Congress needs a wake-up call

by Armstrong Williams - 04/19/10 4:47 PM ET

Today, approval ratings have improved to 23 percent, with Gallup arguing the
bump was most likely produced in the wake of Congress enacting health reform,
and not surprisingly, primarily among self-identified Democrats, where approval
surged from 24 percent to 41 percent.

Is this what analysts in Washington circles call a “dead cat bounce”? How much
lower must rank-and-file Democrats see their approval ratings fall before they
throw Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid off of their marble perches in the Dome? Even
with the glimmer of good news, Americans are still disgusted with their elected
federal leaders. The historical average of Congress’s approval is 34 percent. This
current batch can’t even beat the likes of scandal-plagued Congresses when Dan
Rostenkowski and Jim Wright were running the joint.

To be fair, public approval of Republican lawmakers is equally ugly. Their
numbers are close to single digits. But the larger issue here is trust, and the
public’s trust of those in control is unraveling by the day. Democrats would
help themselves if they actually started listening to constituents and tackled
something on everyone’s minds these days — this economy. I’m not talking about
more spending, folks. I’m talking about more jobs. Tackle the issues that are
hindering the business cycle and stop meddling with money instruments only. The
alarm is ringing. There’s your wake-up call.