The United States Congress, a bicameral body that is responsible for legislating the world’s most powerful democracy, has consistently suffered from inordinately low approval ratings from the American public. There are multitudinous hypotheses from political scientists that offer postulates as to why this particular branch of government has been burdened by the scourge of popular disapproval. One ostensible consideration in the analysis of this phenomenon is the inherent nature of democracy itself. One must ask if the constitutional framework of American democracy itself is conducive to widespread popular approval; moreover, are the legislative expectations held by the average American citizen completely unreasonable or are the legislators
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Stimson examines the striking similarity in the patterns of congressional approval ratings with those of gubernatorial and presidential approval ratings; moreover, he notes the significance of a strong economy and government trust in his findings. As the economy improves, general satisfaction and trust in the government is also bolstered. This trust in government generally translates to higher presidential, gubernatorial and congressional approval ratings. In these circumstances, the public perception is that the government is working, and incumbents, regardless of political (party) affiliation, benefit from heightened poll numbers as a result. (Smith, et al. pg. 23) Stimson uses several historical public approval charts to demonstrate to what degree the popularity of a sitting president impacts the approval ratings of the U.S. Congress. He examines the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and William Clinton by contrasting their approval ratings (over the course of their tenure) to Congress over the same period of time. The aforementioned approval ratings follow a stunningly homogenous pattern, hence Stimson speculates that the national economy strongly influences public perceptions about both the executive and legislative branches of government. These generic attitudes about American public affairs are pervasive and ubiquitous. Surely, the actions of legislators and the ideals of the American public are pertinent to public approval; as a result, there are deviations within Stimson’s chart that account for polling fluctuations such as: wars, presidential scandals, congressional controversies, etc., but overall, there appears to be a strong relationship between economic performance/trust in government and the approval ratings of our government officials: president, governors, and members of Congress (19). I would assert that the articles from Hibbing & Morse, and Brady & Theriault are both relevant when considering the rates of congressional
Stimson examines the striking similarity in the patterns of congressional approval ratings with those of gubernatorial and presidential approval ratings; moreover, he notes the significance of a strong economy and government trust in his findings. As the economy improves, general satisfaction and trust in the government is also bolstered. This trust in government generally translates to higher presidential, gubernatorial and congressional approval ratings. In these circumstances, the public perception is that the government is working, and incumbents, regardless of political (party) affiliation, benefit from heightened poll numbers as a result. (Smith, et al. pg. 23) Stimson uses several historical public approval charts to demonstrate to what degree the popularity of a sitting president impacts the approval ratings of the U.S. Congress. He examines the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and William Clinton by contrasting their approval ratings (over the course of their tenure) to Congress over the same period of time. The aforementioned approval ratings follow a stunningly homogenous pattern, hence Stimson speculates that the national economy strongly influences public perceptions about both the executive and legislative branches of government. These generic attitudes about American public affairs are pervasive and ubiquitous. Surely, the actions of legislators and the ideals of the American public are pertinent to public approval; as a result, there are deviations within Stimson’s chart that account for polling fluctuations such as: wars, presidential scandals, congressional controversies, etc., but overall, there appears to be a strong relationship between economic performance/trust in government and the approval ratings of our government officials: president, governors, and members of Congress (19). I would assert that the articles from Hibbing & Morse, and Brady & Theriault are both relevant when considering the rates of congressional