How Much Do You Disagree With U.S. Elected Officials and Their Policies?

[moejoe15]

I thought it might be interesting to find out what everyone thinks of our politics in general in the US. The question will be how much you disagree with our elected officials, their politics and their legislation. All of them, not just the ones not in your party. It doesn't matter which way you lean, the question should be valid for everyone.

If you aren't American I'm sure your opinion on your own country would be interesting in a post.

 

[Evo]

Isn't *all* elected US officials an impossible question?

 

[lisab]

I don't understand the question.

 

[micromass]

How much do *all* American people disagree with *all* elected officials on *all* possible issues??

Hmmm...

 

[Dr Lots-o'watts]

I'm new to these forum polls. Do any actually get more than ten votes?

It's surely tough for a politician to say things everybody can agree on.

 

[Jack21222]

Add me to the list of those that don't understand the question. The answer is either 100%, 0%, or somewhere in between depending on what you mean.

 

[moejoe15]

I thought it was fairly clear. Our elected officials pass laws and do other things related to holding office, like listening to lobbyists. The question is in general, how much do you disagree with what they do on our behalf. I heard a new years stat that 40,000 new laws were passed last year in the US.

Am I the only one that thinks there is something wrong with our legal system? Every new law they pass buries justice a little deeper. And the laws they pass are crazy. Maybe I'm just bitter because I am currently being screwed by a law that is making me pay $30,000 a year in taxes on 3 small empty fields.

I voted 80% meaning I disagree with 80% of everything they do or stand for. That's republicans, democrats and independents. They say a lot of people think the country is heading in the wrong direction. I don't think the country is going in the wrong direction, I KNOW it is. Maybe this poll would be a way to gauge that feeling.

 

[Jack21222]

I thought it was fairly clear. Our elected officials pass laws and do other things related to holding office, like listening to lobbyists. The question is in general, how much do you disagree with what they do on our behalf. I heard a new years stat that 40,000 new laws were passed last year in the US.

Am I the only one that thinks there is something wrong with our legal system? Every new law they pass buries justice a little deeper. And the laws they pass are crazy. Maybe I'm just bitter because I am currently being screwed by a law that is making me pay $30,000 a year in taxes on 3 small empty fields.

I voted 80% meaning I disagree with 80% of everything they do or stand for. That's republicans, democrats and independents. They say a lot of people think the country is heading in the wrong direction. I don't think the country is going in the wrong direction, I KNOW it is. Maybe this poll would be a way to gauge that feeling.

So, your question is asking what percentage of what is actually passed into law we disagree with? I guess that is more sensible, but that's not what you originally asked.

You do realize that politicians are not a homogeneous group, right?

 

[KingNothing]

I thought the questions was worded fairly clearly. My general disapproval rating would be about 80% for the "big" politicians (senators, congresspeople, etc).

moejoe - a word of warning...Have you ever watched the show "Big Bang Theory"? Well, these boards have a lot of Sheldons. I don't think I've ever seen a serious poll where the wording of the poll itself wasn't brought into question.

Maybe a better way to word it would be "how do you rate our political system on a scale of 1 to 10?"

 

[Tosh5457]

I understand the question, but it's very hard to quantify it. It's better to tell you the things I don't like, from an external point of view (I'm from Portugal).

• The major influence of lobbies in US politics
  There are 26 lobbyists per congressman. Many corporations spend gigantic amounts of money in lobbying.
  This makes it possible for corporations and rich ideological lobbies to have a great influence in politics. I think this is the main cause of many problems with USA. To name a few: resistance against socialistic measures (such as universal healthcare), foreign policy, neoliberalist policies in general.
  
  http://www.numberof.net/number-of-lobbyists-per-congressman/
  http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/12/07/383779/30-big-corporations-taxes-lobbying/?mobile=nc

• 
  Military spending and foreign policy
  US pointless wars and pointless military spending started with the Vietnam war, and it keeps going on... Of course that the pro-Israel lobby and AIPAC have an interest with the war against Middle East now.

• 
  Immigration
  This isn't just a US problem, it's also an European problem. Before there were quotas on immigration for each country, now it's completely out of control. These out-of-control immigration is what gives birth to ghettos, rise in criminality and increase of the unemployment by the native population. And then there are people who say mass immigration doesn't cause this, to justify it. I'm not a conservative nor I am a liberal, I just know to recognize the problems this causes.

• 
  No significant policies to diminish social inequality
  Obama care is the exception. The inequality is too big, and what happens is that too much money (the rich have to use their money) goes to the unproductive financial sector, mainly for speculation. And the middle classes is the backbone of any economy, so a country with a weak middle class can never grow in the medium/long term. This alone is a reason to implement more social aid programs, which would make everyone better off in the long term.

 

[MarcoD]

@Tosh

The US has a singular position to international, national, and individual responsibilities, or Europeans have. If you're from Portugal, you're very likely to be far more into the socialist spectrum than I (dutch) am. So you'll run into the same discussions as I did.

From a fine video by Lisab I gathered that the biggest English speaking nation on Earth soon will be China. It's going to be very interesting to see what will happen when some of them end up here too.

 

[Angry Citizen]

I disagree with pretty much everyone in the American political system with the exception of Bernie Sanders, and I don't like him 100% (his policy on nuclear power is luddite). In general, American politics is a moderate right wing/centrist party against a crazy right wing party. All of America's problems stem from this lack of a legitimate left wing, manifested as a lack of social welfare and a lack of unionization. Hopefully that is starting to change. Obama's SOTU the other day encapsulates the new viability of open discussion on income inequality and class warfare. Unions are waking up from a long sleep, and finding that they are strong.

 

[lpetrich]

I've suspected for some time that the US is overdue for one of its periodic political upheavals. Historians Arthur Schlesingers I and II have proposed a theory of Cycles of American History, alternation between eras of liberalism and progressivism and reform, and eras of conservatism and maintaining the status quo. Here are their liberal / conservative alternations:

Liberal Movement to Create Constitution -- Hamiltonian Federalism
Liberal Period of Jeffersonianism -- Conservative Retreat After War of 1812
Jacksonian Democracy -- Domination of National Government by Slaveowners
Abolition of Slavery and Reconstruction -- The Gilded Age
Progressive Era -- Republican Restoration
The New Deal -- The Eisenhower Era
Sixties Radicalism -- Gilded Age II

The last one is my name for the current era, because of its resemblance to the original Gilded Age. The original one ended in a major economic slump, and that may also happen to the current one.