Everybody hates Congress. So why do congressmen almost always get re-elected?

It's called Fenno's Paradox

Congress' approval rating is in the dumps.
(Image credit: iStock)

Everybody hates Congress.

Well, okay, not everyone. But almost everyone. The Real Clear Politics polling average shows that a mere 14 percent of Americans approve of Congress, compared to 78 percent who disapprove. That's an almost impossible spread of more than 60 points. And yet, Congress' approval is actually slightly better today than it was in early 2013, when Public Policy Polling found that Congress was less popular than Genghis Khan, root canals, and cockroaches.

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Noah Berlatsky

Noah Berlatsky is a freelance writer whose work appears in The New Republic, The Guardian, and other venues. He is the author of Wonder Woman: Bondage and Feminism from Rutgers University Press.