Tag: Worst Congress Ever
Don’t Legislate — Litigate!
Some say Congress is sending us to wrack and ruin,
And by doing nothing they’ll be our undoing.
So what to do with a president
Who takes executive action, exigent?
You call him out in the media, of course, and sue him.
Laying Blame for Our Do-Nothing Congress
There are three groups to blame for the gross dereliction of duty we have seen from this do-nothing Congress. The first, paradoxically, is the Federal Reserve. Its monetary policies have allowed some small measure of recovery, giving cover to Congress’s failure to manage our fiscal policies …. The second group is the Supreme Court. Its campaign of replacing our Jeffersonian democracy with a corporatocracy — sponsored by and sold to the highest bidder — continues unabated … But the group most to blame for the sad state of Congress is you, the American voter. Or, more accurately, the American non-voter.
— Barry Ritholtz, in a Bloomberg op-ed piece.
Confidence in Congress Reaches a New All-Time Low
7%
Of Americans have confidence in Congress, according to Gallup. In 1972 when Gallup first asked the question, 42% of respondents expressed confidence in Congress.
Manchin to Wait Until After Midterms to See Whether He Will Continue to Be Unproductive in the Senate
I’m going to wait until the 2014 election is over, and then I’m going to see what I should do. I’ve never been in a less productive time in my life than I am right now, in the United States Senate.
— Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), in an interview with Time, on his political future.
This Do-Nothing Congress Is Junketing Like Mad
$6 million
Amount spent in 2013 by members of Congress and their staff for nearly 1900 trips, breaking the record for the most privately sponsored travel since rules were tightened in 2007. By comparison the previous post-reform high was 2011, when privately financed travel cost $5.8 million for 1600 trips, according to Legistorm.
Boehner: Running House Majority Like Herding Frogs
I like to describe my job as trying to get 218 frogs in a wheelbarrow long enough to pass a bill. It’s hard to do.
— House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
The Enduring Unpopularity of Congress Reaches a New Low
46%
A s a record-low percentage of registered voters now say the U.S. representative in their own congressional district deserves re-election, according to Gallup. Equally historic, the share of voters saying most members of Congress deserve re-election has fallen to 17%, a new nadir.
Again and Again
The 113th Congress is back in session again.
The Republican-led House is doing it yet again.
They’re starting off
Right where they left off,
They’re voting to defund Obamacare — again.
