 June 23, 2021 | by Chris Cillizza, Lauren Dezenski and Sonnet Swire People hate Congress. Again.  For the briefest of moments, Congress had what every middle schooler dreams of: rising popularity.
And then, just like that, it was gone.
Back in March, more than one-third of Americans (36%!) had a favorable view of Congress in Gallup polling. Which, by congressional standards, basically made them Zack Morris. (RIP, Zack Attack.)
The reasons were simple:
1. There was some residual empathy toward members of Congress following the chaos and terror of the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.
2.Democratic voters were optimistic about a House and Senate controlled by their party. (Almost 6 in 10 Democrats approved of the job Congress was doing at that time.)
3. Congress was in the process of passing the popular $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill, a move that made people – especially Democrats – optimistic that other liberal legislative priorities might pass.
Then reality hit. The empathy wore off. And Congress, which is best at doing nothing -- thanks to partisan gridlock -- returned to doing what it's best at.
The January 6 commission bill, which would have created an independent commission to study not just that fateful day but also what led up to it and how similar incidents can be avoided in the future, was killed by nearly unified Republican opposition. Attempts to pass some sort of election reform have faltered. And perhaps most importantly for voters, Biden's signature infrastructure package, which would pump trillions into the national economy, continues to be caught in a no-man's-land between a bipartisan compromise and a go-it-alone push by Democrats.
Voters noticed. And they aren't happy.
In Gallup's new national poll, just 26% approve of the job Congress is doing – essentially a return to where things stood at the start of this year when just 1 in 4 said the same. The fade in congressional approval is almost solely tied to Democratic voters growing less happy. While a majority (54%) of Democrats approved of Congress in a May Gallup poll, that number dipped to just 38% in June.
As Gallup's Lydia Saad writes on the numbers:
"Democrats' approval of the job Congress is doing had doubled between January and February, as their party effectively took full control in Washington, D.C., following Democratic victories in two U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia, and after Biden was sworn in as president. Approval from political independents was also slightly elevated at that time.
"However, after remaining fairly high from March through May, Democrats' support for Congress has plunged between May and June after Congress failed to pass an infrastructure package, which had been Biden's legislative priority this spring."
The Point: Congress' approval numbers consistently soar when the House and Senate actually, you know, do something. Which they seem entirely uninterested in doing these days. -- Chris QUOTE OF THE DAY "There is no evidence presented at this time to prove either significant acts of fraud or that an organized, wide-scale effort to commit fraudulent activity was perpetrated in order to subvert the will of Michigan voters." -- An investigation by Michigan Republicans concluded that there was "no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud" in the state's 2020 election, rejecting claims by former President Trump and his allies that the state's election results were fraudulent. MEANWHILE, IN COLORADO ✍️ Lines are being drawn.
Colorado revealed a preliminary map of new congressional districts on Wednesday, which will include a new district north of Denver because of the state's population growth over the last decade. Colorado is the first state to announce its new district map after the last year's census (and delays from Covid-19), amid efforts to draw new districts in time for the 2022 midterm elections.
An independent commission drew Colorado's district lines -- a nonpartisan approach compared with those of many other states, where lawmakers in the majority party create districts favorable to their side. The process isn't over in Colorado and will include nearly two months of public comment on the proposed districts in July and August.
Democrats currently hold a fragile 10-seat majority in the US House of Representatives, so the once-in-a-decade redistricting taking place across the country, in many GOP-controlled state capitols, is being watched closely.
The redrawn district lines could also reveal clues about which party could have an advantage in next year's high-stakes midterm elections.
-- Sonnet
LAUREN'S GOOD READS  Bending to pressure on the right, VP Kamala Harris is headed to the border, Politico scoops.
The exclusive Rhode Island beach club connected to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse finally speaks to The Boston Globe.
Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, via The Washington Post: "I want to understand white rage. And I'm white ... What is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America. What caused that? I want to find that out."
On social media, we are all the protagonists of our own content -- or at least have main character energy. Love this framing from The New Yorker.
In The New York Times Magazine: How a hedge fund full of climate activists is taking on big oil (and winning).
This Los Angeles pair is turning old basketballs into planters. Ballin'!
THE ALL-IMPORTANT IOWA VISITS  It may be the political off-season (if such a thing even exists) in the early presidential nominating states like Iowa, but a few potential presidential contenders are already paying their respects to the Hawkeye State's donors, electeds and all-important party faithful.
This dispatch about the impending visit and packed Iowa schedule of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley from the Des Moines Register's Brianne Pfannenstiel is a veritable "who's who" of other potential 2024 candidates:
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas is attending a state party reception in Sioux Center next week. And next month, former Vice President Mike Pence will make his first trip back to Iowa since the 2020 election to appear at a forum hosted by Christian conservative organization the Family Leader. He'll be joined by fellow 2024 potentials like former Sec. of State Mike Pompeo and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
It's already a busy start to summer in Iowa.
-- Lauren
MUSICAL INTERLUDE Enjoy a midweek pickup courtesy of Lauren's favorite song (and scene) from "In the Heights": "Carnaval del Barrio." TOP TWEETS  1. Sanders can't be the only one ... 2. An auctioneer at work! 3. I HAVE NO WORDS 4. Madonna and Whitney Houston, please! 5. Asking the tough questions  ONE ONGOING NEGOTIATION 'Inch by inch' Sen. Mitt Romney's description of the pace of discussions among the bipartisan group negotiating details of the infrastructure package. You are receiving this message because you subscribed to CNN's The Point with Chris Cillizza newsletter. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get The Point in your inbox.
Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski. You can follow Chris and Lauren on Twitter and connect with The Point on:
Our mailing address is:
Copyright © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., All rights reserved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Top Articles
-
Baird and NWSL general counsel Lisa Levine were ousted Friday in the wake of a rep...
-
Plus: The high costs of housing, school board politics and alien life abroad July 16, 2021 View in B...
Our Hindi Website
www.hindi.men
