Congressional Dems Need a Reality Check (and So Do Their Supporters)

On KHND radio yesterday morning (Harvey, North Dakota's blowtorch news and information station) I spent some time with Rick and Chuck discussing the record low approval ratings currently "enjoyed" by Congress (18% approval/76% disapproval). One thing we agreed on was that the American public has little use for the endless hearings and investigations the Dems have held since taking power (over 300 by now). The Dems still haven't figured out that the voters aren't happy about all that wasted time, and if the Dems listen to some of their supporters like this guy, they'll never figure it out:

Since Democrats took over Congress in January, there have been three major attributes characterizing their conduct: (1) a failure to stop or restrict the war in Iraq; (2) a general failure/unwillingness to stop Bush on much of anything else of significance (FISA, a failure to reverse any of the excesses of the GOP Congress, such as the Military Commissions Act, lack of limits on his ability to attack Iran, etc.); and (3) numerous investigations, sometimes flashly but thus far inconsequential. There is no rational way to argue that the numerous investigations (item (3)) are responsible for Congressional unpopularity given how overwhelmingly Americans want Congressional investigations of the administration.

Thus, the only rational conclusion is that Congress is so unpopular, particularly among Democrats, because of their ongoing capitulations to the Bush administration, their failure to place any limits on his Iraq policy, and their general inability/refusal to serve as a meaningful check on the administration. Democrats and independents overwhelmingly dislike the President. Thus, the weaker Congress is in defying the President, the more unpopular Congress becomes.

Denial, thy name is Greenwald. That's as classic a wacky left view of Congress as you'll ever find. Let's hope that the Dems continue to follow this type of twisted logic and there will soon be a resurgence of the GOP majority.