GOP Edges Closer To An Electoral Cliff

The GOP has been celebrating their victory in the recent fight over raising the national debt ceiling. House Speaker John Boehner even gloated that they had received 98% of what they wanted (massive cuts with no tax increase on the rich). And they are right -- the president and congressional Democrats pretty much caved in and gave the Republicans most of what they wanted while getting nothing in return.

But while the Democrats sure didn't win that battle, was it really a victory for the Republicans? Or did it just push them closer to an electoral cliff -- one they could easily be pushed off of in next year's elections.

The Republicans were already starting to be in trouble with the American public. After voting nearly unanimously for the Ryan Plan and its abolishment of Medicare, the Republicans received a rude awakening in their Town Hall meetings. Americans let them know quickly that they wouldn't stand for the dismantling of Medicare (or its companion, Medicaid).

So the Republicans had some making up to do with the American people. They thought they could do that by showing how serious they were about cutting the budget, since most Americans do seem to think the national debt is getting too large. They decided they could blame the budget deficit on President Obama (even though most of it was created by Republican mismanagement), and then hold the "debt ceiling" hostage to force massive government budget cuts.

They were able to force massive budget cuts, but it doesn't look like they were able to shift the blame onto President Obama or make themselves more acceptable in the eyes of the American people. In fact, it looks like they have come out of the debt ceiling mess again looking like the bad guys (and further damaging themselves with voters).

This is clearly shown in a new poll released by New York Times/CBS News. This survey (taken on August 2nd and 3rd) shows voter approval of Congress is worse than ever (with 14% approving of the job Congress is doing and 82% disapproving), while the president's numbers are much better (and he is not blamed for the current economic mess). And even though voters don't care much for Congress as a whole, they hold the Republicans more responsible for the debt ceiling fiasco than the Democrats. Here are some numbers to ponder:

WHO DO YOU BLAME FOR THE CURRENT FEDERAL BUDGET DEFICIT?
Bush administration...............44%
Obama administration...............15%
Congress...............15%
Someone else...............10%
All of the above...............9%

DO YOU APPROVE OF HOW OBAMA HANDLED THE DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS?
approve...............46%
disapprove...............47%
don't know...............8%

DO YOU APPROVE OF HOW REPUBLICANS HANDLED THE DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS?
approve...............21%
disapprove...............72%
don't know...............7%

DO YOU APPROVE OF HOW DEMOCRATS HANDLED THE DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS?
approve...............28%
disapprove...............66%
don't know...............6%

WHO DO YOU BLAME MORE FOR THE DIFFICULTY IN REACHING AGREEMENT ON THE DEBT CEILING?
Republicans in Congress...............47%
Obama & Democrats...............29%
both...............20%
don't know...............4%

WHO DO YOU TRUST MORE TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THE ECONOMY?
Republicans...............33%
Obama...............47%
both...............3%
neither...............14%
don't know...............2%

WAS THE DEBT CEILING DEBATE MOSTLY ABOUT HELPING THE COUNTRY OR GAINING POLITICAL ADVANTAGE?
helping the country...............14%
gaining political advantage...............82%
some of each...............2%
don't know...............2%

DID THE DEBT CEILING DEBATE IMPROVE OR HURT THE U.S. IMAGE ABROAD?
improved...............5%
hurt...............71%
no effect...............22%
don't know...............2%

SHOULD CUTTING SPENDING OR CREATING JOBS BE THE HIGHEST PRIORITY?
cutting spending...............29%
creating jobs...............62%
both...............8%
don't know...............1%

SHOULD TAXES BE INCREASED ON THOSE MAKING MORE THAN $250,000?
yes...............63%
no...............34%
don't know...............3%

It's pretty obvious that it is the congressional Republicans that are taking the hit on the debt ceiling fiasco. Instead of impressing Americans with their new-found fiscal-soundness, they just angered them by their refusal to compromise for the good of the country. The people recognized that the Republicans were just playing political games with the nation's economy.

And the last two questions show that the Republicans still don't have their finger on the nation's pulse. While the Republicans are pushing cuts to government and no new taxes for the rich, a large majority of Americans disagree with both of those Republican policies. Most Americans think job creation is much more important than any other issue, and they also want new taxes on the rich to help balance the budget.

The Republicans had already put themselves near the edge of an electoral cliff with their desire to abolish Medicare. With their intransigence in the debt ceiling debate, they have now taken a few more steps toward the edge.