Mad as Hell and Newly Motivated

The Republican scrapes his "W" sticker off the car and laments the crooks from his party that were running the House of Representatives. The Democrat complains that his party's leaders are out of touch and don't seem to understand why they were successful in the last election. No one seems terribly happy, and one has to wonder what it all means for the future.

We've known for quite some time that people all across the political spectrum are upset with President Bush. For months, his approval rating has hovered around an abysmal 30 percent, and it's doubtful that even Jenna's pending nuptials can produce enough sentimentality to cause a big upward spike.

But logic would suggest that all those people upset with the president would sort of appreciate the folks who've been banging him around the most: the Democrats in Congress. Not so. Gallup just came out with its latest poll, and the congressional approval rating has reached an all time historic low. Only 18 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing while a whopping 76 percent disapprove.

What's really interesting about those numbers is that party affiliation didn't make much difference. The approval rating given by Democrats in the poll, 21 percent, is only three points higher than the Republican mark of 18 percent and four above the independent percentage of 17. I would have thought that after 12 years in the wilderness, Democrats would be so happy to be back in the majority that they would cut a lot of slack. No such luck. So what gives?

Obviously, a lot of people voted Democratic in 2006 because they were fed up with the war in Iraq and the scandal-plagued Republican Congress. They were counting on Democrats to move quickly to force an end to the war and to pass serious ethical reforms. Instead, the war lingers on and an ethics package that didn't receive very high accolades to begin with took months to move forward.

That's the easy explanation, but I happen to believe there could be a lot more to it. I think there's a chance that we find ourselves on the eve of a gigantic political awakening all across America. After years of relative dormancy, people are becoming more aware and whether on the right, left or in between, don't like what they're seeing.

People are clearly mad and that could lead to action. Rightly or wrongly, a negative feeling is usually a stronger motivational force. In fact, studies show that in hotly contested elections, most people vote against a candidate rather than for his or her opponent; hence the continued success of negative advertising.

So with negative feelings running so high right now toward politicians of all different stripes, we could be looking at a much more active and engaged electorate down the road. It's about time.

(Originally published by Examiner Newspaper Group)