In the days and weeks following the end of the government shutdown, Republicans have been facing certain backlash with the American public. Republican Congressman from Colorado, Scott Tipton, is a prime example of this. During a town hall meeting last week, Tipton was victim to very angry constituents. The attendees of the meeting accused Tipton of being just another self-interested congressman, one person even yelling "you don't hold America hostage". A shouting match eventually erupted within the town hall between attendees, with Tipton having very little control over his constituents. Another significant issue was Tipton's opposition to overhauling immigration. This created further problems, and the Latino population was in an uproar.
This is a significant example of how congressmen must never forget to keep their constituents happy. Now, Tipton faces vulnerability during the next election as his approval rating has subsequently shrunk. I'm not sure if it is right to blame just a single congressman for the shutdown, but the people certainly wanted to make a point, in which they did rather efficiently. The American people may have been affected, but the Republican party is now the real victim of the government shutdown.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/29/scott-tipton-government-shutdown_n_4173823.html?utm_hp_ref=politics
Here is finally the first of what is predicted to be huge backlashes in districts with a split vote. Like you said, the real political victim of the shutdown was and still is the Republican party because they will lose these seats, lose the incumbent advantage, because of one attempted strategic move.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness voters are finally opening their eyes and placing some blame on the officials they elected. It is not okay for us to have such astoundingly low approval rates for congress, but such high reelection rates. Everyone seems to be pointing fingers and not realizing that much blame can be found in their own districts. I hope this next election can have much more change in congress than we're used to.
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