstate the FAIRNESS DOCTRINE in broadcasting and put an end to hate radio and television which is contributing to our national polarization.

3. Get the big money out of politics. Strike down Citizens United and all it's related decisions and clamp down on campaign spending.

4. Make it easier to recall or "fire" a worthless member of congress. Say, maybe 10% of his or her district sign recall petitions then a special election has to be held or something.

5. Get rid of all the lobbyists, period.

Ok, that's a good start and before long we'll see Congress doing a much better job and if not, we'll be able to FIRE THEM.

That's right, sit here and whine like babies. You are all a bunch of idiots! You are the problem here. I have told you time and time again for years to clean out congress. But you re-elect the same crap. I have told you that congress stand there and lie to get your vote and then ignore you. Now, I see posts here about what I have been saying, but you people are so stupid.

With the fiscal cliff crap. What a joke. They were all grandstanding. They knew what they were going to do and none of it was really going to the help the american people. And, for you being so stupid, you do not deserve it.

Budget cuts, what a joke!!! CUT FOREIGN AIDE!!!! Start at home first!!! Those people in other countries don't get the money, it is just like the american government, they keep it and then use it against us.

Womens health and birth control, another joke!! The best form of birth control is DON'T DO IT!!!!. And it is free. There are so many things that the money is wasted on and you people keep letting it happen.

Government supports illegals and breeders out of social security money. I worked for it and it is mine. Not some entitlement.

Obamacare is a joke just like obama. Everyone is going to pay for this bull. Those pigs in wdc are voting themselves another raise and your stupid president okayed it. Most of the country did not want obamacare, yet the crooks you keep voting in said they wanted it and ignored the country.

When your congress people retire or get voted out, they keep their pay every year. American idiots should have a say in that, and about giving them a raise. If those crooks in wdc had any respect for you and themselves, they would not take a raise.

So, all you whiners get off the internet and start calling these crooks up and demand justice for the american people. No, you will just sit here and whine and blame democrats or republicans or some body else for what YOU did and keep letting it happen. If you people had half a brain, when you voted for all this crap, including that president, you never, never gave a thought about your kids and grandkids, what you have done to them.

Huskergal, stick together, that won't really work. Most of the people don't stick together. They blame everyone else except themselves. Those who voted for obama have pushed this country into a hole that we will never get out of.

Thank you stupid america.

Scooter nailed it. Why should Congress care what we think. Just about every election cycle better than 90% of incumbents seeking re-election win. It makes little difference whether they are doing a good job or a poor one, they win. Gerrymandered districts, millions in campaign funds from special interests, and a voting public that is lazy, apathetic and ignor ant. And when the electorate does get interested, they usually get it wrong--see the TP victories in 2010.If 50% of the eligible electorate shows up in 2014 that will be amazing. As Pogo said: "We have met the enemy and it is us."

"There's a disconnect there," he said.

Well no kidding. Half the population can't name the vice president, how can we expect them to understand the dynamic between the House and the Senate and if one is bent on obstruction how it can bring progress to a screeching halt.

If you want to progress as a nation.

Vote every republican out of every office every chance you get.

I'll try the abusive relationship method:

"Congress- You know I love you baby. I only yell at you when you deserve it.... and that's a lot. I tell you not to go out and spend my hard earned money, but you do. I tell you that I have things to do and we have a budget, but you go ahead anyway and take my money away and just spend it. I tell you that I've got plans for us, but you don't listen. You know we have rules, but you don't follow them. Just use your head baby, that's all it takes. Now cut that #$%& out and let's move on."

If Congress were a relationship we'd all have divorse lawyers a long time ago. Under 10% approval rating for years, not doing their job for over 3 years (national budget), and mercelessly spending our money with no regard to what we could be doing with it is reckless. They are vote pandering hypocrites whom are taking our representation to the bank and selling us out at every turn to maintain their power. BOTH parties included.

DB,

yes, America has been polarized, but don't you have a clue that your comment might, in some way, have a teeny, tiny part in this polarization?

Smirking syncophants have never been popular - no matter what delusions they my hold.

DB,

Perhaps if the GOP got off of the "Ban gay marriage, personhood amendment, human's rode around on dinosaurs creationist, global warming isn't real, food stamp president, Mexicans are illegal, Muslims are terrorists, legitimate rape, bandwagon" folks wouldn't feel that way about them.

But when you allow the craziest members of your party to go unchecked and scream the loudest, don't cry when you get a reputation for being, well, crazy.

Everyone Else,

Yes, voting them out would work, if WE HAD OTHER PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR. The problem here is that we're dependent on the people in congress to change the system, in order to allow us to have more fair elections and better candidates, so we don't have to vote for the people in congress. Why would they do that?

Members of Congress know exactly what they are doing, it is everyone else that stupidly thinks they work for the American people. People go to Washington for themselves and their own financial futures. As long as voters are stupid enough to continually send the same people to Washington, that fact is never going to change.

Cat, if you want to see a gerrymandered district, try looking at Representative (D)Bobby Scott's district.

DB is delusional or slurping the Kool-Aid...or both. He/she should keep away from Fox News as it is known to be detrimental to rational brain function.

Ian has it 100% right.

The problem is that the primary and the two party system means that we get stuck with these numbnuts and find it VERY difficult to find someone with talent from outside the system to vote for. There is only one Bernie Sanders and that's too bad! Like him or not, he has an original point of view and is not afraid to use logic.

Unloved for so long, Congress not fazed by public's disapproval

I can almost hear the conversations at the steak houses, cigar/cognac bars, between congress-people, BIG business, and their lobbyists about the "little people" who constantly vote them back into office, it probably starts off something like:

F— — k-Em, we're the bosses!!!!

Skip: You considering a run for office? If so, I'll move to Oklahoma. Just let me know. How did lobbying ever become legal? Legislation for sale to the highest bidder? Mystifying.

I wonder how many in America understand that if they actually came to consensus that we must get our books in order and start paying down our debt and cut everything to the bone to get it done that EVERYONE will feel some pain. It cannot be about special interest or I have mine, let's cut yours mentality.

Once Congress realizes Lady Liberty's feet are turning black, and have no choice but to either pull the plug or save her, it would not surprise me if their approval rating went negative.

The answer is simple, "Don't re-elect your own bonehead" !!!!

I repeat, "Don't re-elect your own bonehead" !!!!

Repeat after me, "Don't re-elect your own bonehead" !!!!

A different viewpoint: it's a weird consequence of free market media. Rush Limbaugh, and then Rupert Murdoch, discovered that there is a lot of money to be made out of exaggerating resentment and riling up people. The conservative entertainment industry turned politics into a sports contest, in which we root for our teams like we root for professional football teams. It has gotten so extreme, a large part of the nation actually wishes for economic hard times just to make the ruling party look bad.

Prior to cable news, back in the days of a handful of news stations and the fairness doctrine, our political discussions were way more balanced and reasonable. Now the financial incentive for Fox (and now MSNBC) is to make the other side look as unreasonable as possible.

We've created a world, ruled by profit, where there is no incentive to be balanced, and all the incentive is to make half of the nation hate the other half.

It doesn't matter what the public approval rating is. It only matters what their lobbyist approval rating is.

The problem is that the primary and the two party system means that we get stuck with these numbnuts and find it VERY difficult to find someone with talent from outside the system to vote for

Yes, voting them out would work, if WE HAD OTHER PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR

and that, in my humble opinion is where we, the voters, are at fault. We demand cookie cutter speeches from our nominees, and freak out if they smoked a doobie when they were in junior high school. The campaign speeches are all tested, scored and rehearsed, we swallow up those absurd commercials, and we shun anyone who thinks outside the box

what people need to do is vote out the incumbent in every seat no matter what... forget about party..

why? because the blind liberals versus conservatives thing obviously isn't working....

vote 50 plus % of them out one election.... then you'll get their attention....

On election day congress had a 9% approval rating yet WE re-elected 93% of them. How stupid are WE? The congressman from Minnesota that was not re-elected was one of the guys trying to change the system and cut spending. Instead, they elected an old congressman that want to INCREASE GAS TAX! Pelosi just put him on the transportation committee. How stupid is Minnesota?

#1.57, That sounds like the Tea Movement talk serving up crackers to their boss - Koch Industries !

#1.57, That sounds like the Tea Movement talk serving up crackers to their boss - Koch Industries !

When Bush was president, congress got a free pass, and everything was Bush's fault.

Since you're not allowed to disagree with Obama without being labeled a racist, all the blame falls on congress.

Fact is, they're all incompetent, and none of them are looking out for us.

So we shouldn't blame our congressmen; they are by and large open about what they'll do in congress before "we vote them in, and then they are true to their promise. What we should blame is the conservative entertainment industry for profiting off of discord. When the history of our times is written, I hope that Rush Limbaugh and Rupert Murdoch go down as two of the most evil and harmful people in our culture. I know their adherents will bring out a long list of pre-programmed complaints about the NY Times and Rachael Maddow, but here is how you know which side is the real problem, and this is very important.

MSNBC, as reflected in this very thread, allows all viewpoints. What is called "leftist" or "progressive" theory stands up to all criticism, and is basically and fundamentally sound in its philosophy - for example, rasing taxes can be used to lower deficits, stimulus can create jobs, etc.

Fox News (as symbol of the Conservative Entertainment Industry) cannot stand up under criticism. Fox does not allow open posting at its website because it is afraid to let its audience hear contradicting opinions. I went on Fox Nation and posted, never using obscenities, never personally attacking anyone, but simply identifying the tricks in the various Fox stories design to mislead (unreported facts, distorted facts, etc.). I was banned for life from Fox in just a week or so. This is because the fundamental basis of conservative philosophy is no longer sound - we cannot balance the budget with these low taxes and high military spending, it is not fair to make current workers pay current retirees social security, but leave those workers high and dry in 20 years, liberals do not want free handouts from rich people, unions are not all-powerful thug organizations that are terrorizing our hard-working rich people, etc.

We need to not attack the symptom (congress) but rather the root cause (the conservative entertainment industry). We need to quit treating stupidity as a valid political philosophy out of some sense of fairness. Michelle Bachman, Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum - these are deeply stupid people, and we need to call them on it. We need to expose the true nature of Fox News, which is shameless misleading for corporate profit. Heck, Rupert Murdoch has said - he is not a conservative himself. He thinks his own audience is fundamentally dumb. He only runs this stuff int he USA for the same reason he ran porno channels in England, to make money. And he doesn't care about the harm he does to our nation.

the reasons congress is un-aware is simple;

free health care, free office space, free travel, free food(lunch with lobbyists or house cafeteria, really good food, at a very small price), office staff paid for, extra money to serve on any committee, much more if you are a chairperson), very big salary, tax deduction for living expenses in Washington, speaking tours to exotic places paid for by outside interests ,, insulated from day to day problems, and most of all, they believe all who are outside of their Washington elite are the great un-washed.

They are "FAZED"

by

Grover Norquist.

WE DON'T DEMAND that they uphold their PLEDGE to us.

"On election day congress had a 9% approval rating yet WE re-elected 93% of them. How stupid are WE?"

But the reason is there and clear: leftists don't like congress because there are too many conservatives failing to do things like job creation, and devoting too much time to abortion legislation and anti-science stuff and making Michelle Bachman speeches that make no sense. Meanwhile, the right doesn't like congress even though the majority is GOP because congress isn't doing the impossible things that the conservative entertainment industry is saying is easy to do, like cutting spending by a trillion dollars while preserving our military and churning out their social security checks.

What we need to do is get rid of the stupid in conservative politics. If conservatives saw what their entertainers tell them is the proper thing to do (cut all taxes to zero, invade Iran, invade Syria, etc.) was, in fact, really impossibly impractical, then we could move forward into electing people who will actually be able to govern. But so long as conservatives are deep in the grip of stupid, there is little hope for America except gridlock. The only silver lining is that gridlock, now that we are on a path set by the Dems in 2009/2010, is not entirely a bad thing.

"free health care, free office space, free travel, free food(lunch with lobbyists or house cafeteria, really good food, at a very small price), office staff paid for, extra money to serve on any committee, much more if you are a chairperson), very big salary, tax deduction for living expenses in Washington, speaking tours to exotic places paid for by outside interests ,, insulated from day to day problems, and most of all, they believe all who are outside of their Washington elite are the great un-washed."

I don't believe this is the real problem. FDR and JFK were very privledged, but they were great for middle class people. I think the real problem is people like Michelle Bachman and Ryan West who really believe the complete nonsense spouted by CEI spokespeople like Sean Hannity. They really believe that welfare is bankrupting us (not noticing that the total cost of $20b is trivial), that unions are unfair to the Koch Brothers and other rich people, that scientists are liberals misled by the NY Times, that Obama is a Kenyan, and so on. It is not elitism, it is stupidity that is the root cause of our bad House.

The entire government system is out of control and this is a direct reflection on this president that is well on his way to another 4 years of failure. The worst is yet to come, sadly.

1.73

noncoms

Yesterday, I heard Michelle Bachmann whimper and whine how she did not have time to read the Fiscal Bill.....it was late and she was tired.

