Most companies depend on customer satisfaction to stay in business. If our U.S. Congress were a company, it would be in deep trouble on that count. Few would buy their stock. Congress’ approval rating now is about where it was in early 2008 preceding the all time low later that year. The more disturbing aspect is not the low rating, but the continuing downward trend since this past April. There has been a drop of about 10 percentage points, from a high of 37% in April to late November’s 26%. This downward trend has been free of wide fluctuations, which would indicate volatile public reaction to events and congressional behavior. That kind of volatility might be expected from a public more susceptible to “showcase” actions and fancy rhetoric by Congress. Less volatile and longer trends indicate stronger and more deeply rooted feelings. In short, the sense of the American people as expressed in reputable polls is that Congress continues to muff its job, consistently and over an extended period of time.

Most members of Congress are likely to tell you they listen to their constituents. They may not agree with them, but they do listen. Of course they also listen to their party leaders, special interest groups and lobbyists. Those individuals and groups get the member’s attention all of the time. The voter gets Congress’ attention only every two years or so. So there is a fundamental inequality of access. The belief is that the voter can essentially be excluded from consideration with impunity, except during elections. Perhaps we should pity our representatives. They are torn between what their constituents want, what they have promised, what their party leadership demands and what the special interests are willing to pay for. One more thing they have to deal with is their own set of values. With all those possible conflicts, it is no wonder Congress behaves like a herd of cats looking for mice in a dog pound. And for the remainder of our entertainment, throw in the usual percentage of bad apples and greedy crooks who infect OUR Congress.

Americans can be very forgiving of their elected officials. We may have low expectations, but we also have high hopes. What we really hope for is leadership. Leadership is not about charisma or popularity. Although those traits might help, the more meaningful trait is inclusiveness. Too often today we see acrimony, insults and misrepresentation in discussions by our leaders. These tactics are meant to exclude and ultimately expel the opponent. Inclusiveness wants to build coalitions and collaborate. Another leadership trait is self accountability. Here, true leaders hold themselves accountable for mistakes or a lack of progress, whereas our representatives want you to know they are not at fault. They want to be sure you know the other guy is the problem. A third leadership trait is a willingness to question the status quo. As a society, we cannot afford to hang on to things and ideas that no longer work. At the same time we need to preserve and nurture those that do work. Questions will never kill you, whereas unexamined answers can.

Improving our system may seem insurmountable, but it is possible. The average citizen can find like-minded individuals to present options and new strategies. Free speech and a free press are essential. In fact they may be the specific factors that have enabled the American Experiment to succeed as much as it has. Congress seems unwilling and/or unable to address known faults in how it conducts the people’s business. Maybe we need new political tools to remind them we are watching and will remember. In our technological age, we can now have no-confidence polls all the way down to the lowest elected level if we choose. Perhaps we should allow citizens to petition for no-confidence, off-year, side elections for Senators and Representatives. We need to do something. How do you feel about your representatives having such poor performance? I think they need to take a look at themselves. If they won’t, get your brooms ready for next year.