Pols and Voters in Surprising Harmony

The polls say Californians hate their legislature. The body has an approval rating that has been stuck in the teens.

But this low approval apparently is not because the legislature does not represent your views.

A forthcoming study, mentioned in the Participant Guide distributed at last weekend's Deliberative Poll, suggests the California legislature reflects the policy preference of voters better than any other American legislature.

Yes, you read that right.

From the guide;

"In an upcoming study, two Columbia University researchers have looked at public support for 39 separate policies across eight issue areas — including abortion, law enforcement, health care, and education — comparing public policies in each state to the people’s preferences.

"They have found that nearly two-thirds of  the policies adopted by the California Legislature match the policies most preferred by voters — the highest rate of similarity, or “congruence” between policy and voter preference of any state."

So what explains voter anger at the legislature?

Perhaps Californians don't understand what their legislature is up to.

Or maybe we just hate ourselves.

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