Poll: 58% Dem's say they should "accept their lower position in Congress"

[Starfury]

Voters have mixed views on Congress

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A new poll says neither Republicans nor Democrats appear terribly happy with what they see from their leadership on Capitol Hill.

While 61 percent of Republicans polled by Zogby International said the GOP-led Congress has been a success over the past 11 years, nearly one-third of Republicans think their party leaders in Washington are off-track.

The telephone survey of 1,039 people shows 29 percent of Republicans rate the GOP leadership in Congress a "failure because it has passed legislation that has caused massive increases in federal spending and has not made meaningful progress on issues important to rank-and-file Republicans."

As for Democrats, 58 percent of the self-described Democrats polled said they think their leaders should "accept their lower position in Congress and work together with Republicans to craft the best legislation possible."

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060222-101407-3905r

:wtf: Not sure which poll this is, but 58% of democrats feel that their party should just accept the status quo? Do they really think the Congressional Republicans are interested in crafting good legislation? Haven't they paid attention to anything the Republicans have been doing this decade?

[Doctor_J]

1. Battered spouse syndrome

if 58% of Dems think things are good the way they are, this country is closer to death than I thought.

[smtpgirl]

4. by the stats

I'm dead too!!

[Pryderi]

18. Emasculation. The party of eunuchs.

[Dr.Phool]

20. UPI is the Moonie News Service.

The same cult leader Rev. Sun Myung Moon who owns the Washington Times.

[KansDem]

33. Well, if the King's own newspaper says "grovel"

then you grovel!



Article by Marc Perkel:

http://marc.perkel.com/archives/000272.html

edited for spelling

[Hosnon]

38. Seriously? After 40 years in control? I think it is more of a: "Accept

reality and work with what you have" type thing.

[smtpgirl]

2. So the Dems want to lose again

I am a self-described Dem, and the leaders should step up or get off, too much waffling and brown-nosing, what to the Dems have to fear?

Maybe their conscience

[Erika]

9. What about their conscience?

[smtpgirl]

14. that the Dems

rubber-stamped virtually everything that this administration has done this far.

Would this situation have gone this long in the nixon administration?

[smtpgirl]

15. at least in the '60's

people had some balls, in the 2000's people are sheep, why be afraid, that is what they want you to do

[SnoopDog]

3. Horse crap...

There is no such thing as a 'lower position'... This is a bull shit poll.

We are all Americans.

[smtpgirl]

5. MMM

isn't that a freeper poll?

[formernaderite]

31. it's a zogby poll done for the wash times...it gets worse though

if you go to the washtimes, it's showing 23% of dems approving of the way the repubs are running congress. Yup, there's a bit of self-loathing going on here...but who can blame the dems. Our politicians are so afraid of actually sounding like a dem, the public can no longer tell the difference.

[Kelvin Mace]

6. These 58% are the people responsible

for the destruction of our nation. I hold them more repsonsible than the Right.

[Erika]

7. I think most are sick of partisanship

Of both parties.

[smtpgirl]

10. so we should do something about it

in a way we are scared

[ClassWarrior]

12. Actually of one party...

...which has been sold as "of both parties."

NGU.

[darkmaestro019]

23. aaaaaaa-fking-men.

I'm in favor of a sudden and permanent ruling that ANYONE in government agrees to work for the MINIMUM WAGE. And the minimum tier of benefits (which would be zero, I'd say) AND AT THE AVERAGE HOURS OF THE LOWEST TIER.

Period.

Before, I said "the average wage when you add ALL wages and divide by population--including adults who make zero!"--but now, I'm not even that merciful.

That way, if they wanted to vote THEMSELVES a raise, or better insurance (any!) or a work schedule that allowed, yanno, A LIFE--if they wanted to improve their own conditions they could only do so by improving conditions for the entire country.

And that any magical appearance of stuff or money that you should not have at that wage results in being fed to sharks. (joke, sorta) Aw, why the face? That's what the cops do to min wage slaves who decide to risk their lives, essentially, to grow and sell X on the side so they can afford a car that will run! Oops! You have too much money! Search, seize, destroy!

Why would anyone do this, then, you ask? simple. if there weren't enough volunteers, we DRAFT PEOPLE.

I've always thought that some version of this would keep the selfish fks out of government and make sure that anyone who went into it was doing so for the right reasons--to benefit the country. And that being held at the average, or better, LOWEST level---forced to join and therefore empathize with the least fortunate--would force them to be absolutely committed to progress for ALL Americans.

But then, I'm a radical with the ludicrous idea that we ought to start thinking of ourselves--all of ourselves--as the human race, and behaving accordingly. Silly me.

Yeah, I know. Don't bother with the Thorazine and the men in white coats: I know perfectly well that this is a fantasy that will never be realized. But imagine.....

[smtpgirl]

8. Isn't that why

that Gingrich got the boot?

Too much "Contract on America"?

[darkmaestro019]

11. (head plus desktop)

This is why until Bush I refused to pick a party. None of them represented me. Then after Bush I really sat down and read what the Dems SAY they stand for, and felt quite comfortable with choosing that party. Now, I begin to think I was right to begin with--and I notice that a lot of what the Repubs say they stand for isn't true, either.

Again I come back to my two-group system--those who want to enslave, and those they want to enslave. I'd hoped the Democrats were on the side of the latter, but I seem to have been wrong for the most part. I like the Greens but that seems, useless--not that Dem or any other seems, useFUL......

