A new Gallup Poll finds most Americans want the White House and Congress to come to an agreement on the budget and not to have a government shutdown and that they are still undecided on which party is more and less cooperative:
Americans are closely divided over whether the Republicans in Congress (42%) or President Obama and the Democrats (39%) are doing the better job in the current efforts to agree on a new federal budget.
….The same poll indicates that Republican and Democratic leaders alike have important aspects of public opinion on their side in the mounting budget battle. Potentially most helpful to Democrats is the finding that, by 60% to 32%, more Americans want legislators who share their views on the budget to agree on a compromise budget rather than hold out for a budget they mostly agree with, which would trigger a government shutdown after March 4.
Republicans may have hoped that the potential of a government shutdown would pressure Democrats to accept deeper spending cuts than they have to date. However, the finding that most Americans are averse to a shutdown could ultimately strengthen Democrats’ bargaining power.
Will there be a potential double whammy for the GOP in terms of independent voters here?
Although some disagree with me, I am starting to sense that even though many Americans are not fond of big, organized labor, events in Wisconsin — which will likely end in collective bargaining being eliminated for public employee unions — will turn off many independents who will see this as being a case of just another partisan exploiting a problem (the economy and very budget problems not made easier by union demands and union clout) to pursue a clearly ideological and partisan agenda (disembowel unions that support the Democrats to help Republican chances in the future). If that occurs there and happens in other states (as is likely) and there is a government shut down the GOP could create buyers’ remorse in record time among independents and see its overall numbers go down.
Of course, all of this assumes political nimble footing on the part of the Democrats. And when it comes to the Democrats’ political smarts on this issue it is worth remembering the old saying:
“If you assume it makes an ‘ass’ of ‘u’ and ‘me.'”
Are the Dems ready for a shut down this time when, unlike last time, there is a strong talk radio political culture ready to make the case that it’s their fault? Democrats assume that if there is a shut down the GOP willb e blamed.
It is worth remembering the old saying (see boldface above…)..
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.