Too bad change didn't happen in Congress

Amazing! What other word is there? Three weeks ago, I asked myself how annoyed Americans are with our political leaders? I said we'd find out on Nov. 4.

And we did.

The sad answer is that despite our bluster and considering that Congress has only 10 percent approval rating, it turns out that Americans aren't angry at all.

Supposedly, our ire would send us to the polls in record numbers.

This was true for Democrats, who actually showed up. But Republicans, sensing disaster, stayed home. The net result was that 62 percent of Americans registered cast a vote versus 60 percent four years ago.

Like lambs to the slaughter, voters too often re-elected the same politicians, who led them into a needless and costly war in Iraq, slept while bankers destroyed America's financial system, applauded as free-trade bills robbed the nation of its jobs, promoted amnesty, approved more non-immigrant visas for foreign-born workers and signed off on a series of massive spending bills that brought the U.S. national debt to over $10 trillion, up from seven trillion when I wrote last wrote about it in 2004.

A few of the most stunning returns:

In Pennsylvania, my new home, Barack Obama heaped scorn on us calling us "bitter," but he coasted to an easy victory.

In Alaska, voters gave enough support to the crotchety 85-year-old convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens to send his race against Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich into overtime. Alaskans endorsed Stevens despite Senate Majority leader Harry Reid's promise that if elected, Stevens would not serve.

In Minnesota, the Democrat's inexperienced tax-evasion candidate, Al Franken, forced incumbent Norm Coleman into a recount.

In San Francisco, U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi, arguably the worst House Speaker in history, got more than 70 percent of the vote despite challenges from Independent anti-war candidate Cindy Sheehan and Republican Dana Walsh.

In New York, Pelosi's fellow Congressional liberal Democrat Nita Lowey defeated the conservative, pro-environment candidate Jim Russell despite her money connections to the Wall Street crowd — specifically Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns — that has bankrupted America.

In California's 11th district that includes Lodi, Democratic incumbent Jerry McNerney survived his challenge from Dean Andal, a well-known and widely respected Republican.

Even though McNerney voted before Election Day for both federal bailout packages, largely unpopular with voters, he easily defeated Andal, a fiscal conservative.

As of today, no one knows where the $700 billion urgently dispersed to the banks has been spent. Instead of stemming the crisis, the bailout McNerney supported accelerated the consumer catastrophe but allowed some banks to acquire its weaker sisters.

During the painful, endless presidential campaign, John McCain and Obama took advantage of the uninformed electorate and the wimpy mainstream media by playing to the lowest common denominator.

Confident that their audience is clueless, the candidates went from city to city, promising jobs and prosperity but rarely fielding a question about how the jobs would be created or the prosperity would be created.

That I am aware of, not one reporter said to McCain, "Sir, the free trade agreements that you voted for in Congress are the reason that there are no jobs in the first place."

The anti-incumbency movement, about which I have written before, is dead. In fact, it never was alive.

The 2008 results prove that Americans are delighted with the status quo despite their protestations to the contrary.

Here's the "throw the bums out" dismal final tally.

The Congressional retention rate remained the same as it has been since 1855, 95.6 percent overall.

As usual, no third-party congressional candidate was elected. A handful reached the 20 percent level while in the vast majority of cases they stayed in low single digits.

In the presidential vote category, about just 1.6 million people voted for third-party candidates, compared to 1.2 million in 2004, an insignificant increase.

I'll end my bleak column with a good laugh for you.

In a CNN poll released on Monday, less than one week after the election, 83 percent of Americans said that the country is in "bad shape."

Yet on the Tuesday preceding the poll, they voted overwhelmingly to keep in office the very individuals who put the nation in the sad state it finds itself.

Give me a break! What's in "bad shape" is the public's awareness level, which I rate as terrifyingly low.

Joe Guzzardi was a candidate for California governor in 2003. He is convinced that, had he been elected, he would have done a better job than anyone who currently holds office. Contact him at guzzjoe@yahoo.com.

Reader Feedback

Cogito wrote on Nov 20, 2008 8:31 PM:

" Wtf, they've been acting like it's not our money since I can remember. The best service the government provides is a building where we can put all these hedonistic narcissists so we can keep an eye on them. Instead of letting them out into the general population where they could do some real damage. "

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wtf wrote on Nov 20, 2008 12:06 PM:

" Speaking of congress....listen to this idiot, Knollenberg...after NOT listening to Americans and deciding on squeezing the taxpayers for $700, er $850+ billion for the GOVERNMENT'S bailout via OUR tax dollars, when Cavuto mentions what's being done with OUR money, this clown, Knollenberg says it's not our money. Wha.....?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZyAd_rJAx4 "