I think the Dems found a way to tap the people that could or would not sign up with the Enslavers, but that they really are just out for fat checks and jobs they can be smug about. It makes me sad to think that, and sad on behalf of the Dems that seem to have joined for the reasons that I did--true and MISPLACED faith in the stated Dem ideals.

Come on, people, this isn't much of a movie without a hero to oppose the villains.

[ClassWarrior]

13. Bipartisanship is dead for the moment...

...and there is no margin in making deals. The rules have changed. When you capitulate to the Republicans for promises of something down the road you are being a fool. When you make a deal with them for personal reasons, you are selling out your party. When you use Republican talking points to make your argument you are helping the other side. When you kiss the president on the lips at the state of the union you are telling the Democratic base that we are of no interest or concern to you. This hyper-partisanship is ugly and it's brutal, but it is the way it is.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2006_02_19_digbysblog_archive.html#114048470214208877

NGU.

[Jim Sagle]

16. Moonie hogwash.

[Dr.Phool]

22. You got that right

First thing I thought when I saw UPI. Owned and operated by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

Total Bullshit!!

[Starfury]

24. Sorry, didn't realize that UPI was associated with Moon.... n/t

[TahitiNut]

17. Being an independent means never having to say I'm sorry ...

... for blindly supporting hogs wearing a "Democrat" label.

[EST]

19. I got those same Zogby results and, while Zogby is regarded

as reliable, I do not for a moment think those results are valid. I don't know where or how they got there wires crossed, but I know bs that doesn't conform to experience--and I took that survey. The questions weren't that direct and those answers are the type that a false flagged freeper would give, not anybody I know.

[ProSense]

21. This poll is crap.

Zogby is running around complaining about anti-Arab sentiment being fueled by the port security deal, now he comes out with a poll that says Democrats believe Congressional Democrats should cave. BS! This reminds me about the polls around the time of Alito's confirmation, when they failed to mention that 90% of Dems supported the filibuster.

[dolstein]

25. In other words, there's a major disconnect between DU'ers and Democrats

What a surprise.

[Dr Fate]

29. Plenty of poll takers wanted to invade Iraq too.

The active base gets it right a lot more than do these 58 percenters in this one poll, as well as other polls.

[msongs]

26. grover norquist says - >

the exact same thing, the drown the government in the bathtub, the dems oughta just get used to being the pets of the repubs.

amazing how the dems are buying into this prophesy and living up to it in so many cases.

but not here on DU thank koresh

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[f-bush]

27. WTF you have to have your head up your ass to think that!

[radio4progressives]

28. one thing about zogby, the polled are people in business..

and that's exactly what i'd expect to hear from capitalist pool of people being polled.

[windbreeze]

32. I am not in business.....I take Zogby polls all the time...

and most of the time, I don't agree totally with the answer choices given, so sometimes I find it hard to pick one I agree with 100%...and a poll that asked this type of question....I don't recall even seeing...hmmmmm...wonder why...cause I am listed in their data base as a Democrat???...so they sure wouldn't want to ask me...perhaps we should remember that polls can and are manipulated to bring the types of results the particular poll taker wants to come up with?...might make it possible for us to save our anger for more important things....
windbreeze

[napi21]

41. I take the Zogby polls all the time too, but this one was a phone

poll. I did get a Zogby poll phone call once, but it wasn't political.

[FreedomAngel82]

30. Oh good grief!

Sorry but I don't freakin think so! If the democrats can stop them from taking away my civil rights they better damn well fucking fight! So when the republicans are in our position should they? Hell no the views will be turned.

[Rocknrule]

34. Dems should accept their position as lessers & sit on the back of the bus

[Ignacio Upton]

35. This is a glazed-over delusional sense of:

"Can't we all just get along?" Can't we accept our minority status and work with Bush to privatize Social Security, nominate extremist judges, and slash student loan benefits?:sarcasm:

[CarlSheeler4U]

36. I must be an anarchist then to expect more from our elected leaders.

[Lorien]

37. Repugs posing as Dems

it's happening everywhere.

[OzarkDem]

39. Dozens of other polls say the opposite

Overall, Congress' job approval rating for the last two years has hovered between 30% & 40%.

http://www.pollingreport.com/CongJob.htm

Job Approval for Repubs in Congress has been even worse, mostly in the 30's
http://www.pollingreport.com/cong_rep.htm

Dems have averaged a little higher, but not much

http://www.pollingreport.com/cong_dem.htm

[paulk]

40. what a stupid poll!

what a wonderful opportunity to dump on Dems!

a DU specialty!

[karynnj]

42. The question might have been loaded

Did anyone here take it?

How they phrased the question can determine the results:

What if they asked:
Would you prefer the Democrats in Congress to:

A) Accept that they are in the minority and work with Republicans in Congress to craft bi-partisn legislation

B) Take stands and write legislation that is consistent with Democratic values, but which will fail

Although DU might go for B), many people will go for the very positively worded A)
In reality, it's a false choice ignoring the middle possibility of writing legislation that is consistent with Democratic values, but which can be sold to enough Republicans. (Another way they could have written B) is: Spend your time in Congress actively working to defeat Republican legislation (How many people realise that stopping something bad helps.)

[mdmc]

43. Americans must think that money talks

and that the GOP is the party of the rich...the dems are the working class party (poor).