Americans rank Congress poorly, but they keep sending incumbents back to Washington
Greetings, readers:
The polling company Gallup regularly asks Americans if they approve or disapprove of the performance of Congress.
Over nearly a half century, rarely have 50% or more of citizens said they are happy with their representatives in Washington, D.C., but the most recent assessment is particularly bad.
Only 16% say they approve. And yet, incumbent members of Congress on the whole tend to get reelected again and again, be they Democrats or Republicans.
That is true in Tennessee, where the nine U.S. House members have served an average of eight years in office. Rep. Jim Cooper, Democrat of Nashville, who is retiring, has served the Fifth District for nearly 20 years (he previously served the Fourth District for 12 years). Meanwhile, Rep. Diana Harshbarger, Republican of Kingsport, is the only member still in her first term.
USA TODAY Network-Tennessee columnist Cameron Smith blames the public's dislike-Congress-reelect-incumbents attitude on voter apathy.
In his latest column, he shares statistics about how voter turnout is abysmal in general elections and even worse in primary elections.
"We’re clearly not sending our best people, and yet we’re not particularly interested in addressing the issue," Smith writes. "So why don’t we change something we find so dysfunctional?"
Tennessee voters have a chance to make a change or continue the cycle in the Aug. 4 primary election. Early voting goes until Saturday.
We invited all congressional candidates to fill out a questionnaire to tell citizens why they deserve their votes. For residents of the newly redrawn Fifth District, which is an open seat, getting to elect a new member of Congress provides a great civic opportunity.
By the way, you will always find answers from gubernatorial candidates, too.
What else is in this week's newsletter?
These are among top reads published this week:
John Corsino, an intensive care unit physical therapist: Policies on guns, abortion should be based on evidence, not emotion
Mary Beth Unthank, a lifelong Knoxvillian, senior contributor for Knoxville Moms and a stay-at-home wife and mother: Who is my neighbor? You can love Jesus and strippers at the same time
Maria Oceja of the Justice and Safety Alliance Coalition: Memphis, let's be a community that loves, fights and votes together
My latest column: Public library director Kent Oliver improved Nashville by challenging us to read outside our comfort zone
Twitter Spaces on Friday
Join our weekly Twitter Spaces segment on Friday afternoons on The Tennessean's Twitter account. Our team talks about the issues of the day. Last week, we discussed the Education Savings Accounts in a spirited discussion where some participants questioned how students with disabilities would fare. Join us for our discussion this week at 3:30 p.m. CT/4:30 p.m. ET, which will focus on answering your questions for the Aug. 4 election.
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Thank you!
David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network - Tennessee. Email him at dplazas@tennessean.com, call him at (615) 259-8063 or tweet to him at @davidplazas. Subscribe to a USA TODAY Network - Tennessee publication.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Americans rank Congress poorly, but they keep sending incumbents back
