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The Democratic what?
Reality check, sir:

The Democrats have 48 senators, two fake Democrats who are both receiving copious funding from Republican megadonors, and fifty other Republican senators who are filibustering everything down to spare paperclips.
Not saying it's the Republican Party's fault...it's not.
But we do not HAVE a "Democratic controlled Congress"...we have a Democratic controlled House and that is all, and with the world record filibuster, we have been unable to DO much of anything.
What priorities?
The priorities are being determined by the folks who love the filibuster crutch, so if anyone thinks priorities are out of whack, check out the priorities of the people leaning on that crutch, because it is THEIR priorities getting the traction.

Democratic senators are immobilized, and have been all along, and nothing's going to change unless or until we get ENOUGH of them seated to overcome the crutch.

The voters didn't want to bother seating a real Democratic majority, thus they got what they deserved.
And now they're complaining about it? They should have thought about that when they seated a bunch of people who only know that one cheap parlor trick.

Your two fake Democratic senators vote the democratic party line more than most who bear the D label. In fact, Sanders voted the Democratic Party line more than just one other Democratic senator.

I agree we get the government we deserve. We have the best government money can buy. Did you know 14 billion dollars, that’s with a B was spent to elect our present government? That’s not counting the billion plus that was spent on Georgia’s two senate runoff’s in January 2021.

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/10/cost-of-2020-election-14billion-update/

42% of that 14 billion came from individual mega donors, that’s right almost 6 billion dollars came from a few selected mega rich individuals.

Now the 2020 election was a mixed bag. People voted democratic for president, for Biden, against Trump. But turned around and voted Republican down ballot which enabled the Republicans to gain 13 house seats, 2 state legislatures and a governorship. Some 7 million people voted for Biden, against Trump, then voted Republican in congressional elections. That’s a lot of ticket splitters.

Did those voters want the Democrats in charge, or did they just want Trump gone? I’ve always maintained that Biden was elected as a transition president, he wasn’t expected to do anything except bring back some sanity to the white house and return the country to normalcy. If the people wanted a bunch of new legislation, they wouldn’t have voted for Biden to get rid of Trump and then Republican down ballot. They would have voted straight Democratic. They didn’t.

As for Biden and company having the wrong priorities, here it is from CNN.

CNN Poll: Majority of Americans say Biden isn't paying attention to nation's most important issues

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/08/politics/cnn-poll-biden-job-approval/index.html

Now you may think Biden and company are paying attention to this nation’s most important problems, but 58% of all Americans disagree.

As for the filibuster, I’ve said before the democrats might as well do away with it. I’m positive once a republican president is elected and the senate returns to Republican control, Mitch McConnell or whoever is the Republican majority leader will ditch it. It’s just a question of who ditches it first.

Perhaps it time to explain myself. I tend to look at politics through both a forecaster’s and a political strategist’s eye. I’ll use RCP for my figures.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president-biden-job-approval-7320.html

I see Biden’s overall approval rating at 41%. History being a guide, that usually means a loss of 30-40 house seats along with 5 senate seats in the next election. I want to know why and the reasons for the low approval rating and what can be done about it from a political strategist point of view. In other words, to help Biden.

Other issues - is the overall approval rating the only rating Biden is low or does it carry to many other issues. Biden’s approver on the economy 38%, Immigration 33%, foreign policy 37%, COVID 44%, Climate change 39%, Health Care 40%. Is the country headed in the right or wrong direction, 27% right direction, 65% wrong direction? Biden’s low approval is across the board on many different issues. This means general dissatisfaction with the Biden’s presidency on almost every issue.

Next which issues does the public think is the most important issue facing this country today.

1. Economy, rising prices, jobs 28%
2. COVID 17%
3. Crime 13%
4. Climate Change 11%
5. Immigration 10%

All other issues are in single digits. Knowing the Economy has been the most important issue in how the public decides how they will vote in 9 of the last 10 elections. That is the place where Biden needs to do something, improve. I believe an uptick in other areas will follow if the economy improves and inflation, rising prices drops. That the perception among the public is Biden and company aren’t doing anything about the economy, other polls which show Biden’s priorities are all messed up. That he has lost the support of independents.

