Not Congress It Is The People
The approval rating of the United States Congress is almost at floor level. Everyone seems to believe that the US Congress is dysfunctional. I see the problem differently. The problem lies in the stupid electorate that supports the Tea Party and any other ultra right wing politician. If you voted for and got a Tea Party candidate elected to congress, then the problem is with you. You brought on this problem. This is our country. We choose our representatives (except for oligarch control wielded by huge campaign funding). The congressional representatives we send to congress are a direct reflection of who we are. Our representatives in Congress typically do what we tell them to do or they will not get reelected. The congressional disfunction, the legislative failure is a mirror of the people who put those people in office.
The ultra conservative individuals in this country are so lacking in intellect that they have orchestrated the possibility that their beloved Republican party may be ruined for years. If this country can not pass a spending bill the more intelligent segment of the United States population will blame the Republican Party. If this more intelligent electorate remembers how the Republican Party took the United States down to its knees in late September 2013, the next election might look one sided and guess who wins, the Democrats. Not having a good second political party may be as dangerous as the policies of the Tea Party.
If you are a politician and you can not negotiate a compromise then you are not serving the best interests of this nation. If you are doing the bidding of your electorate, the electorate does not want compromise, then you represent a stupid electorate. You should not get the blame for following what the constituency wants. But a lot of people outside your district would like you to fall on your sword and vote for what is best for this nation. What is more important, getting reelected or doing what is best for this nation?
The exact percent is not known with any exactness but about thirty percent of the US population support the Tea Party and voted for those political candidates. Tea Party support may have fallen down to twenty percent due to the stupid policies they try to push forward. Problem now is we are stuck with a collection of individuals in the House of Representatives that want to win the next election and know they must perform according to the people they represent. Some people are concerned that the United States is on a trajectory toward being less powerful. Stupid needs to get smarter so we can better row this boat together.