All those PAID aides waiting on Congress members...and they want US to cut back.

Those aides bring them glasses of water, put the HIGHLIGHTED papers in front of of them, find their coats, and escort them out of the building in a PRIVATE elevator into a chauffered HEATED car.

They answer the phones, write the letters, maintain their Washington & Home office, and do their errands.

And yet...she WHINES.

And Listens to the wrong SOURCES: CASE IN POINT:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/sep/21/michele-bachmann/michele-bachmann-accuses-nancy-pelosi-spending-100/

There is no end to the stupidity of those who spread slander.

No surprise its that low or that they don't care. Clear that they don't listen to the American public anyways and they have theirs so what else really matters? Only listen if you have $$$ to give them, that is both sides of the isle BTW.

They live in different world and by different rules. Do as I say not as I do.

This is why we need term limits, strict rules regarding lobbyists, repeal of Citizens United, stricter rules on campaign funding, enforcement and prevention of Gerrymandering (should be by population only, write a program and let a computer make the map), and a break from our two party system where at least a 3rd option if not 4th option is included on a national level and given same platform in debate with the two current parties.

We as the American public also need to get our heads out of our rears, ignore the BS the media spews out, start thinking for ourselves, and stop electing these idiots repeatedly (though things above that I listed would help with that problem some).

It is time America. Congress is failing us. We need to come together and let them know once again who they work for and stop this divided crap and nonsense that is getting us no where.

"well on his way to another 4 years of failure"

This is a sign of the problem. People actually think Obama was a failure. DJIA from 6600 to 13,300; unemployment from 10.2% to 7.7%; GDP from -7% to +3%; US dollar rising 10% in 2012; deficit reduced by $300b over the last 3 years, and so on.

We need to point out to people - if you think Obama is a failure, you've been tricked by the CEI. You are the problem, because you are probably voting for idiots like Michelle Bachan, Ryan West, Rick Santorum, etc.

Let's keep in mind we are the ones voting for these guys. We should be building special prisons for them.

I have to say the voters are the problem. When people stop voting these inept people back into congress then the problem will start to resolve itself. You can't fix the problem by voting the problem back into office. Get a clue people and wake up. Congress as a whole is broken. Every representative needs to be voted out. And There needs to be term limits to stop people from voting in these career politicians that don't do a damn thing for society except suck our nation dry.

I just wish I could vote on my pay raises and name a few post offices. Oh, and get some inside trader information so I can make some additional money too.

Both the House and Senate have websites with email contact forms for all members. Write your congress critters early and often. They care, slightly, about constituent mail. The Speaker has a special website so be sure to write him too! You can wite the majority and minority leaders as well as your own. Some member websites, like Ryan's, don't accept out of district email. Snail mail works too, possibly better since it is actual hard copy. You might even get a canned acknowledgement though it may be months after the fact.

Wite your Congress Critters today and whenever you want to express you opinion or offer constructive suggestions. Its the only way to counteract the $$$$ their owners give them.

It is simple. TAKE THE PORK BARREL ADDITIONS OUT OF THE BILL!!! Why is there always SOMETHING added to each and every proposal that is submitted. That is truly sickening.

For those that don't realize it yet, there IS pork in the Sandy bill too!

1.81

NEWSFLASH:

Wite your Congress Critters today and whenever you want to express you opinion or offer constructive suggestions. Its the only way to counteract the $$$$ their owners give them.

Their paid AIDES read that stuff.

They censor it, and sanitize the public's remarks. That is how they keep their jobs.

Sit in on a Washington SENATE or HOUSE session. You are not allowed to make a peep, carry a phone, or a camera, or ride in THEIR elevators.

If we 'hate' incumbent politicians who got us in this mess, exactly why did we re-elect them?

Yeah, exactly.

Moron politicians didn't get their jobs without a good number of morons to vote for them. So stop lying.

We want less money and we lie that we don't. Simple.

@RI mom:

....or ride in THEIR elevators.

Sorry, that actually makes sense to me. I'd like my Congress protected. Can't imagine that security inside an elevator would allow for that. Also, yes, I actually get the point of not having people speak in Congress either. Really, nothing would get done. I get your point, but accessibility has to be done in a way that makes sense. Do Congressmen use it to make excuses not to see you and instead see all their lobbyists? Yeah. But I don't think the answer is having a mob mentality filling the hall where they speak.

Now, if Congress only did actual work. See, THAT is the problem here. Not the speaking.

Here's another thought I can throw in about this republican party.....most of you would remember this, some don't want to remember it, but it's still out there, you can find it and read about it.

But what can be expected from a party who opposed medical benefits to the 911 responders, even after many of them could no longer work from their conditions; had exhausted their medical insurance; and many had died or had terminal illnesses because of the work they did on 9/11.

1.85

There are hundreds of guards EVERYWHERE in Congress... at all doors, in the hallways, outside, inside, in the bathrooms.

You can't enter the building without going through a thorough security check. They take away your chewing gum...and pat you down.

The hallways have security every few feet.

It is the SAFEST place in America.

This "bubble" world is not our reality.

Of course we want their security...but CLEARLY, their world does NOT reflect mine....

and they have NO INTEREST in looking at public polls.

Antistupidity

Problem is we get a choice of the piece of garbage we have who is almost never challenged by anyone from their own party, don't want to lose that partisan seat, running against what we know is a piece of garbage from the other party, so we end up voting for the lesser of two evils.

100% true! I was determined to go in and vote out every incumbant but then when I started to research their opponents, I realized that they were even worse than what we already had! So I had to go with the lesser of 2 evils.

SDN- thanks for the shout-out and the kind words, I really appreciate it.

No, I have no plans to run for office. I'd be a terrible lawmaker because I would constantly be tattling on the mis-deeds and backroom deals. Within hours of taking my seat in whatever office I would be elected to I'd be ostracized, persona non grata, because I won't play the game.

Besides, I'm an independent and in this state there is NO chance an independent could even get on the ballot, much less elected.

No, poor backward Oklahoma will continue to be the runt of the litter with regards to our politics. Look at who we send to Washington. Inhofe? Coburn? They are a national embarrassment.

No, I much prefer my position as gadfly to joining the club as an elected official.

I stand by my comments. Our Congressmen and women no longer work for us....we the people...they work for the lobbyists and the big money men and don't have to pay any attention to us because they have constructed virtually bullet-proof districts where they or someone just like them can be elected and re-elected in perpetuity. They don't have to worry about what we think about them, because we don't matter, to them. We can't fire them. We can't cut their pay or start disciplinary action against them because they are bullet-proof thanks to redistricting.

I'm pretty sure the founding fathers did not intend for that to be the case and I'm certain if they saw the mess we've made of their beautiful experiment they would ask themselves "We started a revolution and risked our lives for this?"

Ian: Nicely stated. In spite of the fact there isn't, and never has been stasis in this universe, or the conservative version, some still hold that change, any change, is bad by definition. Holding a position that is in direct opposition to the most fundamental reality baffles me. Everything changes every second - recognizing change, adapting and using change to your advantage seems by far the most rational, realistic course of action.

All the approval rating means is that the media did a good job of demonizing Congress since the 2010 election. If we insist on playing the blame game instead of trying to find the least painful spending cuts and most effective tax increases, then we will wind up like Spain and France.

RI Mom- You are hitting on all cylinders today. Congress wants their rights, your money, and wants to remove your rights. As you note- THEY get security and guns, we shouldn't have the right to have them. THEY have money, airplanes, staffing, pensions, high incomes and perks, and benefits while we shouldn't get them- we should hop on board the "you'll get what you get" government network.

I've always loved these; "That's right, sit here and whine like babies. You are all a bunch of idiots!"

Just wants to make you run out and join whatever party this person belongs to. It doesn't? With all the obviously careful consideration, critical thinking and linear logic of this statement? "You all are a bunch of idiots." Jeez, and all this time I had no idea.........

theCavalier

If I met a republican that voted against the fiscal cliff on the street, I'd spit on his shoes.

Ah, another entitlement baby that just can't fathom FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. If our country would just stick to the governing document of our country, (it's the Constitution since you seem to have forgotten that) we would have absolutely NO issues right not.

But the plan seems to be to ELIMINATE that document that details all the freedoms that made our nation great. All three branches of the government are SO CORRUPT it does not stand a chance.

AND IT IS YOUR FAULT

What is amazing is how ignorant so many people can be. When the mainstream, liberal biased media does nothing but bash Congress 24/7, of course people become somewhat brainwashed into thinking what they're hearing is true. Obama can do no wrong. He has not been held accountable by anyone, including the media for perhaps the worst 1st four years in office. It's Bush's fault; it's the fault of Congress for not "just going along" with anything he wants. In an odd twist, if Kerry had been President the past four years, you and the media would have been calling for a new candidate this past election. I guess checks and balances don't mean anything to you people; just say yes to anything he wants. Unlimited spending, unlimited debt ceiling, just approve Obamacare (even though we can't afford it); let's raise taxes on just 2% of the population, as that will generate enough revenue to run government for two days only. Every comment I read on hear I have already heard on one of the liberal, biased talk shows or read in an article. I guess you can't or don't want to imagine if the liberals had full control of the House and Senate. Every person addicted to government entitlements, paid for by my taxes, which are now 39.7% of course hate anyone that might take something away that they feel they are entitled too.

We should have got rid of all of them, starting with the White House, Senators and The House

But we (our country) elected them.. Worst US government ever!

I'll bet Presdient Obama will sign this turd into law.

Intellect-1949393

The question I ask why would Congress work so hard to protect DOD spending but cast aside the importance of Social Security which is the safety net of the working poor

I'll start off by saying we spend WAY too much on our military but...having said that...

Our government is Constitutionally obligated to do one thing while having no @!$%#ing business doing the other. Whoever thought it was a good idea to place our retirement in the hands of people less trustworthy than used car salesmen was a @!$%#ing idiot. And people who want those same people (did you read the article?) to continue to hold our futures in their hands are equally idiotic.

As a former Republican (BB - Before Bush), if there's one thing I know for certain about the GOP, it's that it is a good ole bois network. Right now, the GOP is hugely uncomfortable about the number of women who were elected to Congressional seats. The GOP also lost a handful to Democrats. And still they persist in their white, middle aged male supremacy. They control your tax dollars. They make the laws....THEY can be impeached by the only people who matter....We the taxpaying American voters.

What an ingenious idea those Founding Fathers had when they created our Constitution. They knew they could leave enough room to remove from office those who do not represent ALL of their constituents. The way I see it is this: We have a government of the people, for the people, by the people and that's an inalienable right according to the Constitution. We THEY have is a desire to takeover the US government and turn it into America Inc. where we the taxpayers become their serfs and our tax dollars are used entirely to help grow wealth of 1% and the Corporate Welfare state.

Meanwhile back on Main Street, the tide is turning and the angst has grown to screech level proportions. What the GOP and their good ole bois don't like anyone to think about is our rights. Those of us who study our rights and know them, know how easy it is to get rid of obstructionists, elected or not. On the state levels, we take away their jobs all the time. We can do the same on the federal level as well.

If these obstructionists persist in their back room agenda to take over our paychecks, our lives and our futures, they deserve no less than impeachment en masse is that's what they want. And, all they have to do is check the Constitution...Americans have always had the Constitutional right to restore government to the democracy upon which it is based.

Congress may not be "fazed" by public disapproval. They WILL definitely be fazed by impeachment if they don't start toeing the line and do what voters elected them to do. Anything less is malfeasance of their duties.

Skip: You're right about the not-so-slow evolution of the impetus in Congressional mentality. I wonder if we haven't actually reached the 'tipping point' of absolute corporate control of Congress, and consequently, this nation.

As the corporate salaries skyrocket, the productive workers in America see their buying power, and standard of living, eroding at a similar pace. I'm beginning to wonder also, is this loss of balance of power solvable by peaceful methods? I, for one, certainly hope so. We don't need another "Civil" war - probably the most classic of all oxymorons.

Wall Street, the banks, the energy companies, pharma, insurance sectors (among others) have bled this nation dry. When the greed reached an hysterical level, some of these entities imploded. Who was called on to bail them out? This nation, of course - the same nation they had just raped and pillaged.

You're right, of course - reason and responsibility have become qualities that make one un-electable in any arena.

Idaho...Steven...You have an IRA? A 401K? You expect ROI on those? Well? How dare you call anyone who invested 4 or more decades into SS, Medicare and Medicaid "entitlement babies?" I'm guessing no one in Idaho is on SS? On Medicare? On Medicaid?

Did Idaho need those new military bases? Unless Idaho considers Canadians terrorists, Idaho is about as likely to need new military defense bases as a pig in a poke. Yet, your entitlements to MY tax dollars that paid for that 2007 debacle isn't considered an "entitlement?" When Idaho starts paying its fair share of federal taxes like the northeastern states are paying, let me know.

