Midterm Poll Shows (Mostly) Rebounding Senate Approval
Most individual Senators rated highly, Lime snarled in Cabinet controversy
Written by McEntire, Edited by John Laurens and PhDre
Overall, this Senate seems to have rebounded from the anemic approval of the last two terms. Most Senators had high approval ratings - Senators Boisenburg, Prim, PhDre, and Lloenflys saw approvals of 80% or more.
Notably, Speaker SkyGreen and Senator Lime score well below the approval of the Senate overall. Several poll respondents negatively mentioned Lime’s protestations in the cabinet confirmation of Communications Minister PhDre, which may contribute to his low rate of approval.
This poll was open from November 16-20, and had 20 respondents.
Overall Satisfaction: 85%
The Senate has seen a massive increase in satisfaction, with the previous Senate having a 21% satisfaction rating at the midterms. With several holdover discussions from previous terms and a few new proposals from the current Senate, as well as the ongoing discussions around the People’s Assembly Act, respondents in this poll seemed to respond positively to the current Senate agenda.
Individual Senators received particularly high ratings, which may have buoyed the overall Senate’s satisfaction.
A few people have been active, some have not. Things are going slower than I had hoped.
Quieter than expected.
A bit slower than I would like, but it's still active and getting stuff done if at a slower pace than maybe it should.
Seems like we've got stuff moving again
Quieter than expected.
A bit slower than I would like, but it's still active and getting stuff done if at a slower pace than maybe it should.
Seems like we've got stuff moving again
Speaker SkyGreen: 60% satisfied
A bare plurality of respondents - 35% - were neutral on Speaker SkyGreen’s performance, who was elected Speaker by Senators, defeating candidate Lloenflys in a 5-2 vote. Still, SkyGreen’s 30% “very satisfied” is one of the highest among the Senators, indicating that these ratings are lukewarm, not outright negative. If, as indicated in the comments, there are concerns that things are not moving quickly enough, respondents seem to be taking that out on SkyGreen rather than on the full Senate.
Been a bit slow to keep things rolling.
I think I did good
As a Senator I think he's doing fine, but I think he should have step down as Speaker when he realised, he'd be busy in real life. He's not really keeping things moving, and there's been several times where he's had to be promoted by other Senators to move a bill into a further reading. The Senate could probably benefit from a slightly more active Speaker who can keep things moving along.
I think I did good
As a Senator I think he's doing fine, but I think he should have step down as Speaker when he realised, he'd be busy in real life. He's not really keeping things moving, and there's been several times where he's had to be promoted by other Senators to move a bill into a further reading. The Senate could probably benefit from a slightly more active Speaker who can keep things moving along.
Senator Boisenburg: 80% satisfied
Despite being freshly elected to the Senate, Boisenburg sports a strong approval rating of 80%. This may be a reflection of Boisenburg’s overall activity and stint as a Senate aide, rather than specific contributions he has made in his short tenure thus far. Often, a Senator with such a short tenure will receive a much higher neutral score, so Boisenburg has clearly done something right to make a good impression on the electorate - perhaps including his work on People’s Assembly polling.
Not enough time yet to say
I said satisfied but it's a bit soon to judge
He's not been around long enough yet for me to give a fair reflection, but I am slightly disappointed. He's not nearly as active or engaged as I expected he would be.
I said satisfied but it's a bit soon to judge
He's not been around long enough yet for me to give a fair reflection, but I am slightly disappointed. He's not nearly as active or engaged as I expected he would be.
Senator Prim: 85% satisfied
Prim is one of two Senators - the other being Lloenflys - with at least 50% “very satisfied” with their job performance. This is an impressive feat, and is likely indicative not only of Prim’s current term of service but also the Senator’s record of strong legislative prowess.
Pretty active in discussions and provides good feedback.
Senator Lloenflys: 95% satisfied
Lloenflys supports the highest overall approval of the Senate at an eye-popping 95%, as well as the strongest “very satisfied” number at 55%, with only one cantankerous respondent disapproving. Lloenflys has seen a typically active Senate term, commenting on all Senate proposals and introducing a bill to remove Advisory Opinions and replace them with Certified Questions.
Like Prim he's been active and provides good feedback in discussions.
Senator Izzy: 70% satisfied
Senator Izzy is mostly being judged by their marquee proposal, the boldest change proposed by any Senator this term, to reconstitute the defunct Citizen’s Assembly as the People’s Assembly. There are many outstanding questions with this proposal - such as committee structures, the exact charge of the legislative body, etc. - but voters appear to be giving Izzy largely positive marks for the bill. Although Izzy’s approval is lower than that of the Senate overall, it is still largely positive.
