Newsflash: Disgust with government at all-time high

Here we are on day 11 of the partial government shutdown and a slew of polls have come out in recent days showing that approval for nearly every elected federal official has fallen significantly. The President has sunk to 37% approval, his lowest recorded since taking office. Congress has reached an all time low of just 5% approval. I’d like to meet some of those in that 5% category to see if they’ve been paying attention.

Report from NPR:

Overall, 62 percent mainly blamed Republicans for the shutdown. About 50 percent said Obama or the Democrats in Congress bear much responsibility. Most Americans consider the shutdown a serious problem for the country, the poll finds, though more than four in five have felt no personal effect. For those who have, thwarted vacations and a honeymoon at shuttered national parks, difficulty getting work done without federal contacts on the job and hitches in government benefits were among the complaints.

Asked if she blamed Obama, House Republicans, Senate Democrats or the tea party for the shutdown, Blair, an independent, said yes, you bet. All of them. She’s paid to fly with a group to four national parks in Arizona and California next month and says she can’t get her money back or reschedule if the parks remain closed. “I’m concerned,” she said, “but it seems kind of trivial to people who are being shut out of work.”

…

Most Americans disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, the poll suggests, with 53 percent unhappy with his performance and 37 percent approving of it. Congress is scraping rock bottom, with a ghastly approval rating of 5 percent.

So, what of it? Are 2014 and 2016 ripe for the rise of a third-party with such disgust in the current two-party system? Could a figure such as Dr. Ben Carson enter the arena running unaffiliated with either party and create a groundswell of independent support? Perhaps, and maybe this is a stretch, even Jesse Ventura?