I'm fed up with the midwestern and southern tripe always lobbing criticisms on every else when their own backyards need a whole lot of clean up.

ewent

Right now, the GOP is hugely uncomfortable about the number of women who were elected to Congressional seats

Care to provide something to back this up or are you letting your ass do the posting as usual?? I only ask because for possibly the first time you've neglected to whine about big oil in your post and I know how fond your back side is of injecting that into every subject.

ewent: SS and Medicaid should be the ONLY entitlements, as people do pay into those their entire "working and tax paying life". It's the trillions in other entitlements that need to be trimmed and run more efficiently that I have a big problem with. But our President won't consider doing anything.

And I'm with everyone who says BOTH parties should start passing bills based on their own merit. Pass a law making it unconstitutional to attach PORK to any bill. Let them all stand on their own. I doubt half would get passed.

Also think term limits need to be imposed now. Let each person elected serve six years, then they must get a real job and no lifetime benefits. They must also subscribe to Obamacare and not the nice private care they get and will continue to receive.

Where is the Mafia when you need them? If we send Lefty and Louie to the Hill, have them break a few legs, rearrange a few "smiles" and maybe take a few politicians out permanently, then this country might have a glimmer of hope. Right now, the political thugs fear no one. Maybe if they feared for their pathetic and worthless lives, things would actually get done.

@RI Mom. Yes, yes, but you understand me. And I am not disagreeing with you that Congress likes to ignore the public.

But again...who keeps electing them, anyway?

I agree with noncoms and the other posters here who have stated that Fox News media is probably responsible for the majority of hate and lack of compromise in our nation today.

That unscrupulous and biased news source is greatly reminiscent of the brainwashing Hitler did to the German people through radio broadcasts back in the late '30s and '40s, playing on the minds of innocent and ignorant people.

And the fact that it is the only major news source that does not allow open posting says it all. If someone doesn't agree with their views, then Fox just stifles them! I too tried to post there once in defense of the President and guess what -- although my post was respectful, when I looked a short time later, it had magically disappeared.

It is very, very scary that there is news media source like Fox that is claiming some good, but gullible listeners to believe the garbage they spread.

Just this morning they had a picture of Hillary Clinton and beside it a caption saying something like "Clinton Looking for Clean Getaway on Benghazi." For pete's sake, the woman has a brain clot!

Yesterday, they had a headline about "Obama raising taxes on Americans" and had a photo of the President laughing out loud. When the President spoke in Newtown after the massacre, the Fox headlines were "Obama speaks in Newtown" and the photo under the caption was a Muslim man in a turban comforting a child!

Sheesh. I just cannot fathom that good people are actually falling for this blatant spin. You don't have to be a Democrat or Obama supporter to see this manipulation of the truth. You only need an open mind.

Very scary.

silverton-2953905

Sheesh. I just cannot fathom that good people are actually falling for this blatant spin. You don't have to be a Democrat or Obama supporter to see this manipulation of the truth.

But apparently if you are a democrat or Obama supporter you are utterly blinded to the very same sort of rhetoric, spin and BS coming from the liberal media sources. Or did you just forget to whine about them also?

Wow. So -- the republicans are self-important, they don't give a damm what anyone else thinks, they don't listen to their constituency, but they say they listen to their cult-god and what the BuyBull tells them to do. yet their behavior is a complete hypocrisy to their christian cult values...

the right-wing has been this way all my life. What else is new?

silverton-2953905: I agree with noncoms and the other posters here who have stated that Fox News media is probably responsible for the majority of hate and lack of compromise in our nation today.

That much is certain, but when you have lowlifes in this country that feed on crap like that, what can you expect? Oh, sorry "backcountry" -- was I talking about YOU?

The GOP doesn't listen to the American People. They have their own agenda which has everthing to do with bettering their own family and their own lives, and nothing at all to do with the people that vote for them.

It's just a pity that the election has passed. But then again the problem is that the people just don't think their elected member of congress is the problem. Somehow they think it's the ones that they didn't vote for that is causing all the problems. I'm not getting into political party blame but even if the election were held next week I believe the people would still reelect for the ones that is causing all the problems in congress. This didn't just happen after the election. It's been apparent since the last deficit problem that this congress was screwed up yet most of these same nut cases are reelected. Of course some of you are going to say Democrat and some of you are going to say Republican but it's the whole damn bunch that's the problem. Pathetic.

Backcountry,

I gave four concrete examples of Fox News Media obvious bias and spin.

Can you give me a couple of recent examples where the liberal media was doing this so blatantly?

I seriously doubt it.

No, she can't give you any examples without copying text from The Onion. But coming on here and whining about liberals, while reading her BuyBull and having her morning coffee, is what makes her day special.

I agree with Robert from Oregon, we are the problem we need to change our thinking and start voting out the ones in congress, sure we may think OUR congressman is good but look at the whole if They were good then we would be hearing from them more and reading about them in the papers! If we start one at a time then just maybe when it's time to vote for the voice of congress and they get voted out! then we can say we changed and took back congress until then we have no right to be bitching. stand up and wake up if we don't change they won't change.

Wouldn't it be More Productive if Our Elected Leaders Started Working Together as AMERICANS for AMERICANS and AMERICA, instead of just bickering, stalling and posturing for the next election as democrats and republicans! The American People have had it with this unproductive BS! The way that both parties having been operating for years just stinks! Neither party has really been looking out for the best interests of the US Citizens who elect them and who they're supposed to represent.

Both parties have sold out the bulk of the American citizens, who they're supposed to represent, by allowing the "out-sourcing" floodgates to open wider and wider without taking any sensible measures to stem the tide.

It shouldn't be all about Democrats or Republicans! It should be about Americans, especially our elected officials, doing the right thing for our country and its citizens. All the single-minded, left versus right, ideological one dimensional bull has got to go!

Both parties need to start working together and actually start doing something to fix the real problems in our country like "out-sourcing", illegal immigration, the out of control costs of health care insurance and our reliance on foreign fuel. If they don't start working together and actually start making progress by the next election, then American citizens should run a nation-wide campaign to vote out all incumbents regardless of party to send the message.

And yes - I'm Angry - As are most American Citizens right now!

Narcissists and psychopaths do not have the emotional wherewithal to comprehend our disapproval. The only approval they need from us is at election time; after that, they don't care what the rabble think.

Two words, Filibuster and Gerrymandering.

Why we are at where we are.

Republicans can't win with ideas so they steal through procedure.

Silverton: All media has it's far right and far left idiots. It is hard to find a great media source which is not biased. All CNN and MSNBC do is throw far left b.s. out there 24/7 as well. And for all of your items listed above, please do a little research on the two I mentioned, as you'll see just as many innuendos that are very slanted as well.

Left vs. Right...

Republican vs. Democrat...

Liberal vs. Conservative...

Blame, blame, blame...

Talk about a bunch of sheep!

Interesting that the History Channel had a series on this past fall called "The Men Who Built America" where they showed how at least one got wealthy enough to loan money to the United States, and then how they started buying elections.

And you really think it's any different now?!?

It's pretty sad a deceased comedian understood things better than most out there.

George Carlin on "Politicians" {the whole thing} and on "Consumerism" {start @ 1:20}.

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium; atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant. {They rob, slaughter, and rape, all under the deceiving name of Roman Rule Government; and, where they make it desolate, they call it peace.} -- Gaius Cornelius Tacitus 56 - 117AD, Roman orator, lawyer, and senator

"As long as people believe in absurdities, they will continue to commit atrocities" -- Voltaire

"The more numerous the laws, the more corrupt the government."-- Gaius Cornelius Tacitus 56 - 117AD, Roman orator, lawyer, and senator

DAMN PEOPLE! They didn't get there all by themselves, YOU put them there! The hell of a lot of us warned you, but no, you thought you frickin new better than anyone else! Not so damn smart now, are you! You asked for it, now you want to whine about it.

I have an idea. Or an exercise in futility if you will.

Take the federal budget, subtract all the zeros because I don't think other than twiddling their thumbs that their fingers could handle it. Set every Congressman down with Quicken or Excel. Give them what our Revenue is. That should be clear considering taxes are not supposed to change again. Make them make cuts in the budget until it is balanced at least according to their own priorities. But they must balance at zero or negative. Now, take all the information, compile it, take the average and that is our budget. That is, if any of them can balance a checkbook ;-)

In other words, take the bickering out of the equation. Also, I would like this installed in the House, Senate, and oval office as a constant reminder of why they are "supposed" to be their in the first place.

http://www.usdebtclock.org

A two party system? Where? Not in America except if you count the minority that votes against these idiots.

The real stupidity is when people rail against one party while defending the party doing the same thing. ie screwing over the country for their own gain.

politicians believe in whatever the lobbyists tell them to believe in. our government has sold us out to the highest bribe lobbyist, they can't hear us because the mountains of bribes lobbyist money between us and them.

Oh, one more thing, it is NOT anger we feel, ITS PLAIN OLD HATE!!!

our government has become the biggest threat we as a nation have ever faced.

we need to get rid of the government (fed, state and local) entirely and start over.

a candidate chosen by popular vote. one citizen, one vote. no electoral college tricks and no lobbyists.

ID should be REQUIRED.

Damn straight, Spiddas!

And all the spewing in the name of one party. The Republican only voters pretending they have 'morals' while the Democratic only voters pretend they have 'freedom'

What kind of morality and freedom do you have when you don't think to vote outside of one party?

But go on and tell me how much people hate slavery when they act like slaves themselves...

Go watch Spielberg's LINCOLN.

You'll start to realize that the Conservatives in America TODAY think, act, speak and HATE just like they did during the Civil War.

Very little changes -- I was amazed to be reminded of that during the movie -- all the hatred in the Right Wing is still there. Slightly different targets (though a lot of them still hate blacks) -- but their HATE burns just as hot and bright as it did back then.

Backcountry164

"But apparently if you are a democrat or Obama supporter you are utterly blinded to the very same sort of rhetoric, spin and BS coming from the liberal media sources. Or did you just forget to whine about them also?"

Backcountry, as an Independent, I have watched both FOX and MSMBC but I have to disagree with your assessment. Unless you refer to all other stations except FOX as liberal then let me say for the most part FOX slants the news and even intentionally lies about the facts to push their agenda. Certainly MSNBC pushes their own agenda but FOX has been proven to be outright liars and their vendetta towards Hilliary is uncalled for. They are making outright accusations without fact and I've never seen MSNBC do that. MSNBC has been wrong a few times but they don't intend for it to happen. Also watch the Daily Show sometimes to see just how stupid those "news" stations really are sometimes.
Now I know that my position today seems liberal but really the Republican party has gone off their rocker and I cannot support their ideology right now. I'm not 100% happy with the Democrats either but they are by far the ones that suit my idea of how this country should be run. When Republicans get people that do for what the majority of Americans want then I'll be checking them out to see if they deserve my vote. As long as they represent only the 2% of the rich people in this country they will not get my vote.

The ONLY REAL FIX is to Raise Revenue, by Bringing Back Jobs to US Citizens who Pay Income Tax.

Massive cutting just puts more people on unemployment, which just depresses the economy even further.

Returning private sector jobs to American Citizens will provide income tax revenue to OUR Government versus our government having to pay unemployment benefits to those who would be jobless instead. We need our elected officials to Start Protecting American Jobs and do whatever it takes to bring back the jobs they let go. We need leaders who will actually stand up for the American people.

The bottom line is that “Our Government” has to protect domestic industry and the jobs that those industries provide. If they do that, the rest will take care of itself.

We may have to pay a bit more for products made here in the USA by US citizens, but at least we'll still have jobs and a future for our children.

I find it extremely distressing that the GOP who has consistently failed the American People can still claim a seat in the US of A's Congress.

These individuals led by Boehner have failed at their job, yet still get a raise and a seat in Congress and Decision Making for WE the People.

They have failed us due to their own personal issues and agenda and have no place to be in Congress yet they are still there. They voted against aide to Sandy and only changed thier mind when confronted with their own ignorance.

I do not trust our Congress and the GOP to work for US, DO YOU?

"Wall Street Journal poll to measure congressional approval (August), showed that a whopping 82 percent of Americans disapproved of the job Congress was doing"

"In the August NBC/WSJ poll, even though only about one-in-ten Americans approved of Congress"

Hmm, I didn't realize that 1 in 10 is closer to 82% than to 90%. Liberals. No wonder we don't have a balanced budget, Obama can't seem to get it through his thick skull that we are spending WAY more than our revenues and that sooner or later it's going to all come crashing down on us. But hey, who cares right? I mean that's a problem future generation will have to deal with, not us.

OK Folks...stop the political bickering!

CONGRESS FORGOT THEY WORK FOR US, NOT THEIR PARTY!!!

I don't care who you voted for, but WE voted them back IN...ALL OF THEM...too much party loyalty and not enough gumption to do the right thing,,,and that goes for both parties!

SO, if you don't like what's going on...start writing letters...no emails...WRITE! Tell the buggers what you want them to do. Don't just ask for more stuff...tell them how you want this mess fixed!

STOP THE OUT OF CONTROL SPENDING ! FIX THIS COUNTRY...N O W ! ! !

