We live in the clouds
Why is it that average Americans are not as angry as we are about Republican obstruction in the U.S. Senate? How could any Democrat be attracted to the specious argument that Democrats are responsible for getting little done in Congress?
Maybe it’s because only 26% of Americans know that it takes 60 votes to keep a filibuster from killing legislation!!
We activists live and breathe with how politics work, but we are out of touch with the vast majority of Americans when it comes to political knowledge. In short, we live in the clouds! A recent Pew Research study tested Americans about various issues and the results are truly shocking: Here is the link to Pew For example:
- Only 26% knew it takes 60 senators to vote to stop a filibuster
- Only 32% knew that the Chairman of the Republican National Committee is Michael Steele
- Only 32% knew that not a single Republican voted to support health care legislation in the Senate
- Only 36% knew that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is nearest to 10,000 and not 15,000 or 5,000
- Only 39% knew that Harry Reid is the Senate Majority Leader
The Pew study breaks the answers down even further into gender, age, education, party affiliation, etc. Fascinating to read. And you can even test yourself. Check it out.