Tapping into Voter Anger

If you need proof that Americans are unhappy about their government right now, look no further than The New York Times bestseller list. Among the top nonfiction hardcover books for the week of Nov. 23 are Michael Moore's "Dude, Where's My Country?"; Al Franken's "Lies (And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them)"; Sen. Zell Miller's (D-Ga.) "A National Party No More"; and Bill O Reilly's "Who's Looking Out for You?"

There are other, more telling signs that voters are mad. Polls show that 50 percent of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction. Then there is the success of presidential candidate Howard Dean, who has gone from insurgent to frontrunner within the space of a few months. And there is no mistaking the anti-incumbent mood that swept Gov. Gray Davis (D-Calif.) from office and ousted the ruling parties from governors' mansions in Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Voter anger is nothing new in American politics. In bad economic times, Americans tend to vote their pocket books and send the president packing. In 1992, the public took out its frustration on President George H.W. Bush, largely due to his indifference to the sagging economy. Two years later, voters unhappy with the Clinton administration's positions on issues such as guns and health care gave the GOP control of Congress for the first time in 40 years.

In 1998, Minnesotans rejected the two major-party nominees and elected wrestler Jesse Ventura as governor. At the national level during the same year, voters expressed their unhappiness with the partisan impeachment process by bucking historical trends and electing more lawmakers from the president's party to Congress in the midterm election. And last fall, Maryland voters ended 36 years of Democratic rule by electing Republican Rep. Robert Ehrlich as governor.

This mood of uncertainty is unlikely to end anytime soon. And Republicans, as the majority party in Washington, may pay the heaviest price for this nation-wide ire. GOP pollster Frank Luntz recently told USA Today, "I know anger when I hear it and this is not limited to California." Democratic consultant Bill Carrick warned the Sacramento Bee last month, "This is not the end of voter unrest. This is the beginning."

Anti-Incumbent Fever

If Republicans lose control of the White House in 2004, it may simply be an extension of the current anti-incumbent trend. American voters have demonstrated time and again their willingness to punish leaders in office by voting for their opposition. Reelections are just as often a referendum on an incumbent's term in office as a chance to embrace someone new.

In terms of fulfilling its campaign promises, the Bush administration's record is less than stellar. President Bush never delivered on his pledge to be "a uniter, not a divider." Brought into office by a Supreme Court 5-4 ruling, he governed as though he had a conservative mandate.

And even though Bush has the worst jobs record of any president since Herbert Hoover, his one-note theme of tax cuts has done little to revive the sagging economy while creating a half a trillion-dollar budget deficit. Of those surveyed, 54 percent told The Los Angeles Times that the nation's economy is worse today than it was four years ago; just 18 percent said it is doing better.

Republicans on the Hill have not tried to work across party lines, either. Just last week, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) held open a roll call vote for almost three hours to ensure the passage of the GOP's Medicare reform bill. The party has been just as intolerant of dissent from within -- for example, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who was dubbed a Franco-Republican earlier this year for questioning the size of Bush's tax cut.

The White House's unwillingness to hear other views has sent a message to voters that unless you're part of the conservative base, your views simply don't count. Bush's my-way-or-the-highway approach is unlikely to play well with American voters who want politicians of both parties to work together.