Give to the People the chance to "Show No Confidence" in our Congress much like the Brits do! Result: Disolve Congress in one sweep and install a new slate owing no alligence to any Power Group excepting the Public.

Dan #1.14~~President Obama, has never presented greed and/or corruption. I may not agree with him on every issue, but he always works in the best interest of the people and the nation.

Carl #1.11~~Pelosi, as speaker, accomplished more good for all of the people than any speaker ever has. That is leadership! Even working with G W Bush.

Gunner #1.10~~ Reid, Pelosi and Boehner are not the problem. The problem creators, are the radical extremist tea-partiers who don't give a real chit about what the public "thinks." These politicans are there to tell us what and how to think, just as they are doing with the republican party, with much success.

D B #1.39~~The republican party IS a party of racists, bigots, religious zealots, birthers and Homophobes which is well know by their own spoken words. President Obama IS an American citizen, born in the state of Hi. and he is NOT the anti-christ, he is NOT a Muslim, he is NOT the food stamp president, he is NOT the biggest spender president, he DOES expect the debt, that has been racked up, even before he became president , to be paid.

The republican party is the party of, no constructive accomplishments for the people or the nation, against everything Obama trying to make him appear as a failure, (but the majority of the people can see what they are, or, are not doing) and espouse only venom and hatred toward every person, who does not jump on their radical band-wagon of extremism.

Obama and his followers aren't stupid. Our President has not submitted ONE budget in four years, as promised. So it's up to Congress to say what stays and what goes. This makes it very easy for Obama, liberals and of course the incredibly liberal biased media to barrage Congress with negative adjectives 24/7. If the President would do his job for once, he might be held accountable for his miserable failings. He knows this only too well; therefore, he lets Congress take the fall for him.

I say: 6 YEAR TERM LIMITS

I say: No PORK can be attached to any bill. Going forward all bills must stand on their own merit. If you want to pass pork, present it as it on its own. Much less will be spent on port laden bills.

I say: If the President fails to submit a budget during his first four years, he can't run for re-election.

I say: All entitlement programs must be reviewed, trimmed and run more efficiently.

I say: Anyone who has endeared themselves to other hard working tax payers dollars must be held accountable.

I asked my spouse about this after the last election. The response was, "everyone thinks their congressman/woman is fine, they think the problem is the other congressmen." Perhaps the nation is as divided as the congress is.

Well if you want to see congress sweat put in a public opinion and voting system for the public to vote and tell their congress person/persons what to do and then you'll see their asses turn the other cheek.... They are all untouchable and over 50% bought and paid for....

SCGuardian

Give to the People the chance to "Show No Confidence" in our Congress much like the Brits do! Result: Disolve Congress in one sweep and install a new slate owing no alligence to any Power Group excepting the Public.

"Wow" there is someone out there who has some damn sense....

The same people keep getting voted in because most voters don't go beyond the surface and believe that things will change. I use open congress as part of my research not only on the bills before congress but for seeing what these elected ones have been up to. There is a button call The Money Trail That I use to see which one of my congressperson is getting paid for which bill, it also tells you how they voted. Nice tool. The bills are easy to read also. These elected ones will tell you anything to get re-elected.

I thought we just had an election and we elected the ones we wanted to run the country?

So, What the problem? They are doing what we elected them to do.

Maybe MSNBC is polling the ones they know will give them the results this liberal minded company needs to write a slanted article like this.

Intellect-1949393, #1.7- EXCELLENT! Totally all-around EXCELLENT!!! I was your 51st Vote!

Robert in Oregon, #1.8- EXCELLENT!!! It's BOTH. Although it really looks like the Pendulum is stuck on and to the side of Detriment, to The People; and has been for a very long time now. "The Psychological Dynamic" is called "Learned Helplessness"; and just like the famous and "founded" Pavlov's Dogs experiment, there is also actual "founded" experiment, using a Dog, too, for "Learned Helplessness", ie: Dog in cage gets shocked-moves to other side of cage. Dog in cage gets shocked on that side of cage-moves back to other side of cage. Then "Random" shocks to cage-Dog tries to deal with and cope with not knowing where the next one is going to hit him from until Dog finally gives up and just lies down, not knowing where the next shock will come from. THEN, cage door is opened and Dog is FREE to leave cage when shocks still "randomly" come, BUT, Dog remains in cage! No longer knowing (or caring, apathy?) or believing that it has a choice and is FREE to leave, FREE to try and change its circumstances. LEARNED HELPLESSNESS.

I suppose you could take that a step further, as in this case, to what could amount to being likened to Spousal Abuse, whereby the Abusive Spouse actually either tosses the appearance of a little bone to the Dog, once in a while; or flamboyantly arrives back home to ride The Big Dog Bone float in the HOMETOWN CAMPAIGN PARADE. (OH-MY!)

This Congress is THE MOST reprehensibly culpable "PARTY", as a whole, to ALL current ILLS of America, today.......and yesterday..........and last week.........and last month..........and last year.......and last decade... keep it going..."Time" is a concept......In this case, it runs both back and forward; and even THAT is ALL THEIRS, to do AS THEY PLEASE WITH, too. Swear 'em in (and hang a plaque with the oath they just took around their necks, obligated to "representatively" wear IT, round-the-clock, until their term FINALLY ends.............and a STRING OF GARLIC!) That's all I can think of.

Of course they get re-elected, because everyone is too busy voting against the other guy instead of voting for their person.

This happens all the time, just look at the last election. Find me one Republican that actually liked Romney... just one. You can't do it, because no one really liked him. They were all voting against Obama, and it didn't matter who was on the ticket.

Congress is the exact same. Liberals may not like their representative, but he/she is a whole lot better than the typical "rape is a gift from god" Republicans running against them. So liberals vote against "team rape". And conservatives do the same thing. They may not like their Republican rep, but they vote against the liberal guy who is a "socialist, communist, nazi, fascist, muslim, atheist, alien, zombie, robot bear"... or whatever the Glenn Beck word-of-the-day is.

So this will continue, because liberals will continue to vote against the rape-loving, religious freak. And conservatives will continue to vote against the gay marriage supporting "communist". Nothing will change.

Larry....that was an extremely well-thought out response and you made many lucid points. However, it is falling on deaf ears. People like 'backcountry' (as his name might suggest), aren't really intelligent enough to see the difference between a hate filled, lying sack of sh$t, 'news' station like Fox and a real news network, because they have the exact same ideals and principals as their station does. The people that can't see the forest for the trees are the real problem with this country, and until the republican party drops the religious overtones of their party, they will never get my vote. Their so-called morality is the biggest enemy of their own party.

Give to the People the chance to "Show No Confidence" in our Congress much like the Brits do! Result: Disolve Congress in one sweep and install a new slate owing no alligence to any Power Group excepting the Public.

Pointless gesture.

As soon as the lobbyists and special interest groups swoop in, the "new slate" will be bought and paid for just like the last one. Just look how the Koch brothers now completely control the "new" TP members who were elected to "shake things up". As soon as that pile of cash fell at their feet, they dropped to their knees and did whatever they were told.

The right wing will never change in this country. they will always vote with the candidate who smiles like a used car salesman, and walks around with a BuyBull jammed up his butt. that's all they care about.

While there was much hand-wringing over the “draconian” cuts that would be imposed by sequestration, in fact sequestration does not cut spending at all. Under the sequestration plan, government spending will increase by 1.6 trillion over the next eight years. Congress calls this a cut because without sequestration spending will increase by 1.7 trillion over the same time frame. Either way it is an increase in spending.

- Ron Paul

This is the problem? "Go F yourself" I totally agree but the Democrats didn't even give me (Boehner's District in Ohio) anyone to vote for last November. He's the what some might call a town drunk only it's more like a national drunk. Where is the leader we need in Congress?

Boehner has just been re-elected as speaker of the house, one has to wonder what the count would have been if "our" representatives had voted by secret ballot and would not have to face being ostracized by their respective parties for not voting along partisan lines.

Wouldn't it be more productive if both parties worked together as AMERICANS to draft bills that could be put up for a vote together, rather than each party trying to draft their own bills and then just trying to pass them as the Republican bill or Democrat's bill.

Bills drafted and proposed by members of both parties as AMERICANS, rather than as a Democrat's bill or Republican's bill, would be much more likely to pass. Or does that make too much sense?

Is the problem Congress, ... or is the problem us?

False dilemma. The problem is the state. Abolish it...problem solved.

You only need one law: Do no harm or fraud to unwilling people (and only sane adults can exhibit full judgement, and therefore full will). You don't need pre-emptive regulations and a parental state for adults. All you need to do is punish harm and fraud once it occurs, which creates incentives to not commit harm and fraud. Most businesses are not big businesses, and most don't need regulated because they cause no harm. My brother's small farm was regulated out of business because he needed to build a entire building just to press cider! He just shut down the business. He was in business for 23 years...never one complaint. So why was he regulated? Because they regulate everyone pre-emptively, including you and I with all kinds of laws, instead of just regulating those that deserved it; those who harm or defraud others.

So if you only need one law, then all laws made redundant to that law are a waste of time and money. Any law made in conflict with that single law is tyranny. So the legislature is logically useless. It's a criminal class of rulers, not leaders. We don't need new laws...we need to enforce withtout prejudice harm and fraud prohibitions harshly. The extortionists (taxers) in Washington are a mafia...abolish them.

And if you don't need a legislature, logically, you don't need a President to veto their laws (which they rarely do, hence we have more laws than any one person can know and we're all essentially guilty of some "crime" we aren't even aware exists...most of which cause no harm or fraud to any unwilling person). What do you need a civilian to politicize your military for? Do you really think his magic powers stop a military coup? He's useless, just like the legislature.

So you need a military, police, fire service, roads, and courts. But do those things need to be coercively monopolized? Or can they exist in competition like everything else in the market that consumers demand? They did exist in competitive markets for more time than they didn't. Some anthropolgists point out we had civilization, which included all those thitntgtst, twithout a state for 8,000 years before the state took power by forcei n the world's countries. That means we've had a state for no more than 6,000 years, and yet had all those market demanded services for 14,000. Other anthropologists argue civilization existed for 200,000 years, of which 194,000 was stateless. In any event, we don't need a state to coercively monopolize those market demanded services that the people want. All the excuses and reservations can be answered logically and rationally with an hour or two of Google or Bing searches. LIke 'corporations would take over"....umm, the state invented corporate pertsonhood...no state, no corporate personhood, logically. So there are good questions out there, but they have easy logical answers.

Stop being masochists, and letting these sadists abuse you. Abolish the state, and turn America into a free territory...a truly free country. Save civilization before the state collpases it like they always do. All states have lifecycles that end in chaos...anomie. No one wants that. So have one law and avoid chaos. Let society spontaneously order itself. Stop being nationalist sheep and calling it "patriotism". Stop being authoritarian statists and calling it "freedom" and "law and order". Nothting could be further from the truth.

If you don't do this you are murdering people in future generations. You have to KNOW (unless you have no understanding of history) that all states eventually collapse. You have to know that always ends up in bloody conflict. Why then would you support a state today when you know your posterity will die to overthrow its tyranny? Selfishness? If future people are being stole from through national debt accumulated to pay for our stuff today, then those that will die in the future so you can have a state today are being murdered...by YOU. So stop the theft and murder...abolish the state.

I know you peope won't listen...but then children of today will die as adults tomorrow to overthrow your beloved state (a state you were brainwashed into loving, just like some slaves were brainwashed into loving their slave masters)...and that blood is on your hands.

"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains set lightly upon you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen". -- Samuel Adams

If a company that is based in the US moves its manufacturing and/or service out of the US, it ought to be hit with the same tariffs foreign companies pay as they are not "making" the product, or "providing" the service, physically from within. When the shareholders realize they can no longer live on the backs of the "con-sumer"... Just a thought.

BTW - ProIndividual... Spot on. LIVE the law, rather than be BOUND by it.

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." -- Benjamin Franklin

"While the State exists, there can be no freedom. When there is freedom there will be no State." -- Vladimir Lenin, "State and Revolution", 1919

Even a stopped clock is correct once in a while...

Unfortunately, we are stuck in a Catch 22 of sorts. Congress will never pass a law that hurts Congress. It is up to the People, as a united whole, to change the course of Government. However, it seems the majority of the People are either apathetic or ignorant, and the rest of us are squabbling amongst ourselves while the foxes rob the hen-house. There must be a way in which the American people can peacefully show their disapproval and garner real change in their government.

@ I.A.-

yet many were RE- elected. so i ask, who are the true dumbass's here?

Very true. Congress doesn't have to worry about how the general public feels. They just have to worry about how their constituents feel. It's obvious that enough people think their rep is doing fine to let them keep their job. It's all the other reps they think are failing. So like everything else government related, nothing good comes of it.

silverton-2953905

Backcountry,

I gave four concrete examples of Fox News Media obvious bias and spin.

Ok let's check those "concrete examples"-

Just this morning they had a picture of Hillary Clinton and beside it a caption saying something like "Clinton Looking for Clean Getaway on Benghazi." For pete's sake, the woman has a brain clot!

