There is a new AP-Ipsos poll out on MSNBC that gives Congressional Democrats proof of what they need to do going forward to fulfill the will of the American people as their representatives: keep standing up to Bush.
The bad news first: Congress gets just as dismal a rating as Bush this month. That's right, our Congress is loathed just as much as the Warmonger-in-Chief.
The survey found only 35 percent approve of how Congress is handling its job, down 5 percentage points in a month. That gives lawmakers the same bleak approval rating as Bush, who has been mired at about that level since last fall, including his dip to a record low for the AP-Ipsos poll of 32 percent last January.
To those of us who have watched in frustration lately at Democratic dithering over the fantasy notion of a "compromise" with Bush, this comes as little surprise. Democrats were elected last November based on the Iraq war more than anything else. Poll after poll confirmed this. Now, Americans want OUT. Not benchmarks. Not continued stern warnings to the Iraqi government. Not middling surges. They want OUT. Poll after poll confirms this.
Now here's an interesting tidbit from the article:
But after bumping up in April, this month's drop left lawmakers' job approval where it was when the year began. April saw Congress defy Bush and send him a bill financing the war and requiring a troop withdrawal, which he vetoed May 1.
What's that? April saw a surge in popular support for the Democrats when they were <GASP> challenging Bush and calling for a troop withdraw? What a shock.
Democrats in Congress, listen to me. Very, very carefully. The idea that you can "compromise" with Bush is laughable. The man does not give a rat's ass what you do. He'll smile and say he wants to compromise, but offer nothing remotely substantial. He will throw you some meaningless bone (i.e. "benchmarks") and then promptly ignore whatever it was he promised anyway. He'll issue a signing statement as to what he thinks the law really means, whatever you think be damned. I'll say it again: He. Does. Not. Care.
So what do you do now? You become a real opposition party. Keep your recently-developed spine (we've seen a bit of it!) and stand up to Bush. And you know what will happen? America will love you for it. America hates Bush and America wants the Democrats to give him the middle finger at every opportunity. Do it. Nothing else you do will matter in the face of Bush's intransigence. He'll veto, he'll ignore, he'll issue signing statements. So you have nothing to lose by doing what you were effing elected to do:
Stand up to Bush.