Republicans Are Playing With Fire

Congressional Republicans did very well in the last election. They took over the House of Representatives and picked up several seats in the Senate. They are claiming the election gave them a mandate to slash government spending and eliminate many social programs they have wanted to eliminate for years, while returning to a policy of "trickle down" economics.
But do they really have a mandate? Are they really doing what the people want done?

There are a couple of things that make me think they are living in a dream world, and their radical policies might come back to haunt them in the next election. First, as with most off-year elections, the turnout was much lower in 2010 than it had been in 2008 -- which gave an energized Republican Party more say than they would normally have (and might have in a 2012 presidential election year).

Second, a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that many of the recent actions of the congressional Republicans are at odds with what the majority of Americans would like to see done. They have been saying that the number one worry of the people is the budget deficit -- but that is not what the poll shows. Americans listed their primary concern as:

Job creation & economic growth...............37%
Deficit reduction...............22%
Health care...............12%
National security & terrorism...............9%
Energy & cost of gas...............7%
Iraq & Afghanistan...............6%
Immigration...............4%
Unrest in Arab countries...............1%

As you can see, only about a fifth of the population puts deficit reduction as the most important thing. A much larger percentage puts jobs and the economy as the primary consideration, and the Republicans have done nothing that would create jobs or improve the economy. And even though many Americans would like to see the deficit cut, they don't think the Republicans are cutting the right things, or doing what is best to reduce the deficit. Most Americans are quite concerned about how the budget cutting will affect them or their families:

Concerned about cuts affecting them...............62%
Not concerned about effect of the cuts...............36%
Don't know...............2%

Here are some of the things the Republicans would like to cut, and what the people think about those cuts:

SCIENTIFIC & MEDICAL RESEARCH
Approve...............48%
Disapprove...............51%

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
Approve...............43%
Disapprove...............55%

HEAD START PROGRAM
Approve...............41%
Disapprove...............56%

COLLEGE STUDENT LOANS
Approve...............39%
Disapprove...............59%

HEATING FUNDS FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
Approve...............34%
Disapprove...............65%

MEDICAID
Approve...............32%
Disapprove...............67%

MEDICARE
Approve...............23%
Disapprove...............76%

K-12 EDUCATION
Approve...............22%
Disapprove...............77%

SOCIAL SECURITY
Approve...............22%
Disapprove...............77%

PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Approve...............45%
Disapprove...............53%

AGRICULTURE SUBSIDIES
Approve...............45%
Disapprove...............54%

Meanwhile the Republicans have refused to do some things that most people are in favor of, such as:

SURTAX ON INCOME OVER $1 MILLION
Approve...............81%
Disapprove...............17%

ELIMINATE TAX CREDITS FOR OIL & GAS INDUSTRY
Approve...............74%
Disapprove...............22%

STOP BUSH TAX CUTS FOR THOSE MAKING OVER $250,000
Approve...............68%
Disapprove...............29%

Personally, I think the congressional Republicans are playing with fire on most of these issues, and it could burn them in the 2012 election (which will undoubtably have a much larger turnout than the last election). If the people see themselves (and their family and friends) being hurt by the Republican cuts, while they see the rich just getting richer thanks to Republican policies, they are not going to be happy when they go to the polls to vote.

I doubt the Republicans will give in much on their desire to cut social programs or give the rich more tax cuts, but it would behoove them to do so. But this new class of Republican legislators don't seem to have the word "compromise" in their dictionaries. That means we'll probably have a government shutdown soon. It also means they could pay for their intransigence in the next election. But sadly, it also means that ordinary Americans will be suffering -- at least for the next couple of years.

(NOTE -- The poll has a margin of error of 3.1%.)