The story had nothing to do with her health problems and focused almost entirely on her avoiding any controversy surrounding the Benghazi incident before her health problems arose. Guess you didn't actually read the article before you started to bitch about it. Clearly the most spin here is being put forward by YOU.

Yesterday, they had a headline about "Obama raising taxes on Americans" and had a photo of the President laughing out loud.

It wasn't a photo but rather a video feed. They used the same "photo" in the article titled- White House outwardly calm as 'fiscal' deal stalls. Then they update with a NEW story using the same video. Where is the "spin" there?

Honestly this is such a ridiculous example of "spin" that your grasping at straws is starting to appear desperate.

When the President spoke in Newtown after the massacre, the Fox headlines were "Obama speaks in Newtown" and the photo under the caption was a Muslim man in a turban comforting a child!

This one makes so little sense I actually laughed out loud. Are Muslims not allowed to comfort their children or what sort of rhetoric where YOU trying to spew with this statement? Aside from that I couldn't even find it on the Fox news site. What I did find was this-http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/16/obama-will-travel-sunday-to-newtown-conn/ with Obama shown wiping a tear from his eye and this- http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/16/obama-to-speak-at-connecticut-vigil/ Showing a somber looking President in the WH breifing room.

As for your fourth "concrete example", I'll just assume you can't count.

Can you give me a couple of recent examples where the liberal media was doing this so blatantly?

I seriously doubt it.

If you consider any of your "examples" to be "blatant" attempts at spin you obviously see exactly what you want to see. You obviously just skim through FoxNews LOOKING for something YOU can spin and your "serious doubt" that liberal news sources spin is proof positive of my statement. Sorry I can't provide examples but frankly I'm smart enough not to bother to listen to ANY of the pundits regardless of which channel they are spewing their BS. And I'm sure as hell not stupid enough to waste my time looking for something to whine and cry about.

As long as the Democratic Party plays the spoiled child and continues to falsely call Republicans Racists, bigots, religious zealots, and Homophobes there will be no meaningful changes.

We'll then repudiate and purge your party of these types. I could point out examples of each label just within the GOP primaries leading up to Romney's nomination.

We'll then repudiate and purge your party of these types. I could point out examples of each label just within the GOP primaries leading up to Romney's nomination.

And you can probably point to the same number of them in the Democratic party in the last election too.

Read these boards. It is sad the level of incivility. Our representatives reflect us.

We see disagreements as good vs evil, or smart vs stupid, rater than just different needs.

Maybe, we see the incivility in our elected officials and don't like it - but fail to recognize it stems from us.

And you can probably point to the same number of them in the Democratic party in the last election too.

No, not really, but I'm willing to take that challenge.

Ok, I'll start.. "Pray the gay away", "God told me to run" Michelle Bachmann. Right there is two for one, homophobic and a religious zealot. Your turn..

*crickets*

thought so...

OK

Obama doesn't have a Negro dialect unless he wants to - Harry Reid.

Meh.. That's pretty weak. So you're suggesting Reid is racist over a comment like that? It's not like he had "@!$%# Head" painted on a rock at his estate like Rick Perry.

btw I'm just pulling names from presidential candidates, not the entire Republican party. Otherwise it'd be like shooting fish in a barrel.

LOL - You are wrong about Harry being not racist. It's not the the word Negro, it's the part about Obama being able to talk normally. Like it's a miracle or something.

Also that name - as stupid as it is - is older than Rick. Granted he didn't remove it until it was found but he didn't name it that either.

Lastly the democrats only had one presidential candidate and he made remarks that would have caused the crucification of any republican that uttered anything like them. Face it, Obama is as racist as they come and he's half black and half white. He sure seems to hate his white half....

Face it democrats are every bit as racist as republicans. Democrats just get a pass on it. Especially if they are minorities and democrats.

OK, let me get this straight.. Obama is a racist because he speaks with a "Negro dialect" (whatever that means) sometimes? This is what you're telling me...? Does that really make an iota of sense.. at all?

I think it's becoming pretty clear who the real racist is here.

Gneisenau,

OK Whitey!"

Gneisenau,

Just to let you know that Paul Lying Ryan's constituents aren't happy with him. He usually won elections by winning 70 % of the vote, this year it was 56% and a recent newspaper poll in Janesville would have him losing his seat if the election were held today!

I would hope that would be true of other republicans after their performance or lack there of the past session of Congress. The most unproductive Congress in history!

Gneisenau,

This thing you brought up about Obama having a Negro dialect when he wants to ...

I can't say I've noticed that, but if he does sometimes, I imagine it is when he is around African Americans who are speaking with the same dialect.

I am not black, and I have lived in the Midwest for twenty years, but when I go back to my hometown in Virginia or speak on the phone to any of my relatives in the South, without any awareness I tend to revert to the Southern twang that my friends and family use. It is not intentional, but a natural consequence of speaking with people I grew up around. My kids think it is funny and sometimes remark about it.

So, why is it unnatural or wrong for the President to do the same?

Oh, and Backcountry,

The fact that you cannot identify the obvious subliminal manipulation between the photos I mentioned and their captions, proves that you are definitely a prime victim and perfect example of Fox News media brainwashing.

And the fact that you could not give even ONE example of media bias from any other news source solidifies that point.

silverton-2953905

Gneisenau,

This thing you brought up about Obama having a Negro dialect when he wants to ...

Dude read it again because like everything else you've totally missed the point of his post. Maybe you should consider a remedial reading comp course.

The fact that you cannot identify the obvious subliminal manipulation between the photos I mentioned and their captions, proves that you are definitely a prime victim and perfect example of Fox News media brainwashing.

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!! You are so full of @!$%# it is laughable. I debunked ALL three of your ridiculous examples. Clearly the brainwashed person here is you. After all, I'm a libertarian and I bitch about the bible-thumping morons try to legislate their morality on to us all the time. When was the last time you had a negative thing to say about a democrat? Hell right here we've had a questionable quote from a prominent dem but your puppet like mind couldn't register that the quote came from a him even though his name was right there. It's like you just blanked it out. A one sentence post and your mind couldn't even wrap around it because it was a negative comment made by a democrat.

Dude, you've basically admitted that you skim the FoxNews site for no other reason than to bring little tidbits back here to whine and cry about. When you can't find anything of substance (and I'm sure there are things there from time to time) your fevered mind just makes @!$%# up. Talk about pathetic.

And the fact that you could not give even ONE example of media bias from any other news source solidifies that point.

Could not?? I said I didn't want to waste my time not that I couldn't. But I'll take this as a challenge so-

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/11/19/msnbc-did-no-negative-stories-about-obama-or-positive-ones-about-romn

How's that for liberal media bias? and of course with the recent election there are hordes of things to choose from, should I go on? Should I mention the Washington Post bringing up a bullying story from 50 years ago when Romney was a child that, oh by the way, nobody could actually confirm? Or how about the fact that none of the major news agencies would do a major story about the Benghazi incident before the election? Should I go back a few years and mention Dan Rather and his total BS story about Bush; remember, the one that basically got him laughed off of TV?

I eagerly await your pathetic excuses in response.

First time I heard about the Romney bullying incident was when Romney himself admitted it on television and said he was sorry for it. So, as for what you said about nobody confirming it .... uh, sorry wrong again.

I think that's enough to prove that you are an unhappy, narrow-minded individual who is out to vent your anger on the world for anyone who is willing to listen. This is typical of Fox viewers and of no surprise to anyone here. Go ahead and check the little box on your own posts. But, please consider anger management as well.

Oh, and btw, I voted for Bush ... twice.

The main reason the house does not care what the public thinks, is that 75 % of districts have been gerimandered to be safe seats for the encumbant. States do the gerimandering. Reform must happen at a state level to have a chance at representing the wishes of the electorate.

silverton-2953905

First time I heard about the Romney bullying incident was when Romney himself admitted it on television and said he was sorry for it. So, as for what you said about nobody confirming it .... uh, sorry wrong again.

Nobody could confirm it BEFORE they ran the story dip@!$%#. Took a minute to look up Romneys quotes "But as to pranks that were played back then, I don’t remember them all, but again, high school days, if I did stupid things, why I’m afraid I got to say sorry for it.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/romney-bully-gay-bullying_n_1506382.html

You call that a confirmation?? Uh, sorry wrong again

This is pretty much proof positive of the spinning that goes on in your head. I'm surprised you can even stand up you must be so dizzy all of the time.

I think that's enough to prove that you are an unhappy, narrow-minded individual who is out to vent your anger on the world for anyone who is willing to listen.

Translation- "You've proven me wrong but rather than admit that I'll just call you names and make excuses why I shouldn't bother to defend my points or refute yours"

And you might want to check the mirror because you'll find your description of me very familiar. After all, this was a story about Congress but you came here to "vent your anger" about FoxNews "for anyone willing to listen".

Oh, and btw, I voted for Bush ... twice.

And I didn't vote for him even once. YES! I win again! lol

Sorry, but I have added you to the short list of folks I have on Ignore Author. I only do this to posters who use foul language repeatedly and are unable to have mature conversations.

I find it makes the Vine much more enjoyable to debate with grownups.

Adieu.

silverton-2953905

Sorry, but I have added you to the short list of folks I have on Ignore Author. I only do this to posters who use foul language repeatedly and are unable to have mature conversations.

Awwww, poor me. LOL! Another pathetic excuse I might add.

I find it makes the Vine much more enjoyable to debate with grownups.

Clearly you find it much more enjoyable to "debate" with people who don't call you on your BS.

Run away now, I'm hardly surprised.

Such attitudes simply shows as fact how little the congress considers the 98%...........they have turned their backs on all of us and we should return in kind.......

they should all be arrested for treason for working against the best interests of our nation and its people and for working against the express wishes of the people they are supposed to and are paid to represent. A group of lawyers should work together and take action against this congress on behalf of the people..........when the people we elect to represent us stop representing us we need new counsel...surely there are a group of lawyers out there who would feel up to making history....

we have no minute men as in the past, our unions are being abolished, we protest and get jailed and are now being banned from the very buildings we pay for if we choose to disagree with what is being done to us.........all we really have left is the law itself...............we need a super hero to use the law to take back control or our nation from corporate lapdogs who only want to please their masters and lick the dinner plates clean after their masters have feasted on we the people.

Why can't these people in congress be stopped and held accountable?

Where are the protections we the people are supposed to be afforded?

The republicans and their big daddy donors likely sit around and laugh at all they get away with.....I look at my kids and grandkids and want better for them.......I vote against these criminals but still this goes on............what can be done? and why isn't it being done?

this is all such bullsh*t!

What is being missed or just not stated is really easy to see if anyone wants to. Congress is made up of millionaires....not one of them is all that concerned about the middle class or anyone else except for getting them re-elected to a position where they can do whatever they wish..including giving themselves raises...insurances...tax breaks that no one else can get except their wealthy friends. They pass laws they do not follow themselves....they gave themselves the right to retire from an elected position with out our ok. And jobs...there have been no real jobs bills in a long time..and if one did get passed it for sure benefited one of their wealthy friends to be sure. Consider just a VAt tax on imports that every other country has on any goods imported to their country...especially China...who has a VAT tax of around 14% or more..and guess where we now get most of our imports from...and there is no tax on anything they bring in..no VAT for them..and you wonder why so many companies are leaving to go to China to build whatever then send their goods here..why not...congress allows them to make huge profits at the expense of the people of this nation. We are not just loosing jobs...Companies are paying China's political parties to use their deeply controled labor market to rob us all....and our millionaires elected to congres allows it. People are missing an important item here..jobs....our treasury is losing money,,,why...jobs...and the taxes not being paid because of the huge loss of those jobs.....and where are those jobs going with the help of our elected....if you do not understand..go shopping..see where our goods now come from. And consider just how many jobs have been lost to Chain and others because of the greed of big business in this country who control our so called elected.

The current state of affairs was indeed unnecessary. The lunacy of the socialist democratic party of america agenda of tax and spend can no longer be paid for .... clintons "new economy" put an end to that cycle. How many times does the democratic party have to destroy the economy before it learns. At least the house, as it was designed to do in the original Constitution, is doing its job of trying to prevent long term damage to the Republic. America should never have gotten on the path of the failed European model Nanny-State.

Dennis - The Democrats did not destroy the economy, it was the Republicans that did it, and it has been Republicans that have kept us in the ditch. Is it that people like you are proud to have them keep us here?

Plenty of blame to go around Congress..........Republicans and Democrats.

Yep, that's it boys, you're all real true party followers, aren't you? What comes after your done kicking each other for the good of your parties? A couple of head butts maybe? If someone from another planet asked you, what race you belong to, would your answer be, the Republican race, or the Democratic race? It sure couldn't be the human race, now could it?

charlie... Carter= runaway inflation and recession. inflation stopped and economy stabilised by reagan .. to much deregulation of vital to national intersts industries.

