Editorial: Congress Is the Great Frustration

The 2016 primaries revolve around the anger towards U.S. politics of a significant sector of the electorate. The discontent is seen in the support enjoyed by such candidates as Sen. Bernie Sanders and millionaire Donald Trump. The dissatisfaction is real, but it would be a mistake to share the blame equally among the main players in Washington DC.

Criticism towards the federal government and the political establishment is an integral part of American life, but it has rarely reached the current level of rage. This allows Republicans to frame the narrative in a way that President Obama and his policies are the main reason for the national disgust. You can even hear in conservative circles voices that blame the White House for the surge of Trump’s rabid followers due to Obama’s bad governance.

However, the best way to identify the source of discontent towards Washington – and to tell truth from lies – is to check the difference in popularity between Congress and President Obama.

According to polling firm Gallup – which has been taking the pulse of the nation for decades – president Obama’s job approval was 53% yesterday. As for Congress, it stood at 13%. That’s right, 84% of the country disapproves the legislators’ job these days.

Obama’s median approval during this term is of 47%. At this point of his second term he stands at 50%, compared to George W. Bush’s 32%, Bill Clinton’s 60% and Ronald Reagan’s 51%. The President’s popularity is more or less in line with that of his predecessors.

The same cannot be said about Congress. According to Gallup’s numbers, since mid-2011 until today, the GOP-led Congress has the lowest level of popularity in 40 years.

It’s not surprising that both legislative chambers are disliked as much, since they meet as little as possible, and when they do the majority party stays paralyzed by internal disagreement. When they do agree, it’s usually to waste time voting to repeal Obamacare over and over again. So far, those legislators have lived in a bubble, using a discourse that, in the absence of any actual legislation, no one believes.

Polls also show that most Americans think the country is in the wrong track. Now we can see a little bit more clearly why that is.