How Do Americans Feel About Politics? 'Disgust Isn't a Strong Enough Word'

[Celerity]

Voters’ broad discontent with disarray in Washington transcends political parties, race, age and geography.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/06/us/kevin-mccarthy-congress-matt-gaetz-speaker-biden-trump-voters.html

https://archive.ph/7Jkdp



Whitney Smith’s phone buzzed with a text from her mother, alerting her to the latest can-you-believe-it mess in Washington: “Far right ousted the House speaker. Total chaos now.” Ms. Smith, 35, a bookkeeper and registered independent in suburban Phoenix, wanted no part of it. She tries to stay engaged in civic life by voting, volunteering in local campaigns and going to city meetings. But over the past week, the pandemonium of a narrowly averted government shutdown and leadership coup in the Republican-controlled House confirmed many Americans’ most cynical feelings about the federal government. “It was just like, Oh God, what now?” she said.

Griping about politics is a time-honored American pastime but lately, the country’s political mood has plunged to some of the worst levels on record. After weathering the tumult of the Trump presidency, a pandemic, the Capitol insurrection, inflation, multiple presidential impeachments and far-right Republicans’ pervasive lies about fraud in the 2020 election, voters say they feel tired and angry. In dozens of recent interviews across the country, voters young and old expressed a broad pessimism about the next presidential election that transcends party lines, and a teetering faith in political institutions.

The White House and Congress have pumped out billions of dollars to fix and improve the nation’s roads, ports, pipelines and internet. They have approved hundreds of billions to combat climate change and lower the cost of prescription drugs. President Biden has canceled billions more in student debt. Yet those accomplishments have not fully registered with voters.

A small group of hard-right Republicans drove the country to the brink of a government shutdown, then plunged Congress into chaos when they instigated the vote that, with Democratic support, removed Mr. McCarthy. Democrats are betting that voters will blame Republicans for the trouble. Many voters interviewed this week said they viewed the whole episode as evidence of broad dysfunction in Washington, and blamed political leaders for being consumed by workplace drama at the expense of the people they are meant to serve.

snip

[Blues Heron]

1. How you could possibly be an independent in this climate is beyond me.

Im glad shes not a puke, but still.

[Celerity]

2. ...

[Blues Heron]

4. ouch

people need to wake up

[Celerity]

5. they appear to be getting more delusional

[gratuitous]

3. That's the right wing strategy

Blast out sour fart after wet fart until people are thoroughly disgusted with the whole thing. Makes it easier to grab power when people are turned off and not engaged in the process. Any proposal to make things better is immediately savaged because it's not free, doesn't solve a problem overnight, or requires the least effort by the electorate.