WASHINGTON – Looking to turn a negative into a positive? Blame the other side. House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer outlined a strategy for a Democratic victory in the House that includes playing up poor congressional approval ratings.
With five weeks until the midterm elections, less than 14 percent of Americans approve of how Congress is handling its job, according to a Gallup poll. The rating is among the lowest recorded by the polling service before a midterm.
Republicans, the majority in the House, should be blamed on for the low esteem of the public and the GOP’s track record could drive frustrated voters towards Democrats in the midterms, according to Hoyer.
“As voters prepare to elect the next Congress, they have a clear choice: Maintain a Republican House majority that has made obstruction and partisanship its policy or elect a Democratic majority that will end the gridlock by focusing on the issues that matter and by working in a bipartisan way to make progress,” Hoyer said.
In a speech before the National Press Club, he cited issues such as the minimum wage, which 71 percent of Americans want to increase, a Pew Research poll says. “Yet House Republicans won’t allow it to come to the House floor,” Hoyer said.
The Maryland Democrat referred to the 113th Congress as the “do-nothing Congress” and said Republicans are steering focus away from key issues. Hoyer, who is the second-ranking House Democrat under Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, cited a speech by House Speaker John A. Boehner in which Boehner called thisCongress the most transparent in history. Members are even allowed to use iPads on the floor of the historic chamber, he said.
“Of course, you can bring your iPad to the floor to read about these items – but not act on them,” Hoyer scoffed.
Aides at Speaker Boehner’s office and the Republican National Committeewere contacted but had no immediate response to Hoyer’s remarks.
Democrats are fighting an uphill battle with only a 1 percent chance of regaining control of the House, according to the Washington Post Election Lab. There are currently 233 Republicans and 199 Democrats in the House, meaning Democrats would need a net gain of 17 seats to gain control.
Yet, Hoyer says, “I think the American people made it very clear that the obstructionism is the responsibility of the Republican Party.”
David Wasserman, U.S. House editor for the Cook Political Report, said voters blame both parties for congressional gridlock, not just Republicans.
“That’s why the number of self-identified independents has risen to record levels in Gallup yearly surveys,” Wasserman said. “The results of this midterm are driven by cyclical changes, not necessarily recent shifts in opinion: for example, the House was last up in 2012 and this year’s Senate seats were last up in 2008 – both great Democratic years when young voters and minorities were maximized. The fact this is a fairly neutral midterm means Republican gains.”
Gallup research shows that among the public Republicans and Democrats view of Congress at similarly low levels, 16 and 17 percent respectively. In a news release, senior Gallup editor Jeff Jones called congressional approval ratings it a “political orphan” that neither side will adopt as their own.
Hoyer said the voters identification laws enacted by some states could help Republicans keep control of the House.
“One of the reasons Republicans are trying to make it more and more difficult for people to vote is because their premise, which is accurate in my opinion, is that if everybody votes, Democrats win,” Hoyer said.