Clinton= his "new economy destruction of the middle-class, loss of means of recovery of the middle-class, the beginning of The Great Depression pt.2 in 1998, terrorist murders in NYC planned set-up and trained. loss of industries of vital national interests. Bush did nothing to improve or attempt recovery from disaster of clinton.

Now Obama= usual party plan of printing billions of paper money a month, new taxes on a diminished tax base that needs increased social welfare spending because of displaced middle-class workforce.

Mary Jones-1616541

I don't think they're smart enough to know how bad of a job they're doing.

>>>

Ha! You got it. Combine that with the fact that they are living in "their own world" down in Washington and you see why this stuff happens. Many cannot "think" outside the box or beyond party lines and the local "two step" dance at all. Many of them are not very smart, and neither are the people that elected them. Look at BARNEY FRANK for god's sake. Half the things he says embarrasses me.

I am not picking on either party here, I am an independent. Frank and Kerry happen to be the closest to home for me and in my opinion both embarrassing.

Solution for a healthy nation, get the Tea Movement and their boss the Koch crackers out of the house !

Anyone who wants to blame one party for the problems of Congress needs to look a little deeper. Leadership at the top is how things in Congress gets done. As I've said before, Clinton worked with a Republican controlled congress and things got done. Even George W worked with the overwhelming Democratic congress in 2006 through 2008 and things got done. It starts at the top and by top I mean President. While I think our President is trying, he too is too focused on partisan politics rather than running the country. And I think that is because he had a partisan Congress until 2010 and now he doesn't know how to work with Congress.

Stupidity isn't quite the word for it. They are, on both sides of the aisle, "True Believers" - people who have given up the idea of independent critical thinking in favor of towing the party line. Its a shame, because I believe that most representatives are really interested in serving their country (as opposed to serving their party) when they are first elected, but they rapidly fall into the pit of partisan politics.

I've never been a big fan of term limits in the past, but I believe it is time now to consider it, for both Congress and the Senate. Maybe if the representatives are less focused on getting re-elected, they can again start thinking about governing.

The answer is simple, "Don't re-elect your own bonehead" !!!!

I repeat, "Don't re-elect your own bonehead" !!!!

Repeat after me, "Don't re-elect your own bonehead" !!!!

It's our own fault. Did anyone besides me vote against the incumbants?

Force term limits down their throats. The President can only have 8 years, why should Congress have more?

They will keep getting reelected simply due to the fact is if the letter "R" or "D" is next to the name.

Epic Fail.

They will never allow that to happen and the whole election system is rigged. The only way these treasonist crooks will leave office is if they are forced out. The liberals are all ranting about the tea party and repubs.,but when the give aways run dry for the life time welfare cases, illegal aliens and the rest of the scum freeloaders which is their voting base, revolts and starts rioting and stealing more than they already are you will see these cowards run and hide behind their armed guard protected castles. The crooked government is working hand in hand with the jew financiers in the country to extract every last nickle and dime they can to ruin this country financially,militarily and economicaly and when the civil unrest starts, hopefully they will be tracked down to their rat holes and be dealt with.

charlie-295522

Dennis - The Democrats did not destroy the economy, it was the Republicans that did it,

Say Charlie, could you please remind me who was in charge of Congress during the ENTIRE recession???

Funny how when there is a rebulican President everything is the fault of the President while when there is a democratic President everything is the fault of the minority in Congress. Please do explain exactly how that works?

Brisaber

I've never been a big fan of term limits in the past, but I believe it is time now to consider it, for both Congress and the Senate. Maybe if the representatives are less focused on getting re-elected, they can again start thinking about governing.

I just can't get on board with this idea. It is the fear of not being re-elected that holds many of these morons in check. Could you imagine the damage they'd do once they reach that final term and have nothing to lose?

Well, that's assuming they actually have evil intent from the start. That's really a very cynical view. I prefer the more optimistic view that they have good intentions, but are so afraid of going against their party and its special interests that they won't do what's actually needed. All just so they can be re-elected in the next couple of years.

SCGuardian

Give to the People the chance to "Show No Confidence" in our Congress much like the Brits do! Result: Disolve Congress in one sweep and install a new slate owing no alligence to any Power Group excepting the Public.

"Wow" there is someone out there who has some damn sense....

They seem to be ding what we voted them to do... giving the opinion of their constituents.

Why do you think liberals are working so hard for gun control and a possible radical redo (or outright repeal) of the 2nd Amendment.

We know that we have spent ourselves into a pickle. Wars, entitlements, tax cuts, government bloat.

We know it will take courage and universal pain to turn it around.

Yet we elect people who tell us pretty lies - that somehow we can avoid the pain. Or even worse, we can make sure someone else gets the pain and we get off pain free.

Even when its not money, we seem to want our officials to lie to us. Lets say gun control. We know if we really want to reduce Sandy Hook's by limiting access to Assault weapons, banning future sales is ineffectual. To have an effect, we would need to seize the millions of them in private hands. That is the issue. The solution is complex. But zero politicians, including the most ardent gun control advocate, can even state the issue clearly in public. So they say "Gun Ban", meaning ban on future sales, knowing it's not a ban, and wouldn't really do much. In other words - a lie.

Why? Because if they spoke the truth out loud, we wouldn't reelect them.

As long as we punish honesty and reward BS, we have the congress we deserve.

I for one am ready to vote for politicians who speak the truth, even if the truth is painful. Especially if the truth is painful.

Brisaber

Well, that's assuming they actually have evil intent from the start. That's really a very cynical view. I prefer the more optimistic view that they have good intentions,

Evil? I don't thik any of them are even close to "evil" and I believe that for the most part they have good intentions even if many of them are self-serving. The problem isn't that they're evil, it's that they're idiots.

Dennis

Great idea but I'm afraid the two major political party's in America are dug in deeper than a tick. It's going to take some strong medicine to rid ourselves of the curse of political party's.

What a way to wake up in the morning. I must say that you have no clue at the current problem. Dennis perhaps you need to pay closer attention. This country is headed down a very slippery slope thanks to the reps. If you can not see that then you are blind. I am sick to death of hearing about entitlement programs from them. Perhaps they need to cut there own salaries and hack the hell of the bloated defense budget. Perhaps their sacred cow foreign aid needs a good whack. But that is where you start not at budgets that affect real middle class Americans.

Al ... Exactly. Both parties are trapped in the lunacy of buying votes by promising the biggest free lunch instead of doing their job of protecting the Republic. The very thing the Constitution was designed to prevent as one of the leading causes for the collapse of Republics throughout recorded history.

"If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare… The powers of Congress would subvert the very foundation, the very nature of the limited government established by the people of America."---Alexander Hamilton

All it takes is a bit of leveling on the playing field.

Any and all Corporate donations go to a kitty - and are evenly divided amongst all registered 'parties'.

That ought to encourage more parties - and keep Corps from buying off candidates....like that Stevens jerk tried.

Such a disengenious distraction: "It's both parties" That is the call of someone who is ill informed and basically wants the situation not to change. This wasn't a problem until the GOP/TP decided to go after the president and pledged to bring America to its knees. They failed at destroying our nation, as they fail in leadership.

2014 Vote the Tea Party GOP out.

IMHO: it is both parties, that you honestly believe and are simple minded enough to believe that Reid, Pelosi or Obama give a crap about you, is your problem. The folks like you buy into the idea that we can just keep spending billions and they'll be no consequence from it, should be striped of your right to vote because you people are @!$%#ing idiots. No sugar coating.

Maybe we should wipe the smirk off their faces in two years. Let's see how it fazes them then.

The answer is simple, "Don't re-elect your own bonehead" !!!!

I repeat, "Don't re-elect your own bonehead" !!!!

Repeat after me, "Don't re-elect your own bonehead" !!!!

Do you suppose the election of the first non-white President, and the total dysfunction of the attendant Congress, are in any way related?

IMHO - Ok, vote the TP out. You want the Dems to control the country again? That has never worked in the past so what benefit would it be now?

Read George Washington's Farewell Address. He was for the no party system. He said among other things the party system provides a convenient vehicle for special interests. If you don't like the party system, register Independent. I did.

SCGuardian

Give to the People the chance to "Show No Confidence" in our Congress much like the Brits do! Result: Disolve Congress in one sweep and install a new slate owing no alligence to any Power Group excepting the Public.

"Wow" there is someone out there who has some damn sense....

Unloved for so long?

I don't want to date them, I just want them to vote to save me money.

Why on earth would they be "fazed"? It's not like they're held even remotely accountable for the games they play in Washington and elsewhere, and as such it's not as if they are accountable to anyone much less the people that they are supposed to be serving..

We're talking about people who are completely disconnected from reality as a matter of course.. why would people who don't have a clue what a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread costs be expected to care about the rest of us who have to deal with such things on a daily basis?

@Anderson-656479

What a way to wake up in the morning. I must say that you have no clue at the current problem. Dennis perhaps you need to pay closer attention. This country is headed down a very slippery slope thanks to the reps

Translation- "bahhhh, bahhhhhh"

btw- you forget to mention whether or not you want a cracker Polly.

Apparently several chose not to read all that wonderful pork the democrats tried to stuff into the sandy relief bill. Republicans chose not to vote on it with that pork included.... Now who is not doing their jobs? And then tell me who is taking advantage of a horrible situation by adding random crap that will do NOTHING to help those ppl? Delay it, pull the pork and then revote. A few extra days is worth it if it takes out the bs they threw in there.

Say what you will, none of us care, all the democrats want to do is spend spend spend.... My reply, block block block!!!!

4.2:

...it was NOT "CRAP"... if you actually research each piece, you'll see that those items were not "pork"...they were put in by (R) & (D) co-sponsors.

Let's take the 2 million to repair the roof of the original Smithsonian Archive building that has a gaping hole and damage from the EARTHQUAKE that happened a few years ago.

Maybe in your town the idea of historic preservation doesn't happen, but the Smithsonian is OURS...for EVERYON

Alaska had HUGE DAMAGING, disastrous storms that threatened and diminished a fishing livelihood.

The entire percentage proportion to the Sandy amount was TINY.

Now this guy's idea is the true solution to a big problem....

SCGuardian

Give to the People the chance to "Show No Confidence" in our Congress much like the Brits do! Result: Disolve Congress in one sweep and install a new slate owing no alligence to any Power Group excepting the Public.

"Wow" there is someone out there who has some damn sense....

We vote for the individual we dislike the least, or the one promising the biggest "free lunch".

philly ... you can stop with the stereotypical leftist buzz phrases they are so far out in left field you are not even in sight. My main source of information information used is from "The Federalist Papers" by Hamilton, Madison and Jay. You should try reading it, it explains the legitimate functions, restrictions responsibilities of a Federal Government. once you understand just what the founders of the Republic had in mind and the how the system of checks and balances put in place to prevent the current state of the Republic have been corrupted I can suggest further educational resources.

Right on Kevin. Greetings from Motown, the epicenter of the fallout of Republican policy.

Let Dennis get back to his soma.

philly, stated: "watching too much fox will melt your brain ....i see i too late to tell you that .....sorry"

Don't be sorry philly, we understand that you have trouble forming intelligible sentences. I gather you forgot to proof read it before you posted it?

Is it possible that the real good that will come out of the Fiscal cliff, the Sandy relief fight - is that we are seeing the beginning of the end of the Republican party!! Can life be so good to America!!

is that we are seeing the beginning of the end of the Republican party!!

Yeah, but I'm a little concerned over what would take it's place, queen Bachmann? Personally I think the U.S. benefits from true debate, I just wish Republicans would take over the Republican party.

Yeah right? Why would they give a sh!t about what the people that elected them and they are supposed to represent, want? They got elected already. They dont have to worry about our opinion till the next election and then all they have to do is tell you its the other party's fault and we will vote for the lesser of the evils and then after they will again tell us that they dont care about how we feel. How many times is this cycle gonna repeat itself before we take our country back by force?

Just say no to politcal party's and make the individual person count.Lets do what monty brewster did and vote "none of the above" next election!

Now this guy's idea is the true solution to a big problem....

SCGuardian

Give to the People the chance to "Show No Confidence" in our Congress much like the Brits do! Result: Disolve Congress in one sweep and install a new slate owing no alligence to any Power Group excepting the Public.

"Wow" there is someone out there who has some damn sense....

Many republicans were elected by their constituents for the sole purpose of obstructing spending. You may disagree with that. You may hate it. But its called representative government. They represent constituents who believe deficit spending is the greatest threat to the republic, and worth enduring and inflicting great pain to resolve. (Like that dude cutting his own arm off trapped in the rocks.)

So disagree with them all you want. I do sometimes. But they are doing exactly what they were elceted to do.

When 2/3s of the deficit is the direct result of mandatory federal spending social welfare spending, the rest is a drop in the ocean. Until the middle-class tax base can be restored from clintons "new economy" there just is not enough citizens working to pay for them anymore.

Philly .. The tired ole "surplus" again? There never was, never would be any surplus. That was a projected surplus for some future unspecified time period if nothing changed. Well it did with NAFTA that included a 3rd world Mexico, A "new economy" with "no more manufacturing in America", with a runaway stock market with no manufacturing productivity to support it just to name a few of his and the party lunacy .... all ending in the inevitable economic collapse.

