There is so much occurring in government right now, and politics is certainly coming into play. It is difficult to pick one subject on which to elaborate but admittedly the lack of sleep might be contributing to my attention deficit disorder. Let’s start with the punchline first. According to a July 6 survey conducted by Rasmussen, only 25% of American likely voters think the country is headed in the right direction. Predictably, Republican and Independent dissatisfaction is much higher than Democrat dissatisfaction. So what is causing the dissatisfaction?
The newest unemployment rate figures show a drop to 6.1%, the Dow Jones is toying with the 17,000 mark, the deficit seems to be dropping due to the shutdown that forced austerity measures, and the surplus in the housing market has dropped dramatically. So shouldn’t the electorate be pleased or at least pacified into contentedness? Shouldn’t the right direction/wrong track numbers be better and therefore an asset for incumbents?
Take a look at the more prominent headlines. The leading National news stories are about illegal immigrant children flooding the borders, a Veterans Administration that is accused of actually killing our veterans rather than saving and caring for them, a Supreme Court decision on Hobby Lobby that has devolved into a pro-choice/pro-life debate, driver’s licenses and in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, it’s been discovered that the National Security Agency has been spying on American citizens (they are not supposed to do that), and a Mexican government helicopter that flew and fired gun shots in American air space. And that is just national. Here are a few gems from Arizona. Attorney General Tom Horne is fighting an independent investigation into his fundraising practices while hiring his own donors to investigate him with your tax dollars. The investigative report will not be public information. Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal posted online in blogs under different names and wrote blatantly racist comments. The city of Phoenix just raised our water bills and parking fees to cover a 38 million dollar deficit.
So now you have an idea of why voters are frustrated and it is not necessarily the economy, although it is certainly a matter of trust. Usually this is a recipe for a tidal wave election where incumbents are shockingly defeated and a wave of new blood is shot into office. I mean House Majority Leader Eric Cantor outspent his opponent 10-1 and still lost his primary. Surely the wave is here, right? However, in the primary elections held post Cantor, incumbents from BOTH parties have overwhelmingly won. Including 23 term Charlie Rangel (D-NY) who was censured by the House of Representatives in 2010 for ethics violations. Don’t ever say the electorate is an easy thing to understand.
