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Reflecting on the debt-ceiling fight, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) recently said, “If I were Boehner and Cantor, I’d get one of our highly respected Republican pollsters to come over and brief them. Right now, we’re not winning the battle.”
That was two weeks ago. They’re still not winning the battle.
Most Americans would like to see a mix of spending cuts and tax increases be part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling, a new poll finds, aligning the majority with President Barack Obama’s position.
Of those surveyed for a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday, 56 percent said they want to see a mix of approaches used in an agreement to raise the debt ceiling. The poll was conducted overnight Monday, as Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) voiced their views on the impasse in negotiations in back-to-back televised primetime speeches.
“It does seem to be that the popular narrative is falling on the side of the president on this one,” Ipsos pollster Julia Clark said.
By some measures, these results appear to be getting worse for Republicans. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found only 19% agree with the GOP’s cuts-only demands, while 12% want no cuts in spending and prefer debt reduction through tax increases exclusively.
The same poll found a plurality of respondents blames congressional Republicans for the impasse.
These new numbers come on the heels of new data from the Washington Post/ABC News poll, which showed pretty awful numbers for President Obama, but also showed the public siding with Obama over Republicans on jobs and even the deficit.
And there’s also new data from a National Journal poll that found most Americans would rather see their taxes go up than see Congress cut entitlements. Even self-identified Republicans agree.
Reading all of the recent polling, it’d be a mistake to suggest Democrats and Obama are faring well. Overall, the American mainstream is deeply unhappy about nearly everything — the economy, the political process, their prospects for the future — and no one in DC is especially popular. It’s not as if the DNC and the West Wing have reason to celebrate the latest survey results. They don’t.
But any fair reading of the polls over the last couple of months, as the Republicans’ debt-ceiling crisis has intensified, finds that while the public is broadly frustrated, the GOP fares the worst — by a wide margin. Republicans are seen as too unwilling to compromise, too reckless, too wedded to bad ideas, too indifferent to the needs of the middle class and seniors, and too reluctant to even consider a balanced agreement with additional revenue.
Democrats aren’t winning any popularity contests, but compared to the GOP’s current standing, Dems enjoy vastly more public support.
Occasionally, we’ll still see Republican leaders suggest “the American people” are on the GOP’s side. The evidence to the contrary is overwhelming.
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john d'oh on July 26, 2011 4:42 PM:
Of course, the problem is that in Cantor or Boehner's or 90% of the GOP's House districts, the further they go to the right the more polling favors them. These guys don't have to answer to the public at large, only the guys to the right of them that threaten a possible primary challenge.
Live Free or Die on July 26, 2011 4:47 PM:
That is all good and well. However, Republicans do not care about polls or popularity. The care about being teabagged from the right. So it will not affect anything. See Walker, Scott, Christie,Kaisich, House Tea Party Caucus.
mmm on July 26, 2011 4:47 PM:
Go ahead, Republicans, we DARE you, no, DOUBLE DARE you to vote on some stupid legislation that won't pass the Senate and the President wouldn't sign anyway. It will have your fingerprints on it, and you OWN it. Great campaign material for the Dems.
Live Free or Die on July 26, 2011 4:50 PM:
@MMM-see my comment above
JohnMcC on July 26, 2011 4:51 PM:
Sadly, this doesn't have much to do with the elections of '12. Simple reason is 'enthusiasm'; right-wingers are energized by this result. Left-wingers are depressed.
c4Logic on July 26, 2011 4:52 PM:
I think these polls bear out the notion that a whole lot of people think the Republican agenda is Sociopathic, and largely find Democratic policy proposals more palatable, but get pissed off at Democrats for being unwilling to go after Republicans as if they were Samurai Warriors. It is not attractive to see hand wringing Democrats attempting to placate the equivalent of Hannibal Lechter. And yes, I am comparing Republicans to cannibal psycho killers. If only the Democrats were not so afraid of what people will think of them if they fight back against a drunken maniac! The classic bully/victim routine is played out over and over again. Just hit back for the love of God! Defend yourselves!
T-Rex on July 26, 2011 4:58 PM:
If Obama finally invokes the 14th amendment, I think it will make him a hero. The big question is whether he has the . . . gumption.
T2 on July 26, 2011 4:58 PM:
it would be neat if the Media made a bit more noise about the discrepancy between the poll results and the GOP Party line. But these days, its "fair and balanced" isn't it.
Gummo on July 26, 2011 5:09 PM:
T2, never forget that 5 (or is it 6?) right-wing corporations own all of the American mass media. Since the FCC stopped enforcing the "public interest" portion of their licenses (and that's only for broadcast channels), and Reagan scrapped the Fairness Doctrine, they have NO incentive to air anything that doesn't promote their interests.
In that sense, there's no such thing as "news" anymore.
DAY on July 26, 2011 5:17 PM:
Gummo's right, T2-
Imagine that you are, say, a tobacco company that also owns a TV network.
While you are prohibited from running cigarette commercials on air, you are NOT forced to report the dangers of smoking.
I liked it better in ancient times (1950's), when the News Gods smoked on air, and told you the Truth!