Dennis, whatever you do, don't make a sudden stop, or you may just damage philly's nose.

Dennis, I think you should do a LOT more reading. The US Treasury certified THREE surpluses under Clinton!! The CBO ALSO said that if the budgets remained blanced, supluses could be projected for the forseeable future. This would be sufficient to pay off the existing debt in 8-9 years. We all know what Bush did instead!

Dennis...typical carping without facts.

Statement - "No more manufacturing in America".

Fact - The United States is still the largest manufacturing economy in the world producing 18.2% of all manufactured goods.

"You're entitled to your own opinion. You're not entitled to your own facts." Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Tom: Some of us have an agenda that is sacred. No amount of reason can change it. Reason becomes the enemy. Notice that no matter how many disagree, there is no reason to reconsider a position. Only "liberals" (Webster/Encarta) have the option of reconsidering the facts.

dennis: The "tired old" Clinton thing?

There is only one group to blame for our very putrid congress and that's the voters. When / if we ever wake up we will stop voting career politicians like (Boehner, Reid, Pelosi, McCain etc etc etc) into office. We only have ourselves to blame. We're allowing these people to SUCK the life and the $$$$$$$$ out of our country while keeping a smile on their faces and erroneously painting themselves as Patriots. We should be putting them on the street and we're simply not doing so. As Grandma always said: "America, we made your bed and now we have to sleep in it". We can fix all this by removing the rediculous compensation & benefits packages that they granted themselves w/o our approval. Then you will see them vanish into the sunset.

By the socialist leftist terrorists of the democratic party?

You do realise there are many forms of socialism right? One porm I particularly like to use to make the ignorant think about when they misuse it .......

"We are socialists, we are enemies of today’s capitalistic economic system for the exploitation of the economically weak, with its unfair salaries, with its unseemly evaluation of a human being according to wealth and property instead of responsibility and performance, and we are determined to destroy this system under all conditions." Adolph Hitler

Do a little more research in the historically failed belief system of socialism.

phillykevin2

@Dennis-387683

do you even know what a socialist is ? or do you just parrot everything they say on fox???

so are you fox parrot?

now here is the pot calling the kettle black... Liberals are so smart...

RE: DENNIS-387683?

~ "SMOKING~ISSUE"?.... people are so hot to trot to destroy a civil-right?.... they "ARE~NOT" paying any attention to the "REAL~ISSUES~IN~GOVERNMENT"!.... think about it.

~ "DISARM~AMERICA"?.... i smell a "VERY~NERVIOUS~GOVERNMENT"! .... think about it.

phillykevin2,you are absloutely right when you say they (Rethuglican's) don't know what a socialist really is. There has been throught history a lot of barbarians in this world. You have the likes of Attilla the Hun,Idi Amin,Adolf Hitler,Paul Pot,and George Bush. These are the people the Rethuglicans hold dear to their hearts.They are the trying to be the modern version of the Nazi Party or the Khmer Rouge. It's becoming a war between the party of the sane vs the party of the insane.

dennis: "socialist leftist terrorists"? Responsible rationality? Probably a bit short of that.

The only evolution that has taken place in Congress is an attempt to turn government into a profiteering business. Ask yourselves why taxpayers are paying $1.6 million per jet fighter that doesn't even have a market for sale. Does it occur to anyone that these jet fighters are a big time tax write off for the state that proposes to secede from the union? Does it remind you of anything when the southern and midwestern states bash hell out of the northeast and refuse to allow rebuilding in NY, NJ and CT? Of course there's a reason these yokels do this...they want their states to rule the others.

As if Wall Street will move out of NY any time soon. Come next election, many Republicans are not going to get a dime from their usual sources now that they've pretty much stuck a fork in the FEMA funding for Hurricane Sandy. Meanwhile, when TX, LA, TN and the rest of the states had their wildfires, dust storms and tornadoes, our tax dollars were pretty nice for them to take advantage of.

Does it bother any of you that more and more of your government has been privatized to the point where Big Business is infesting your government? Is it a government? Or a for profit Corporation? And if it's a for profit corporation, what does that make you?

Cantor, Issa, Boehner, McConnell, Ryan and the rest of the GOP good ole good ole bois aren't stupid...they are withholding FEMA from those in the northeast to save up enough to hand their own states your tax dollars for their pork. And they always support the military ....after all, 90% of the biggest military industrialists are in southern and midwestern states. So the northeast and northwest end up paying the lion's share of taxes these states don't pay because they get tax cuts for locating these industries in their states. This is the same with these states and their prison industries.

Ewent: Your liberal rhetoric is getting old. It's amazing most conservatives, like myself can find plenty of fault with many Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate. It's people like you who only find fault with one party. Reid, Pelosi, Frank and all of the other wonderful hypocrites are perfect in your world.

Looks like they will elect Beohner speaker again.

They actually feed on disapproval. They take it as a sign that they are doing their jobs.

DesotoKim...Perhaps North Korea is more to your liking? Yadda yadda ching ching...that's all we hear from the anti-government BS artists these days. I hear that in North Korea women earn about 51 cents a month...no bennies of course...and out there in the cold open air in markets...Try it. I'd bet North Korean will love your government criticisms.

Government is what YOU make it. If you aren't part of the solution, you ARE the problem.

Agreed. They keep getting voted back in. So the writer of the article doesn't have a clue as to what the people really want.

ewent. I think a majority of Americans are concerned with the amount we are spending. While they may be unclear what to do about it, if they come to believe the President does not take that concern seriously, it could swing right again. Just like it did in 2010 after the 2008 democratic landslide.

The president promised "balance". He has some time. He got his tax increase now. But if he does not show balance, it will be the middle that turns on him.

Right. But you can't fix stupid. And as an electorate, we are that!

phillykevin2

the problem is to them it Congress but not my guy it the rest of congress ..................so vote they A_hole back in

When you can make and intelligent sentence (you represent Philadelphia well) let us know what your point is ok?

Until then, just keep spewing garbage, like a trash bin, all you like...

Good point because if they get re-elected WHY should they care a snit about being "liked".........We give them the power they want and they are happy without getting any "approval rating" for doing nothing..........or even less..............and just noticed the very similar comment by Steve in the next group.

So WHY should they want our approval, votes are enough it seems

Shosyn still has nothing to say. All he's capable of is picking on typos and insulting people. We can only hope that tiger in your icon turns on you for dinner, friend. It's probably got more thoughtful insights to offer than you anyway.

Dangerous Mind

Shosyn still has nothing to say. All he's capable of is picking on typos and insulting people. We can only hope that tiger in your icon turns on you for dinner, friend. It's probably got more thoughtful insights to offer than you anyway.

Here is some thoughtful insight...pot calling the kettle black? Oh and picking on typos? I could not even understand his point let alone spelling...

The public is unhappy with the Congress. Huh? Congress follows the polls like mosquitos follow a naked a$z in the woods. The low information voters like dirty diaper babies want instant gratification and Congress has to pander to their whining and bawling in spite of the impossible problems facing the country. Just "kick the can" down the road and blame the other party. Yes, Obama is probably the better of two evils (choose execution by electric chair or lethal injection). He's a hand picked and groomed puppet of the Saudi/ Old British (Roman) coalition with authority to keep the Petrodollar in play for a price. Force a free people to submit (to Allah? or world government?). Turn the country toward Islam and Shariah law and support Sunni Islam around the world while pretending to cater to Major Media groomed, onanistic and decadent liberals. He'll waste billions on fantasy green projects as a plum to ivory tower, empty suits while slowing USA/N.A. energy independence. Low information voters count the number of dollars in their possession and think they have real assets never realizing that it's only paper hardly fit for use in the toilet. The oil rich Saudis and Int'l bankers give it value by demanding dollars for their oil and OPEC goes along with their Saudi boss. Iran isn't the enemy because of a faux nuclear program. Iran is enemy # 1 for rebelling against the Petrodollar (Obama is waiting for his handlers to OK a war with Iran/ USA blood for oil) but Iran has the covert and camouflaged support of Russia, India, China, and others so watch out. China especially wants out of its Petrodollar prison but they're stuck with trillions of depreciating US petrodollars. They'll steal any new process or invention and as many of our jobs as they can because we are robbing them blind everyday with the Petrodollar. Low informtion voters are willing to sell their heritage of freedom paid for with the blood of patriots in exchange for government handouts and a trough full of bloody pork (Klein's snout is red). Obama is hastening the collapse of this Disneyeque fantasy. Blame Bush? Hatred for Bush is no excuse. Beware of your devilish, irrational hatred, low information minority voters. The powers that be use the two party system to play good cop bad cop with the shallow minded, feely touchy types. Along with the know it all "professors" they think we need more government, more taxes and more unreadable laws. Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges.

yo william j. brock sir?

and why do you think government wants to > "DISARM~AMERICA"?????

government is running scared....... there is no entity any worse than a scairt govt!

"yo"? "scairt"? And you own guns? Now I am worried!

Unfortunately thats what will have to happen just as is happening in the rest of the world. This is our country and not their kingdom and we are not their subjects. Pelosi or Reid would be a good start.

martha: Well said.

Well the president cut his holiday short to return to Washington for the fiscal crisis. Bonehead, et al couldn't be bothered to until the last minute. And then only to save face.

Obama has taken less vacation than Bush, and spent far less on vacation than Bush. It's an inarguable fact look it up.

But by all means continue spreading your BS tired talking points around. It will just make more people aware of how full of it all the haters are. The article is focused on how the vast majority disapproves of Congress. The president has a majority approval rating. Another inconvenient fact.

2014 is coming up quick. And it won't take much to motivate people against the do-nothings, considering their approval number of less than 1 out of 10 (9%)

Worst. Congress. Ever.

"Are the Fat Cats in DC saying they don't care if We, the people approve of them or not?"

When the hardcore civil disobedience starts and they are looking down the business end of a gun, you can bet they're gonna care then.

Chuck...............interesting thoughts but you forget why the Republicans are so keen on keeping the military budget well funded and the troops around them to do the looking into those guns you think will do some good............NOT!

A wonderful cut and paste job that I've seen at least 25 times. Meaningless and useless.

oneiron: Speaking of "meaningless and useless". Your comment. I find all of Steve's ideas interesting, if not essential. Might consider "oneliner". And remember, "only God and Jack Nicklaus can hit a one iron."

A wise man once said something along the lines of "The problem with a Democracy is the citizen gets exactly the government it deserves".

Steve,

My sentiments exactly. I am so tired of people calling Medicare & SS entitlement programs. We the people have paid into for all our lives so that we have a chance of decent life when we get old, but our "representatives in Congress get theirs even if they only have one term.

I have started a petition on white house.gov called "Have Congress cut their entitlements & benefits before touching the American peoples so called entitlement programs". I ask any & all to view it & if they are in favor, please sign & forward it to more people. The following is the link to it.

Not sure if the link is showing.

Thank you

Medicare, Social Security: Insurance for when you get older, retired and less healthy.

Medicare, Social Security: Insurance for when you get older, retired and less healthy.

Social Security everyone pays into and so do our employers. This should not be included in the budget at all as it pays for itself. Medicare does too, plus plan B costs the retiree money every month - deducted right from the Social Security check. Then there is supplemental insurance to cover what medicare does not. And do not forget a drug plan. This to is paid for by the individual.

Social Security and Medicare are not the driving force of the deficit as so many people believe. They are great plans for when you are elderly.

Every objective study of Medicare is that most people are going to take out 2 to 3 times what they put into it. Now if you want universal health insurance, single payer, etc. that is fine. Just get away from the nonsense that "I paid into it my whole life" One knee replacement, one hip replacement, and a heart procedure and you have used up everything you paid in over a 30 to 40 year working career.

oneiron: You forgot to factor in a 5%/year (conservative) compound interest rate. Had these so-called "entitlement" programs been administered by responsible people, SS and Medicare would have huge surpluses. I've done the math if you'd like to see it.

