New Congress Has An Uphill Struggle In Voters’ Minds
Barely two weeks separated the close of one session of Congress and the opening of another if the national legislators gather in Washington, D.C. this Wednesday as planned to get on with the nation’s business. But two sessions of Congress could scarcely be more different at the outset.
The first which convened in January 2009 weeks before President Obama’s inauguration was dominated by Democrats convinced that they had a mandate for change. The change they’ve wrought since then led to the biggest Republican gains in the House in decades and several new GOP senators as well in last November’s elections.
By mid-October of last year in a typical survey, most Likely Voters said their representative in Congress did not deserve reelection if he or she voted for the national health care law, the auto bailouts or the $787-billion economic stimulus plan. Yet these were the activist Congress’ proudest achievements.
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