Alli on July 26, 2011 5:21 PM:
@TREX: a hero to whom? the 10% of the Dem party that scours online political sites? this isn't about.....gumption. If Obama plays the 14th card, and that's a big IF, it will take a great s
walt on July 26, 2011 5:22 PM:
I find these polls to be a gruesome reminder why Obama's tactics have turned a slam-dunk into a virtual catastrophe. Instead of standing up for the middle class, Obama somehow got an idea that the middle class doesn't care about jobs and entitlements, just deficits. Where did he get these ideas? David Plouffe? The insanity of his political strategy speaks for itself now. If Obama can't negotiate on behalf of his best political interests, he's certainly not going to negotiate for the public interest. The maddening mindlessness of centrism (as defined by idiots like David Brooks) must be purged from the Democratic Party if we're going to have a real two-party system.
Alli on July 26, 2011 5:24 PM:
@TREX: a hero to whom? the 10% of the Dem party that scours online political sites? this isn't about.....gumption. If Obama plays the 14th card, and that's a big IF, it will take a well thought out strategy to avoid heavy political and economic damage. This is not a game. People keep complaining that he and congress aren't talking about jobs yet don't even think twice about how much all this drama will take up and then we will most likely have another batter in the fall over another budget.
Ron Byers on July 26, 2011 5:25 PM:
My concern is that the public is genuinely pissed at the Democrats as well as the Republicans. They would like Democrats to fight for them. They don't mind taxes going up to save Social Security and Medicare, but Democrats aren't doing much fighting for the average Joe. The fact that they are now thought of as just the other bunch of beltway bandits is very, very concerning.
Archon on July 26, 2011 5:26 PM:
The Republicans probably believe (and not without a point) that they have crossed the Rubicon. I don't think any poll numbers or political pressure from some constituents will make them draw down their flags and return to Gaul.
N.Wells on July 26, 2011 5:32 PM:
Heck, all China managed to do lately in terms of trainwrecks was colliding two supertrains. We're managing to crash an entire superpower economy, which is a way bigger trainwreck in anyone's book. We're #1, we're #1!
More seriously, I don't think using the 14th amendment solves any problems. The main problem is to avoid the catastrophe of having our bond rating lowered and to keep people happy to lend us money cheaply. I'm unclear on how a dubious and controversial run-around is going to help that. It's sort of like trying to get a loan from a bank and explaining that it's not a problem that you are currently unemployed because your neighbor has helped you cook up a sure-fire get-rich-quick scheme.
Bobby C on July 26, 2011 5:32 PM:
I would like to add the media in your list of things the people of this country are unhappy with.
karen marie on July 26, 2011 5:33 PM:
I must say I am surprised -- and thrilled -- to hear that more Americans are siding with the president. I spent the day in the car, listening to NPR, and they were working hard to push the "both sides are bad" meme, never once pointing out that none of this would be happening if House Republicans hadn't decided to take the American economy hostage.
They even had on a dispute negotiator who criticized the president for appealing to "an unpredictable third party" -- the public.
According to NPR, Republicans are winning the battle.
steve duncan on July 26, 2011 5:33 PM:
That's something I want to feel reassured about, the fact the citizens of this country collectively support me. To varying degrees the people of the United States are homophobes, xenophobes, racists, Bible thumping anti-intellectual theocrats, misogynists, drug addled/drunk/obese/nicotine stained/psychotic or more than likely some combination of several of the above, all contained within one twitching carcass. Why anyone would feel comforted or emboldened to action because this sick stew of wasted chromosomes agrees with them is quizzical. Is swinging Rand Paul, Michele Bachmann or Louie Gohmert into your "yes" column a deft feat of political pursuasion or recruiting an imbecile into your army?
Jimo on July 26, 2011 5:36 PM:
Increasingly, it looks like there are only two paths available for an Obama re-election victory:
A. Stay on the same path and hope that Republican craziness gets worse and they nominate someone like Bachmann (or just as likely, they nominate Romney and the Tea Party bolts to run a third candidate).
B. Accept that the only way he'll become more popular is by focusing on more popular matters -- immediately cease negotiating any spending cuts, insist he'll veto any entitlement reform put forward by either Repubs or Dems that doesn't guarantee zero benefit cuts to the middle class, demand a jobs program, insist on investment in infrastructure, and then ride the Do-Nothing Congress train all the way to Nov. 2012 when the GOP refuses.
Bernard HP Gilroy on July 26, 2011 6:16 PM:
As always, the Sorkinverse has an a propos comment:
I'm glad to have the public on the side of the angels here but let's not pretend it's due to a sudden great awakening of political insight and attention.
mcc on July 26, 2011 6:50 PM:
Who cares what the public thinks? They don't vote.
DK on July 26, 2011 7:08 PM:
I'm fairly certain that it's already too late to address the debt ceiling limit by the Aug 1 deadline. Both sides are preparing for full blame-game mode. I'd like to think that the Dems and White House have the upper hand on that, but the repubs are masters at manipulating the media.
