33% of the US does not support Israel's actions. only 1.5% of congress

[jsamuel]

What does that mean when 33% of the country thinks one thing and only 1.5% of congress votes that way?

[ixion]

1. well, only 33% of the county thinks * is doing a 'good job', but

they still support his twisted war crimes and unconstitutional policies. :crazy: :grr:

[movonne]

2. As I look back , was it the same 33% who thought going to Iraq

was the wrong thing to do...and now it is around 60%...and some day it will be around 60% who will not support Israel...the problem it is always to late.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. What percent of Israelis support it?

I heard a smidgeon of something about Israeli newspapers criticizing the escalation but that was drowned out by American media.

[oberliner]

17. 95%

95% of Israelis support it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060721/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictisrael_060721100943

[jsamuel]

19. The two choices were "justified and correct" or "unjustified and wrong"

strong support

[Bretttido]

4. It takes time and reflection to understand the follies of war

Our instinctual reaction is to support it, especially when *we* are waging the war. In Israel's case, they have been considered one of the US's closest allies, so the *we*-factor persists to a degree.

[Jara sang]

5. AIPAC

[SammyBlue]

7. Yes, Israel's AIPAC. . .most of AIPAC are college students.

I've been to five of their conferences. I never knew college students had such pull.

[JackNewtown]

20. College students?

AIPAC and co. contributed $6 million in 2004. Not bad for college students. ;) With no opposing lobby of any significance existing, politically backing AIPAC is an easy choice for a politician.

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.asp?Ind=Q05&cycle=2004&recipdetail=A&sortorder=U

2004 top 20

Candidate

Bush, George W (R)
$262,766

Daschle, Tom (D-SD)
$245,075

Specter, Arlen (R-PA)
$235,200

Lieberman, Joe (D-CT)
$231,050

Wyden, Ron (D-OR)
$162,950

Boxer, Barbara (D-CA)
$142,110

Murray, Patty (D-WA)
$130,745

Mikulski, Barbara A (D-MD)
$127,125

Lantos, Tom (D-CA)
$124,600

Deutsch, Peter (D-FL)
$119,400

Feingold, Russell D (D-WI)
$113,703

Brownback, Sam (R-KS)
$98,600

Berkley, Shelley (D-NV)
$98,044

Dodd, Chris (D-CT)
$97,150

Schumer, Charles E (D-NY)
$96,000

Bennett, Robert F (R-UT)
$95,750

Bayh, Evan (D-IN)
$95,250

Reid, Harry (D-NV)
$94,200

Frost, Martin (D-TX)
$92,654

Inouye, Daniel K (D-HI)
$91,200

[jsamuel]

6. well I can tell you what if feels like

it feels like 1/3 of the US is represented by 1.5% of congress

[SammyBlue]

8. Flamebait!

[jsamuel]

10. I asked a question to see what people think. If that is flamebait, then

we are in a very bad place.

[SammyBlue]

12. I've asked questions defending Israel that were flamebait.

I'm just wondering why this post hasn't been locked yet.'

This is flamebait.

[jsamuel]

14. I don't understand. Why is it flamebait?

I am only asking why only 1.5% of congress supports a position that 33% of Americans support.

[porphyrian]

9. You're just illustrating how non-representative our representative...

...government is, not just figuring it out, right?

[jsamuel]

11. yeah, but why

[oberliner]

15. 33%

33% of Americans believe Jews are more loyal to Israel than America

Wonder if it's the same 33%?

[jsamuel]

16. well I know that is not true as far as I am concerned

[bemildred]

13. Congress has long since stopped representing us. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

18. Politicians' first allegience is to themselves.

They read the polls and figure out where the money and votes are and vote accordingly.

“America is a nation without a distinct criminal class...with the possible exception of Congress." - Mark Twain

[jsamuel]

21. Thanks for the responses, but I don't think any of these explain it.

The only thing I can think of is that they are being "scared" into voting for something again. In doing so, they make people not want to vote for them. (I will vote for sure, but others who are not as active could be turned away.)

[Conan_The_Barbarian]

22. simple!

because that 67% elects every politican, it only takes 51%, how would a 33% ever be represented?

[ErisFiveFingers]

23. My answer:

98.5% of America's congress is scared. Scared of "TERRA" losing them an election. Thus, they support fighting the "TERRA".

Nevermind the fact that in every nation with a 'TERRA" problem, more people are dying in car accidents every year than of TERRA (and yet, no guided missile strikes are being launched on car factories)?

So, why the 67%, but not changing their representatives?
1. People in the US often don't vote based on what happens to other people, they vote based on what they think will happen to themselves. Very few americans are living in Israel, or Lebanon. So, they disagree on the policy, but it *won't* change their vote.
2. Incumbency. There's a quite amusing statistic that comes out around every election cycle, where people think that *their* congress-critter is OK, but *other states* should change. Of amusement to note is that most states tends to think the same way. This might have a lot to do with self-validation.
3. We do not live in a democracy, we live in a democratic republic. This means that quite often, a representative will put together a portfolio of positions that a large majority of their district/state can agree with, and yet the representative could support truly outlandish things on a national level, and still be elected.
4. The public doesn't always have the time to get politically informed. The only reason FAUXnews *works* where it does is when the majority can be coerced to value their "personal time" over their "community time".

Combine all of the above, and you get the mess that is our political system, and strange things like 60% of the public supporting safe abortions, and 60% opposing... safe abortions, only it's called the "do not kill the poor crying children act". Or an act called "Clear Skies" that increases pollution levels, or something called "No Child Left Behind" laws that encourage schools to leave *every* child behind, etc.