[Winona] Congressional Approval Numbers down to 29%

Mon May 21 21:38:11 CDT 2007

Dwayne, you ask  relevant questions. I'll venture some responses here.  "Is there a point in which a political body becomes too big to be a democracy?" Assuming the "body" is a nation,   it would appear that in the present order of things the answer is "no," even though increased size may make consideration of all citizens more difficult. Virtually all "democratic" nations must be "representative" democracies. I don't know how small a nation would have to be to be a direct democracy, but except for some islands in the South Pacific, a direct democracy seems impossible for a nation.

"At  what point are the public servants who are elected to reflect the wishes of the people too far removed from the public?"  Nations have wrestled with this issue for some time. In relation to total population, many countries have more representatives than does the United States. Russia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have proportionately more legislative representatives than we do. Are any of these more  reflective than the United States of their citizens' views? 

Or do other factors come into play in determining real distance from the public? Although ideally as many segments of a population as possible should be represented, effectiveness of representation involves many other elements. Are legislators public-spirited, honest, industrious, knowledgeable, adequately assisted, fair-minded, courageous, and aware of the concerns of a wide array of groups?  Are interest groups so powerful  (in terms of money, numbers, and media access) that they can not only supply information but force legislators to support their views regardless of merit for the public at large? How knowledgeable are citizens? Do they understand the issues they advocate or oppose? Are their opinions truly theirs or those of a group that claims to speak for them?

These are some of the questions that deserve consideration in determining effective representation. No democracy has ever consisted of  ideal legislators representing ideal citizens and dealing only with ideal interest groups. But even though we can't have the ideal situation, we must keep an eye on Congress.As most participants in this forum, regardless of political orientation, realize, it has (like presidents) made disastrous decisions. 

Roy Nasstrom 
May 21, 2007

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dwayne and Denine Voegeli 
  To: E Democracy 
  Sent: Friday, May 18, 2007 5:54 AM
  Subject: Fw: [Winona] Congressional Approval Numbers down to 29%

  [Winona Online Democracy]

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  Now we're talking.

  Paul, I like your out of the box thinking.

  Bryon, your points about the size of our democracy are dead on.

  Your points raise important questions.

  1.  Is there a point at which a political body becomes too big to be a democracy?

  2.  At what point are the public servants who are elected to reflect the wishes of the people too far removed from the people?

  Dwayne Voegeli

  May 18, 2007

  ================

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Paul Double 
  To: Online Democracy 
  Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 12:35 PM
  Subject: FW: [Winona] Congressional Approval Numbers down to 29%

  [Winona Online Democracy]

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  Create a lottery for the Senate and House.  Every registered voter is entered.  Instead of voting draw a winner.  They get to serve for one term unless their number is drawn again.  Fresh ideas, new blood every two or six years.  No campaigns, no PAC's just the luck of the draw. 

  I would bet the common sense of the random selection would come closer to better government than the current process and the frugality of most would save tons of money since without the consensus or the majority nothing is approved. 

  The President is selected by the Congress for the next Congress and must be from those currently serving in the random selection process giving them to select a leader from the group of their peers.

  It could also work for State government.

  Outside the box but it would be interesting and never boring!!!

  Paul Double

  -----Original Message-----
  From: winona-bounces at mnforum.org [mailto:winona-bounces at mnforum.org] On Behalf Of Dwayne and Denine Voegeli
  Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 9:06 PM
  To: E Democracy
  Subject: Fw: [Winona] Congressional Aprroval Numbers down to 29%

  Those are sad numbers, to say the least.

  Is it the people in the system or is the problem the system itself?

  Can't we do better?

  If so, how?

  Dwayne Voegeli

  May 16, 2007

  ============

  May 15, 2007[PARA]Congress Approval Down to 29%; Bush Approval Steady at
  33%[PARA]Both ratings are slightly lower than 2007 averages[PARA][NL]by
  Joseph Carroll
  GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
  PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll finds continued low levels of public
  support for both Congress and President George W. Bush. Twenty-nine percent
  of Americans approve of Congress, down slightly from last month's reading
  (33%) and this year's high point of 37%, while Bush's approval rating is
  holding steady at 33%. Both the ratings of Congress and the president are
  slightly lower than their respective 2007 averages. Approval ratings of
  Congress are higher among Democrats than Republicans, while Bush's ratings
  are much higher among Republicans.
  Congressional Job Approval
  According to the May 10-13, 2007, Gallup Poll, 29% of Americans approve and
  64% disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job. Congressional
  approval is down 4 percentage points since last month, and is 3 points lower
  than the 32% average measured during the first five months of the year. The
  high point for the congressional approval rating so far this year was the
  37% approval measured in February. Although ratings are quite low, Americans
  have been more positive in their assessments of Congress this year than last
  year, when an average of just 25% approved of Congress.

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