...oneiron, you are absolutely right. In the richest country in the world, if the average American never makes more than $50K per year (or there-abouts) in an entire life-time, and, for whatever reason, never manages to save a dime (which is the case more often than not); then, as good ole "Bubba" Clinton would say, "it's arithmetic"! The math says we go with "single-payer" or let 'em die in the streets (or in their un-heated hovels) in pain and poverty, when they're too old to work. Those are the choices. So, much for the "richest country in the world" mantra, and the implication that it works for "We the people...". Capitalism (our version of it, anyway) is "social Darwinism" , thinly disguised, and anybody with a brain, knows it. And, by the way, the problem isn't the system (Capitalism), it's that the system, the way it is practiced in this country, by the majority of Capitalists, favors the Capitalist themselves, the parasites who "feed" on the ignorant fools who work for a living, and receive little more than sustenance, in return, until they've become to old and infirm to take care of themselves. And, before anyone reading this decides call me a Communist, know that I'm not. I own an run my own business, and am a dedicated and fervent Capitalist, one who believes wholeheartedly in "Enlightened Capitalism", defined by those who understand it as "doing well by doing good" for those who really count, the folks who keep me in business, customers, clients and stakeholders (all of them). Capitalists like me believe that if they do well, we do well, its just that simple. As the folks who run Nordstrom's; better yet, as their customers and their employees. Oh, and betting back to the topic, lest we forget, the "fathers" who founded this experiment designed it to do precisely what it is doing. If "We the people..." don't like it, we have the right (the Constitution) the wherewithal (the vote) and the obligation / responsibility (as citizens) to change it, or quit whining!

huskergal, the only thing wrong with the social programs are the people who commmit fraud against them...like health care workers (doctors, pharmacists, nurses, home health care aids) and those who have access to requesting funds from social security, medicare & medicaid. So little, that less than 1% of the fraud comes from the actual recipients or users of these programs. And let's face it, much of what is overlooked comes from the people running the programs, from top to bottom. Government jobs seem to be easier to keep than most private entity jobs. Many at the bottom barely have a high school diploma or a GED. There should be no excuse for ignorance among workers who work in such departments for the government or any government entity.

@ Yoda - The problem finds it's roots squarely in the seat of the American public. Why is our government so dysfunctional? Because the public allows it. Why do banks do what they do? The public allows it. Why do business do what they do? Because the public allows it.

If given a choice between buying onions at $1.25/pound from a locally owned store and $1.15/pound at a national box store. We tend to buy at the box store. When it comes to politicians the public accepts bribes from them as their due. (If you vote for me, I'll GIVE you <insert whatever here>) Banks drop their interest rates to near nothing and charge a fee for everything including doing nothing. We do nothing but bitch about it.

The general public cares only about their wants in the here and now. They don't care what's best for the country anymore. If the box store is cheaper than the locally owned they don't care. They will go to the national chain and let the locally owned store close. If a candidate gives them graft, then that's who gets their vote. It doesn't matter where the graft comes from or what happens down the line because of it. It only matters that they got something right now. Banks treat them like crap? Instead of going somewhere else or to a credit union, they only bitch.

I hear the same excuses all the time; "It's too hard.", "It takes too much effort.", "One person can't make a difference.", "I don't know what to do."' etc. So people do nothing at all and expect someone else to come in and save them. That last part is probably what's caused the most damage to the country as any single thing. People no longer fight for what is right, they expect someone else to fight for them. So very sad.

People complain that companies are greedy. Why shouldn't they be? Companies are made up of people and everyone else in this country is greedy so why wouldn't they be? You want to really point the finger at who's to blame for the way this country has turned out? Point at the person you see in a mirror.

The system is rigged. It has to be. How can we be making the same mistakes over and over again. Didn't someone once say" the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". Are we all crazy? Some times I wonder. I have relatives that no matter how you explain things to them they think there is somebody out there getting a free ride on them. And get this one of them was collecting unemployment and still felt we shouldn't get what we are entitled to. Some of my relatives are working for the state and city,which are a bargaining unit and vote Repulican no matter what. Even if you try to explain Republicans are against unions, they don't care.Their rational is because Republicans supposidly stand for jobs and right to life. Even if these so called Repubicans are liers, they are true believers. They don't care what kind of jobs,in congress, they will due, they call themselves Republicans even if they lose their jobs because of Republicans cutting their union jobs. Americans first, life,liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That means to me that I won't be kicked to the curb when I'm to old to be productive, I will have quality of life. I will make a good wage to help my family live. That will make me happy. Also the liberalness to state my belief and not be persucuted not matter if I'm gay, a women, of color, a communist, republican, demo. or otherwise. I guess my main point is that people in this country are so polirized they just can't help themselves. They'll vote against themselves just so they don't cross party lines. I myself believe that president Obama is hated not just because he's a democrat but because he's of mixed race. I truely believe President Obama will have an attempt on his life before he's done. Some people I've personally talked actually quoted to me that someone should kill him. I'm very affraid for this president and his family. Sometimes I'm affraid to speak up for unions and protecting workers rights for fear that someone may hurt me. Sad state of affairs. I did vote for Obama not because he's just a Democrat, but because the democratic party is for labor that's all and it's American labor that's at stake here. Republicans stated at the beginning" this will be a one time president". I didn't forget that. What did it mean. Well look what the republicans are doing. Just because they didn't get all they wanted they turned on the president and decided to hold the whole country at risk just so they can screw up the whole nation. They're mantra divide the masses, and cause confusion, and then conquer. They're doing a great job. Capitalisim is great when it works, for all conerned, not just for the 1%. And you need a little socailisim in there so there are checks and balances against the tendency to be greedy which capitalisim can breed.

larry: That is exactly the job description of Congress. Read Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution. Some of us are idiot voters - to be sure. Not too many idiot Harvard graduates.

Yeah that's right, blame Obama for not doing what Congress is supposed to do according to the Constitution. Makes a whole lot of sense. Didn't anyone else here take a civics course in high school? I'm serious. I mean, I learned that the House is responsible for the budget in 8th grade.

How in the world do these geniuses take that fact and blame Obama for the lack of a budget. Oh but let's cut education some more, by all means.

Larry. The White House did submit budgets. They were overwhelmingly voted down by Congress.

Larry only because there are so many stupid comments such as yours, I will simply say, shut up until you have gained wisdom, insight, knowledge or shame

Dangerous Minds...I second what you said. I cannot believe the number of people who do not know the Constitution of this country. I learned early on in Grammar School what the Constitution was all about. I grew up with a copy of it hanging up on the wall in our livingroom right next to a copy of the Bill of Rights. My father grew up in a poor family, my mother grew up in a well-to-do Middle Class family. Both come from families that believed in education. My father went to college, my mother became a stay-at-home mom caring for five children. In our early years she taught at well-known Kindergarten and Nursery School. There was barely a chance for weekend to go by that we were not at the local library. Both of my parents' families date as far back as the Mayflower and Revolutionary War. American history and civics were vital in our upbringing...for generations.

Perhaps that is the problem...the lack of generations who can pass on stories from the beginning of this country. Most people I know say they are first, second or rarely third generation in this country. Those people here stories of their parents' or grandparents' country of origin. Few ever pay attention to the country in which they reside or the history that surrounds it. All too often I hear complaints of how lousy this country is from those people. My attitude is if that is how they feel then perhaps they should go back to their native countries. Of course we should embrace other cultures but when you put the culture and history of the country you live and work in then you are the problem with this country.

By the way, there was no pasta at the first Thanksgiving nor were their tacos. If we are going to embrace a tradition of a country then let's get it right. It is ok to bring in some new traditions on the side but let's not forget it's origin.

Rick ... you do realise that too much direct democracy is one of the things the Constitution was designed to prevent correct as one of the leading cause of collapse for a Republic and the greatest danger to the free citizen correct?

(Unlike many of our original founders (George Washington was a 4th cousin to my direct line ancestors), I personally prefer to trust in an educated and enlightened electorate. But I would also have to insist on a future 'smart" system of democracy, one where everyone's vote is individually weighted according to their VAST (Voter Aptitude Scholastic Test) scores.) - RC

Rick .... And from the current state of the Republic I would say that those who designed the Constitution, after extensive knowledge of governments over a 2000 year span, knew exactly what they wanted to do. Every single warning they made is happening today. Something they wanted and is not such a bad idea when you think about it was that only citizens paying a given level of taxes be allowed to vote ..... the reasoning being that only those with a vested interest could be trusted to spend it wisely. They were terrified at the idea of too much direct democracy based on its record throughout recorded history in civilization after civilization.

Thomas Jefferson: A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where 51% of the people may take away the rights of the other 49%

Rick is a legend in his own mind. We wold not be re-writing the Constitution right now because Ricky boy, you would not have taken the oat of office yet.

An educated an enlightened electorate? Too funny. Most voters couldn't tell you who their congressman is or what he/she stands for.

Go back to playing with your coloring book.

dennis: "...knew exactly what they wanted to do."? Ben Franklin disagreed. He approved the Constitution "with all its faults".

based on easy recall, Mitt Romney would be followed by Paul Ryan, followed by Newt followed by Perry, followed by Santorum and the list of fools never ends

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Put Obama, Pelosi, Reid and Durbin at the front of the line.

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They are working for interest groups rather than their electorates. And that is why they do not give a hoot about the institution's approval rating. Shame on them!

Many say we shouldn't have voted this self serving congress in. It takes money for exposure for re-election. I know a lot of people who say they are voting for the better of two evils. What does that tell you?

Do you know good American citizens who would help turn around congress. How can they get the bucks for advertising and exposure? Even when we've had some people go to Washington they are put in their place so to speak by incumbents who will make them look bad to their constituents and keep them from being in positions to do something good.

I agree Congress is being bribed by corporate America or any special interest group who will line their pockets. I don't like my tax dollars going to multimillion dollar corporations with CEOs making obscene salaries and bonuses.

The only way these people in Washington are going to feel it personally is to be in their faces literally. During the Vietnam war there were many marches on Washington. Maybe Congress should have to see this on their workplace door step, hear the noise while they are in session, see it on TV and the rest of the world seeing what their countrymen really think about their job on the nightly news, night after night.

The Occupy Wallstreet had the right idea. Too bad some people had to ruin it my living their off of the people trying to do something for the average American.

Based on easy recall Mit Romney would be gone, followed by Paul Ryan, followed by Newt, followed by Perry, followed by Santorum... For ever dem, please put aside your hookah and double check what you write. BInep! Romney and Newt are not in office and you can't vote the others out because they aren't all running in any district where you can legally vote. We are also beginning to doubt that you can vote anywhere at all legally. You seem to have no concept of political events in the USA. Either you are an illegal, a drunken European or a teeny bopper just out of trainers or you are projecting your own worst weaknesses when you accuse others of lacking wisdom, insight, knowlege or shame. Are you a Soros plant or an operative working for the Chicago mob or Wall Street? If there is a list of fools that never ends your name goes to the top, forever. BI jatlh 'e' yImev. S'il vous plait.

I agree that we have to wake up. However, certain portions of the country did "wake up" in the 2010 mid terms and resulted in a completely non-functioning congress by electing T party fanatics. They did a lot of screaming after Obama was elected, and energized the "inner bigot" in sections of white society that are the most prone to such inclinations. This base, cultivated over decades by expert handlers like Limbaugh, turned out in force. The liberal left sat at home like sulking children because Obama was unable to deliver everything they demanded within the first years.

It is the choices that "we" the entire electorate make, that determines which direction this country will move. Painting both parties as being equally guilty at all times is silly, and actually inhibits critical thinking. While I don't believe that any one party has the answers, unless we are smart enough to keep our pet peeves and prejudices aside, and choose the party that is the best choice for THAT TIME, we will keep getting the party that screams the most in office.

The biggest problem as some people have alredy noted is the very laws that allow these politicians to make a career on the backs of the taxpayers. Since it is "we the people" who cast the votes that elect these people, it is "we the people" who needs to take a stand by demanding term limits for the House of Representatives and the Senators just as we set term limits for the President of the United States. I also think we need to make it illegal for politicians to except any kinds of donations or pay-outs from lobbyists. Lobbyists should be banned since the majority of them are after Congress to pass laws that pertain to them rather than the American Citizens who are the real voters. Teddy Roosevelt (Republican) did it best when he took on JP Morgan's railroad when he said he would not allow Corporate America run the government of the American people. Yes, that came from a Republican President. The GOP today is not of that caliber. The GOP is so far off their mark that they forgot who elected them in the first place. The Democrats have become the cowardly lion who got lost on the Yellow Brick Road in route to finding...ah, they forgot what they were trying to find, let alone what they were supposed to be fighting for...the American people!

The biggest problem won't be solved with term limits Julieann. Sorry! Systems analysis 101 tells us the system is set and the newbies will simply take the place of the oldies and continue the disfunctional government. It's not the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that are broken, it's the slow erosion of the Constitution and Bill of Right over the decades by all Parties with the consent of the voters. Power corrupts and over the years it naturally corrodes freedom and our systems of freedom. We the people need to wake up, pull up our pants/panties and get serious with our patriotic responsibilities.

yes and no, term limits is not an end all solution, but they do have an effect. Part of the problem is politicians primary focus from the moment they are elected is to get re-elected. Some of the new incoming senators even admitted they have already made fund raising calls before they made their first vote. Take that away from them and they can work on governing and legislating. It is a proven fact.

Unphased is fine. Unemployed is better.

•"To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much,
in order to spare others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, 'the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, and the fruits acquired by it.'"
- Thomas Jefferson

Sounds like the citizen who fought, suffered and died to found the Republic disagree with you.

Jobs started going overseas after clinton signed NAFTA, with the union's blessing!!!!

The first time I took notice of the U.N.s mandate to "end world poverty" by redistribution of wealth from the developed world to the undeveloped (paid for by the developed world of course) I wondered just how that payment was to be made ..... With middle-class producing jobs perhaps? Now I just wonder what duress was used to get a President to betray his own country.