I’m not condemning Biden nor am I defending Biden. I’m trying to find the reason for low approval and the issue that could fix that and get Biden back above 50% overall job approval. I accept the reality of Biden’s and the Democrat’s situation today. I’ll make no excuses for it. Biden has one thing going for him amidst all these dreary numbers, he is as a person, very likeable. That something Trump wasn’t. Trump and the Republicans were in trouble well before the 2018 midterms. With no chance of improving their chances. Biden’s likeability gives him the chance. Especially in regaining the support of independent voters. His likeability is the difference from voters being angry and just being dissatisfied with Biden’s job he is doing. That sounds silly, but there are many historical references.

The political strategist in me, I’d tell Biden and company to start talking about the economy, rising prices, inflation more. Stress what they’re doing about it or trying to do about it. Talk less about Trump, although the Democratic base loves that. But the Democratic Party base makes up only 30% of the electorate. It’s the economy that will make or break Biden and the democrats in the midterms, nothing else. Can Biden and company do anything about inflation, rising prices, probably not. But talking about it, putting forth ideas to combat it, show the folks they’re not ignoring it in favor of other issues. That in my opinion could make a big difference in how the midterms turn out.

Bottom line, Biden and the Democrats need to recognize that a plurality of the people, 28% of the voters view the economy, rising prices, inflation as this nation’s most important issue, problem facing this nation today. They need to place that at the forefront with all other issues further down. That is if they want to win in the upcoming midterms. Take this in the grain it’s given. A political strategist trying to get his candidate elected or to prevent huge losses in the midterms.

Personally, I like Joe Biden. But liking him as president hasn’t a darn thing to do with him and the Democrats in congress being in the process of blowing the midterm elections

I heard that we have LESS faith in our government than the people of Liberia! I can also be wrong about this but I think that Perotista rarely refers to a single poll as the end all. I am, therefore, assuming that he is probably taking averages which seems to be right to me. I am not big on polls but have no problems with them. I tend to go with personal gut feelings. I also suspect polls might be closer than I. I am basing this on my loss when gambling on politics and losing my 10 bucks. It was, if nothing else, an educational experience that is unlikely to be repeated.

The simple fact, however, is that there are a LOT of people that have absolutely no faith in their own government and they put the blame on another tribe. I have yet to hear a single government tribe take responsibility for even a little bit when it comes to political failures. Its obvious them damned bad fairies!!!

If one equates faith to trust, you’re correct.

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/05/17/public-trust-in-government-1958-2021/

Liberals 31% trust their government today compared to 9% when Trump was president
Conservatives 16% trust their government today compared to 37% during Trump’s presidency
Which party the president is from had a huge bearing on trust or perhaps faith in government. Yet, overall trust is very low even if your party holds the presidency. Overall trust in government is at 24%. Trust in our government has been way down since Watergate. Although it rebounded some under Reagan and right after 9-11.

Let me try this out. When it comes to elections 25-30% of all Americans vote against a candidate and or party, not for one. They don’t trust either party nor do their trust either candidate. It’s a choice of the lesser of two evils in their minds. Chances are this anti voters as I call them, didn’t like either candidate, just chose the one they wanted to lose the least. No trust or faith in the candidate or party they voted for, just a vote more against one candidate or party than the other.

Interesting, trust and faith was high prior to Watergate. That was a political era when both major parties had their conservative, moderate and liberal wings. Not broken down by political ideology. This too could have something to do with it. You had more moderate, more center leaning parties and candidates. I highly doubt either Eisenhower or JFK could win their respective parties’ nomination today. Neither was ideological pure enough to the left or right.

The above is just a SWAG, thoughts on paper if you will with nothing to back them up.

huh????

I was trained as a mathematician. I understand statistics and the branch known as polling. However you have completely misunderstood what I am typing .... which I find a bit incredible.

You reported a stat regarding the perception of the two major parties on how they "felt" about the other party. You reported about 30% (as I recollect) had the same opinion as the other i.e. they were destroying America. I was not disputing the stat, I was however disputing the underlying basis for those perceptions. I therefore asked you if there was a basis for that belief, and your response was since the polls report an equal percent saying the same thing, you concluded it was meaningless hyperbolic partisanship. My response was bull poohpooh.

My argument was there is a legitimate basis for the perception by Democrats Republicans are destroying America. which would refute your conclusion. There is a difference between Republicans saying Democrats are radical extremist socialists etc etc and Republicans diligently working on overthrowing an election, Republicans diligently working on fixing the next election, Republicans covering up an insurrection, Republicans etc etc.

I can't find Democrats working on anything which resembles what the Republicans are doing. I can therefore legitimately conclude Republicans are trying to destroy America. I can also legitimately conclude your belief is Republicans are just mean spirited and are not trying to destroy America. I think you typed something similar when I warned about Trump and the election. The basis for my statements has been the last 5 years and especially the last year as we now have access to records which corroborates my fears and when analyzed leads to the conclusion they are trying to destroy America.

