The congressional approval at 3% was specifically for their handling of the war.
Maybe this is the real reason for the 3% rating.
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/JohnBoehner/2007/08/06/enough_is_enough?page=full&comments=true
Enough is Enough
By John Boehner
Seven months have passed since I handed the gavel to Nancy Pelosi, formally returning control of the House to Democrats for the first time in 12 years. In my remarks to the House that day, I offered a bit of advice to the members of the incoming majority. I told them:
“A congressional majority is simply a means to an end. The value of a majority lies not in the chance to wield great power, but in the chance to use limited power to do great things.
“The [American] people don’t care which party controls it; what they want is a government that is limited, honest, accountable, and responsive to their needs. The moment a majority forgets this lesson, it begins writing itself a ticket to minority status.”
My friends: the Democrats’ ticket is being punched.
The stolen 215-213 vote Thursday night on the Republican motion denying taxpayer benefits to illegal immigrants could be the legislative equivalent of the “shot heard ’round the world.” This was about far more than just arcane parliamentary process. It was an act I believe will eventually come to symbolize this majority.
In a fateful moment that capped off seven straight months of cynical broken promises, the current leadership thumbed its collective nose at the will of the American people.
In one telling instant that has now been viewed by millions of our constituents via the Internet and other means, the Democratic majority revealed it is willing to break any rule, trample on any precedent, and run roughshod over its own Members to defend a left-wing, big government agenda most Americans utterly reject. [snip]
The severity of this breach hasn’t occurred to every Democrat yet. As this morning’s Washington Post revealed, there is disagreement within the Democratic leadership ranks as to whether Thursday night’s stolen vote action was even a mistake at all. Majority Leader Hoyer acknowledged on the floor that it was a mistake, and apologized. But Speaker Pelosi brushed Leader Hoyer’s comments aside, saying there was no mistake, and calling the incident something that was just an “inconvenience” for the Republican minority.
[snip]
They stuck pork-barrel spending for peanuts and spinach on a bill meant to fund American troops in harm’s way.
They created slush funds for secret earmarks, attempting to spend billions of taxpayer dollars without transparency.
They jammed “green pork” accounts into the energy tax bill, allowing taxpayer funds to be used to subsidize things like Lexus Hybrids in Beverly Hills and putting copies of Al Gore’s book in children’s classrooms.
They voted to look the other way when the Speaker’s own choice for majority leader broke House rules by threatening a Republican member who dared to challenge an illegitimate earmark.
They stonewalled lobbying reforms that require lobbyists to disclose taxpayer-funded earmarks for which they’re lobbying Congress, repealed Republican reforms requiring earmarks in tax and authorizing to be publicly disclosed and subject to challenge on the House floor, and killed legislation requiring taxpayer-funded state and local government lobbyists from following the congressional gift ban as they lobby for pork.
They trumpeted passage of a lobbying reform bill largely indistinguishable from the one Republicans passed through the House last year – the bill Democratic leaders condemned at the time as a “sham.”
Bad behavior breeds bad behavior. During the last three weeks, things only got worse.
They Abused the Rules to Give Illegal Immigrants Your Money. Without so much as a hearing, Democratic leaders rammed a bill through the House that cuts seniors’ Medicare benefits and raises taxes to expand government-run health care that illegal immigrants can receive. They silenced Republicans who rose to object to the process by which this irresponsible legislation was brought to the floor. Then they overturned the 215-213 vote.
They Abused the Rules to Raise Taxes and Gas Prices. To pay for new spending in the farm bill, Democratic leaders attached a surprise tax hike to it – with no debate and no committee consideration – on the day before it hit the floor. The tax hike threatens more than five million American jobs. A week later, they rammed energy legislation through the House that raises not only taxes, but gas prices, too – just so they could say they passed an energy bill.
They Abused the Rules to Leave Our People More Vulnerable to Attack at Home and Abroad. Six months ago, Majority Leader Hoyer promised me on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Republicans would be given a vote on legislation by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) barring Congress from cutting off funding for American troops in harm’s way. Six months have passed. There has been no vote. Instead we spent hours this month debating meaningless Iraq bills that everyone knew were going nowhere, and many Democrats themselves didn’t even believe in.
[snip]
That there are devastating consequences for American families and small business owners when Democrats control Congress.
Our freedom and security are at risk, subjected to death by a thousand cuts by a legislature that believes the answers to our problems lie in bigger government and higher taxes. An undeclared war on American jobs is being waged. The size and scope of the federal government is being expanded by reaching into the pockets of hard-working American families and taking more of their money.
[snip]
