An Election Of Contradictions: Sour Electorate Poised To 'Keep The Bums In'

[Purveyor]

By DONNA CASSATA | Associated Press | 4 hours, 31 minutes ago in Politics, Entertainment


WASHINGTON (AP) — A surly electorate that holds Congress in even lower regard than unpopular President Barack Obama is willing to "keep the bums in," with at least 365 incumbents in the 435-member House and 18 of 28 senators on a glide path to another term when ballots are counted Nov. 4.

With less than 10 weeks to the elections, Republicans and Democrats who assess the midterm contests say the power of incumbency trumps the sour public mood and antipathy toward gridlocked Washington.

"Despite the incredibly low polling, favorable ratings for Congress, it's still an incumbent's world," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political money.

That leaves many voters angry, not only with the political reality but their inability to change it.

"I can't get over where they say people are going to be able to keep their seats when they're not doing their jobs. I just don't understand it," said retired teacher Pauline Legendre after voting in Minnesota's Democratic primary on Aug. 12.

more...

http://www.newser.com/article/f85645fe09c944419601ac5d08b84f30/an-election-of-contradictions-sour-electorate-poised-to-keep-the-bums-in.html

And of course we democrats will keep in our same feckless leadership in the House (Pelosi) and Senate (Reid)...

[davidpdx]

1. I read this earlier today

It is a shame that so many of the districts are formed in a way that they are not competitive.

In Oregon the 2nd Congressional District is the least competitive of the five and Waldon who is a Republican will not have much of a fight on his hands. I would say most of our Congressional races (including the Senate) won't be that close.

Waldon is the only Republican in state or Federal office in Oregon since Gordon "the Mormon" Smith lost to Senator Merkley in 2008.

[Chan790]

2. This isn't surprising. It doesn't mean what people assume it says.

Another survey last year revealed that despite Congresses' low approval...it's driven by externality.

People are unhappy with Congress universally...but mostly because they can't expel the members that don't represent them from Congress while they're mildly supportive of their own representation. Democrats give low approval and it's driven by hate for the do-nothing Republican House and an overly-moderate Democratic leadership. (A leadership that is individually popular in their home districts and states.) Republicans give low approval and it's because they despise Democrats and a Democratic agenda that they feel powerless to stop and they're either in Tea Party land and hate a GOP base they view as collaborationist or they're mainstream GOP and loathe the radical fringe of their coalition represented by the Tea Party.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

3. This

Everyone's laundry stinks but their own.