Here's what things have come to ... this article appeared in yesterday's Washington Post: Many Lawmakers Not Mentioning Word 'Congress' in Campaign Ads. Here's an excerpt:
"There are years when incumbents can tout their experience and legislative achievements as they seek reelection. This is not one of those years, as the approval ratings of the gridlocked Congress have begun to approach the popularity of pond scum among an increasingly disenchanted electorate.
"The result is that consultants and strategists who run congressional campaigns appear to be employing some artful ad copy to avoid mentioning that their candidates are members of Congress."
I guess this answers the question of whether or not members of Congress actually understand the abysmal level of regard in which they are held by the average citizen. The logical follow-on question is, of course, whether this knowledge will result in any change in behavior.
I think not.
In most cases a person would be proud to have solid experience on his or her resume, and would assume that this makes him or her a more appealing candidate than a less-experienced challenger. Not this year ...
"Playing down a congressional history is a particularly vexing problem for House members ... who are hoping for a promotion to the Senate, and troublesome for tea party freshmen who helped Republicans win the House in 2010 and now find themselves forced to run as influential members of the body they once railed against."
Campaigning is easy when all you have to do is rail against the shortcomings of the other guy. Actually legislating and accomplishing something is hard when you actually have to make things happen in the real world.
It's going to be a loooooong election season when even the incumbents are ashamed of their performance.
Have a good day. Cartoon Saturday is coming tomorrow ... chance are you'll need it.
More thoughts coming.
Bilbo
Maybe this is the first step towards improvement; when even Members of Cngress are ashamed of their lousy performance. Some might even be moved to not seek reelection. That is to be desired.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to run a negative campaign. They need to risk concrete improvements.
I eschew obfuscation!
ReplyDeleteThe atmosphere surrounding politics is truly toxic. I fear we'll never get out of this mess.
We need a third party with a dynamic leader to take over the world. THE BILBOATICANS!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAngelique - you are correct. Actually doing something entails running the risk that the thing you do will irritate some part of your constituency. Nobody wants to face that.
ReplyDeleteKathy - I eschew first, ha, ha. Yes, the level of toxicity is dreadful. It's going to be a very ugly and distasteful election season, and it's starting early.
Mike - "Bilboaticans?" I'd almost prefer "Know Nothings," but I think that's already being used as an alias by both the GOP and the Democrats.
I think both are more "Unwilling to Learn Anythings"
ReplyDeleteI like the word "obsfucate."
ReplyDelete