On Many Foreign Policy Issues US Leaders and Public Agree, But Congress Vo

[George_S]

Leaders, Including Congressional Staffers, Misread Public Views, Underestimate Support for Multilateral Initiatives

Public Wrongly Assumes Congress Votes the Way Public Wants

A new joint study of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (CCFR) and the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland finds that the American public and American leaders—including senior Congressional staffers, administration officials, and leaders in business, labor, media and other areas— agree on many key foreign policy issues, but that Congress frequently votes contrary to this consensus. The study found American leaders misperceive the public position on these issues, especially when it comes to multilateral initiatives. Congressional staffers similarly misread their own constituents. At the same time, most Americans mistakenly believe that Congress as a whole and their own representative, vote consistent with their preferences. Steven Kull, director of PIPA comments, “What we have found are serious gaps in the democratic process when it comes to Congressional foreign policy.”

http://www.pipa.org/