You should note there is absolutely nothing in what was typed which in any way nullifies, denigrates, mitigates, or changes the polling number you reported.

So the question remains .... are Republicans trying to destroy America???

Who is trying to destroy America is based on what side you are wrong - right or wrong. That's just the way it is. The Republican side believe that the Democratic side is anti-American and are going to destroy the country and that works for the other side as well. I am on the Democratic side so, its the Republicans who are trying to destroy the country. If I were on the Republican side then I would thing that the Democrats. This has little to do with truth, right or wrong.

The fact, however, is that it going to be the middle that makes the choice between the two sides and, in theory, they base their decision on facts. That is also, unfortunately, flat out wrong. Even the middle have some that take one side or the other based, I suspect, on which side you believe is right. So, even in the middle truth, right and wrong have become politicized.

Its really pretty interesting. It used to be, when somebody is lying or mis-informed the answer was to have the ability to know what was going on was to refer to existing facts. Now, however, the Republican side seems to have been able to change facts themselves for them that believe them. This stuff is actually kinda religious wherein facts no longer count as there are 'higher' authorities. They seem to have been able to move facts into the spiritual realm by simply changing the word 'spiritual' to 'factual'. In other words I think I am right and they think they are right. The only real difference is that my side is willing to argue facts and the other side don't do that because they already know the facts and that's that!

We are living in very strange times! (again, my thought and certainly not theirs)

Sure looks that way to me. Everything they want to do is destructive. They haven’t had a policy platform since before Trump. They lie about practically everything. A handful of their electeds are trying to be sane about the destructive behaviors and they are also being destroyed by their own party.

Regarding jgw’s assertion that there is no right or wrong in having opposing opinions is not a sustainable concept for government.

In simplest terms, the Republicans today are opposed to a form of government based on the Constitution, and the Democrats are for it. And radically, the Republicans don’t even have an alternative form of government to replace it with - just anarchy and chaos, from the looks of things.

I think they pretty clearly favor a dictatorship, as long as the dick is Trump.

wellll ... sometimes.

P uses as the basis of his conclusion historical perspectives, and by that I mean, in the past one could conclude the stat used by P was simply fringy folks on both sides believing the other side was "wrong" and "destroying" America. So yes we do live in strange times or perhaps in a more modern rendition of previous times.

So the stat is some 30% of both sides believes the other is destroying America. We can actually objectively analyze why they believe that. My contention is some Republicans believe simply, changing cultural values, especially if condoned by Democrats, which runs countered to what Republicans believe, is the same as saying Democrats are destroying America. Sorry but if people are incapable of adapting to historical, sociological, economic, and cultural changes .... well that is not destroying America, it is changing America. On the other hand consider what Republicans want to do ... I'll allow the reader to fill in the blanks.

When Trump said over and again, the press is the enemy of the people, he was offering an insight into the mind of a dictator. One who would use the office as a cudgel against political enemies. So is that what America is about? A real proponent of America would have said bad press is the enemy of America.

Republican state legislatures are enacting laws to disenfranchise predominantly Democrat party voters. Superficially it appears they are not, but consider how close the races were in the swing states which went for Biden. By using thinly veiled disenfranchisement tools against politically opposite voters, all they have to do is ensure a small number of voters do not show up to vote which would be the slim margin of victory for either party. In Georgia for instance, if they can get 20k fewer voters in a demographic which votes predominantly for Democrats, Trump would have found his 11k votes. It is that simple. It is how elections can be rigged. Is that one of America's values?

Party purity tests were once a quality which was found among dictatorships. The Republican Party has broken which American values and traditions and now only allows Trump loyalists in the Party.

I could go on with more examples of what Republicans stand for, which are not the same values on which America was founded. These changes go against everything on which America was founded. Based on this, the statistical number of 30% now has meaning. Democrats have a real basis to believe Republicans are trying to destroy America, because Republicans have taken actions to destroy America. I mean, we have people openly advocating for deconstruction of government and replacing with an anti-Democratic regime.

For me, the evidence is compelling. All I am saying is do the analysis. Consider the basis from both sides and weigh them. If one believes talk by one side is the equivalent of actions taken by the other side ... welll ... Trump's your guy. Heil Trump. If not then be prepared to do battle with the forces of American destruction, because they are many and they are true believers.