On the positive side of things, I was looking at another new poll that strongly suggest people side with Obama. The only place where there is strong support from the repubs is among Teabaggers. In looking at the poll results, the Teabagger population is 20%. Even the repubs that don't favor the TP seem to want a compromise.
http://people-press.org/files/legacy-pdf/7-26-11%20July%20Debt%20Limit%20Release.pdf
Doug on July 26, 2011 8:13 PM:
c4Logic @ 4:52 PM, you were doing okay until you began psychoanalyzing voters. There is absolutely nothing to suggest in ANY poll that voters want the Democrats to act more like Republicans - which is what you're suggesting Democrats do. Nor does anything support your contention that Democrat actions are based on their "...being afraid of what people will think of them..." Both ideas, while widespread on some blogs, are either talking points based on frustration or, most likely, a refusal to recognize reality.
What we CAN take from polls is that voters want a responsible, effective government, something Republican/Teabaggers are incapable of providing. Had the MSM been doing its job, we wouldn't be seeing, just in the past week, reports on the "debt crisis" that DIDN'T contain references to Reagan's 17 increases or GWB's 7 showing up. Those references would have been there from the beginning and, by now, the resulting poll numbers would be even worse for Republicans.
walt @ 5:22 PM "I find these polls to be agruesome reminder of why Obama's tactics have turned a slam-dunk into a virtual catastrophe." So now it the PRESIDENT'S fault Republican/Teabaggers are threatening the country's economy? People love to use, incorrectly, a "hostage" metaphor in describing the present crisis, yet only offer the "bully pulpit" or a "line in the sand" as alternative strategies, when neither have ANY merit. We saw Monday night just what using the "bully pulpit" means, in prime time anyway, free air time for Republicans. Apparently the fact that the President has CONTINUALLY pushed for all those things you mentioned in his weekly addresses and speeches around the country don't count.
You're "If Obama can't negotiate on behalf of his best political interests, he's certainly not going to negotiate for the public interest." seems to be putting the cart before the horse and STILL getting it wrong. I will venture to say that, even IF Mr. Obama were ONLY worried about his "political interests" he'd still do more or less what he's been doing. As far as I can tell, at this point the President's "political interests" AND the "public interest" coincide; allowing the nation to see the Republican/Teabaggers as the incompetent, venal ideologues we already know them to be.
Too many posters, I fear, have misconceptions about the powers of the Presidency. "Why" they ask, "if GWB can do so much(damage), can't Obama get X through Congress?" It HAS to be because he's a sorry excuse for a negotiator or simply is willing to sell any and everyone down the river to get an "agreement".
Bush, actually his lieutenants, used fear and bribery to get what they wanted. Mr. Obama, as any Democrat should, chooses not to use such corruptive methods. If one rules out using threats and bribery, negotiating is the only tactic left. That President Obama has to negotiate with pathological politicans whose ONLY goal is ensure his defeat in 2012 isn't his fault, THAT blame lays on the respective "politicians" and those who elected and support them.
By writing "The maddening mindlessness of centrism (as defined by idiots like David Brooks)..." only shows that you've bitten off, chewed to a pulp, and SWALLOWED Republican talking points; talking points, I would remind you, that have NOTHING to do with reality, but only with what Republicans WANT DEMOCRATS TO DO. If President Obama WAS doing what Republicans want, do you REALLY think there'd be a "debt crisis" now?
Really?
Re steve duncan @ 5:33 PM - If that is truly how you view this country, then why bother to waste your time and ours telling us? Shouldn't you be packing? If only to show the rest of us how dumb we are for staying?
Jimp @ 5:36 PM - Option two would GUARANTEE Mr. Obama's defeat. While it might cheer up some who call themselves "progressive", it would only result in the President being presented 24/7 by the MSM AND Republicans, but I repeat myself, as "intransigent", "refusing to negotiate" or "partisan". The last, while only a venial sin for Republican/Teabaggers, is a mortal sin for a Democrat. The MSM can't sweep who's responsible for the "debt crisis" under the rug any longer, though some may continue to try. With the fake mask of "fiscal responsibility" the Republican/Teabaggers have been hiding behind gone, they will be too.
Damage to the safety net has been minimal, so far, and any further cuts by Republicans will affect their own supporters. I don't know whether they realize that. Or even care.
Voters will...
KurtRex1453 on July 26, 2011 9:20 PM:
"... A Republic, if you can keep it..." Ben Franklin.
pj_in_jesusland on July 26, 2011 9:22 PM:
Amidst all the crisis meetings at the White House and the screaming headlines and international outrage Speaker Boehner doesn´t realize how isolated he and his party are becoming. Modern Republicans can use the levers of power to obstruct fiscal policy for a period of time before voters simply reject their foolish ways, which polls are beginning to show is happening.
SYSPROG on July 26, 2011 10:45 PM:
Wow Doug...way to go. The only thing I would add is that for the first 6 years of the Bush Administration they owned all three branches of government. By 2006 the myth was born and it carried them thru the last two years even when they didn't own the Congress. The Republicans 'bought' the myth and they are causing havoc because of it.
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