Izzy's main reason for being in the Senate is the People's Assembly where he has been active, but he's not very active in other discussions which is slightly disappointing. If he was more active in other discussions, he'd have a solid performance.
Senator Lime: 45% satisfied
Lime has a net zero approval rating, and is the only Senator to receive any “very dissatisfied” responses, with 15% responding as such. While the comments are a little sparse, the comments on this question and the Cabinet nominations question below suggest that the controversy regarding his questioning and vote on Minister PhDre’s nomination is dragging down his ratings. In the inverse of Senators Lloenflys and Prim’s historical competency buoying their satisfaction rating, Lime’s history of controversy may also be dogging him in this poll.
Has Lime completely forgotten that once upon a time Radio was a part of Comms as much as Dispatches are, and it was all run by one Minister with deputies to help out? Did we forget that Dispatches runs best when a deputy minister is in charge of them and is typically forgotten when it's just listed under the Minister's duties? Did we forget how many deputy ministers in charge of sections like Dispatches, and yes, even Radio have proven their worth and risen to become Ministers, or that even in other ministries being a successful deputy minister means a natural promotion to Ministry? Leaving out everything else wrong with Senator Lime's protest, this line of questioning was just plain petty.
Active in discussions and appears to be doing a better job than the Speaker at moving discussion along and getting other Senators to weigh in when the discussion dies down.
Active in discussions and appears to be doing a better job than the Speaker at moving discussion along and getting other Senators to weigh in when the discussion dies down.
Senator PhDre: 85% satisfied
Senator PhDre has a solid 85% satisfaction rating with no negative responses. One respondent commented that, were it not for the By-Election Clarification Amendment, they would have voted dissatisfied. Overall, this suggests that people are happy with PhDre’s level of activity and contribution to the Senate, although that same commenter notes that he hasn’t delivered the fresh ideas he campaigned on in the election.
Can't say he's been particularly active in any of the discussions or suggested any fresh new ideas like he suggested he would when running for Senate. The by-election amendment prevents a dissatisfied rating.
Satisfaction on the Issues:
Executive Oversight: 55% satisfied
Cabinet Nominations: 90% satisfied
Deepest House Ovation: 100% satisfied
Despite some kerfuffle over Lime’s position on the Ministry of Communications and over the pulled Interior nomination of Prov, the public seems to think that the Senate handled the Cabinet nominations well. In addition, there is unanimous approval of the Senate’s handling of Deepest House’s ovation, and mixed thoughts on executive oversight, although it’s not clear why.
Oversight comments: There was oversight?
Cabinet nomination comments:
Once again, Lime is in controversy
delay of select few of ica's cab on noms is strange and delayed by one senator. nonsensical questions
The only bump is the MinInt nomination, and I think so far it's been handled with grace by the Senate
A bit slow but that's pretty much Lime's fault exclusively
I don't personally think Lime's protest vote was out-of-line, and I'm glad they didn't simply rubber stamp everyone (e.g. Prov)
DH Ovation comments: You better have accepted his ovation!
Asking him a question felt odd
Cabinet nomination comments:
Once again, Lime is in controversy
delay of select few of ica's cab on noms is strange and delayed by one senator. nonsensical questions
The only bump is the MinInt nomination, and I think so far it's been handled with grace by the Senate
A bit slow but that's pretty much Lime's fault exclusively
I don't personally think Lime's protest vote was out-of-line, and I'm glad they didn't simply rubber stamp everyone (e.g. Prov)
DH Ovation comments: You better have accepted his ovation!
Asking him a question felt odd
Which Senators Should Return:
A majority of respondents want to see Senators Boisenburg, Lloenflys, Prim, PhDre, and SkyGreen return to office. Of those, Boisenburg is the most sought after, with every respondent who answered this question saying they wanted him to come back. This may be reflective of the desire for new blood in the Senate, and to see what Boisenburg can do with a full term. Given the popularity of Lloenflys, PhDre, and Prim, it is no surprise that respondents would want to see them re-elected.
Notably, Skygreen sports a higher number of respondents wanting to see him back in post (66.7%) than are satisfied with his performance (60%). Both Izzy and Lime have less than majority support for returning to the Senate, with only a third saying they would want to see Lime back in office. As previously noted, the poll was run in the immediate aftermath of Lime’s protest vote against Icarus’s Minister of Confirmation, so caution should be taken before reading too much into Lime’s popularity.
Who Should Run in the Next Senate Election:
GrandfatherClock received two mentions. Other than that, all of the following received one mention: Sanjurika, Darkslayer, Pichtonia, Calvin, Olde Delaware, Sarah, Deepest House, Shuf, and Boisenburg (for a full term). This suggests a wide open field with few really sought after candidates. At this time, voters would prefer that the next Senate election brings continuity.
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