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sam wrote on Nov 17, 2008 4:20 PM:

" I have to agree with flossman. Obama has made it very clear that there is only one president at a time. I like that. "

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Cogito wrote on Nov 16, 2008 8:02 AM:

" Gfloss, I think Obama understands that he needs to be brought up to speed a little before he starts attending things like the G20. It's a little over his head right now. They're planning a meeting with him in the spring. "

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Cogito wrote on Nov 16, 2008 7:58 AM:

" The fact that Americans continue to re-elect their representatives, and then give Congress only a 10% approval rating still makes sense. They like their Reps. and dislike the ones elected by other districts and states. The math works out. "

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peppier2 wrote on Nov 15, 2008 11:03 PM:

" We as Americans are getting to be a nation of Gripers. Everything that is done is not to our liking. It's time to have a positive outlook. "

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GFlossmann wrote on Nov 15, 2008 6:35 PM:

" girard74 or who ever you are this week, get off the drugs and wake up.

President elect Obama has made it very clear he has no desire to to attend to G20 Summit.

Crawl back into your hole. "

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lodisafeway wrote on Nov 15, 2008 2:19 PM:

" Why would Obama be invited to the G20 Summit - or any other presidency-related meeting? President Bush's invitation for him to visit the Oval Office wasn't mandatory - in fact, it came rather early. Obama has no authority as President-elect - he isn't the President of the United States - yet. Regardless of how anyone feels about President Bush, he is still our president. And while he is certainly a lame duck, constitutionally we have only one president at a time. Obama will be getting his opportunity after January 20th - just like his predecessors. Or should we simply abandon protocol (and the law) because of the historical nature of this one President-to-be? "

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wtf wrote on Nov 15, 2008 2:07 PM:

" And, of course, Ron Paul has some interesting comments on the G20 Summit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-nwwJkBSCg

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=4549 "

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wtf wrote on Nov 15, 2008 1:51 PM:

" Couple this with their nuclear "drills" and you have a disaster waiting to happen. A buddy of mine, also in the Marines, told me how bombs were dropped in fault lines down south to see if they could initiate an earthquake.

And just think, if there is a huge disaster, human or otherwise, the chimp can declare martial law and be dictator for life and Obama would never see the Oval Office. "

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wtf wrote on Nov 15, 2008 1:51 PM:

" Joe you make some excellent points; however, when the "average joe" gets their "news" from the MSM, what can you expect?

See the latest?

TV news program tries product placement as revenue source

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jul/21/eye-opener-pitch/

Meanwhile, back in the real world....The G20 Summit is going on right now and Obama wasn't invited...figures....simultaneously, we have several war games going on, too.

What Is NorthCom Up To?

http://www.progressive.org/mag/wx111208.html

The really creepy part in the NorthCom article is the bit about Arnie's drill here in California:

Golden Guardian 2008 tests Californias capability to respond and recover during a major catastrophic earthquake. The Golden Guardian 2008 full-scale exercise scenario focuses on a simulated, catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake along the southern portion of the San Andreas Fault. "

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patricia wrote on Nov 15, 2008 11:16 AM:

" Stupid is, as stupid does. Now the voters have to put up with the mess they created-from nominees to the presidency, to House Speaker Polosi, and Barney Frank. "

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max stanfield wrote on Nov 15, 2008 8:46 AM:

" Hey Joe, for all his slimey "Change" talk, Obama gives us warmed over, left over, oily Clinton flunkees. I never liked the back stabbing McCain either. Sad that out of 300 million people these two bottom feedering hucksters are the best we could find. Hope you are enjoying PA. Miss your cheery face at the LAS "

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Observer wrote on Nov 15, 2008 6:46 AM:

" This is why I despise the well intentioned efforts of many organizations to "get out the vote". Perhaps their efforts would be better served to "get out the INFORMED vote". I've always believe our country/county/city would be much better off with a low voter turnout but the voters knew who or what they were voting for. Not the last sound bite or piece of hit mail they had just recently received. "

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lodisafeway wrote on Nov 15, 2008 6:17 AM:

" How many other gubernatorial wannabes were (are) also "...convinced that, had [they] been elected, [they] would have done a better job than anyone who currently holds office?"

Hey, I've never run for the office and yet even I believe I could do a better job. The problem is that those who vie for the voters' support are usually woefully unprepared for the realities of the office for which they seek.

Even Obama, as the Presidential election was drawing to a close changed his own course of "change" and "hope" to one of cautious optimism - this after nearly two years of insisting that he would immediately change the status quo in Washington to the point that many were convinced that after just one week as President, our problems would be solved and our wounds would be healed.

Yeah, right!! "

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