With congressional Republicans and President Obama nowhere near one another when it comes to the ongoing fiscal talks, the likelihood of failure at the end of the month is quite high. Who would the American mainstream hold responsible for the mess? According a new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll, it's not a close call.
By a nearly two-to-one margin, Americans would blame GOP lawmakers for the failure to reach a bipartisan agreement. Though it's common for many to reflexively blame "both sides" for every political misstep, in this poll, only about one in 10 people would hold both Republicans and the president responsible.
What's more, these perceptions seem pretty stable -- a similar poll was conducted three weeks ago, and the results were largely identical.
The question is whether any of this will have a practical effect.
Chris Cillizza reported, "Republicans are well aware of where the public seems ready to put the blame if no deal on the cliff is reached. It's why House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) offered a counterproposal Monday to the one President Obama laid out last week. Simply letting stalemate stand for the next 10 to 14 days is unacceptable to Republicans who know they have to do everything they can to avoid the cliff -- and the blame for it that seems likely headed their way."
In recent years, GOP officials have generally ignored public pressure, but it's worth keeping in mind that both Obama and Republican leaders have made an effort to persuade the public, and at this point, only one of those sides is winning.
There's obviously an enormous amount of time before the 2014 midterms, at which point lawmakers will face the public's judgment, but between now and then, how eager are congressional Republicans to explain why they decided, on purpose, to shrink middle-class workers' paychecks, not just through income taxes, but also through payroll taxes?
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Who's running this country? The republican congress or the president. Each have an opposing vision, we cant do both.
Look! We democratically elected this president and his vision to lead us, who do these republicans think they are? and now they're talking about "Team players".
These guys are not team players at all! and what they are doing to our economy is so wrong! It's not American. As for basic economics, I cant decide weather they're just stupid or corrupt... But what can you say about a political party whose vision goes against popular public opinion, they see what they want to see in every issue, they pick the wrong battles and say the wrong things again and again only to be dumbfounded when they loose. They recognize they need to change but look at them, they just cant seem to figure it out, it's how they are and they cant change the way they think.
So which is worse for the republicans, obstruction and what it is doing to our economy? Or just let the president have everything he wants and back his vision?
The president would either make the economy worse which would be good for the right or the economy would get better which would be good for the right. But obstruction just makes them all look bad, seems like a no boehner.
The republicans are definitely getting the blame for all this and their current behavior is just setting it in stone.
I believe everyone should have a voice and I try to see their point of view, but this obstruction is not a voice, they are hanging themselves and hurting our country, it's prolonging the agony, they have to go!
Jeff M.
After 4 years of job losses the welfare rolls and food stamps rolls exploding your only concern is about letting him continue to destroy American Industry...try a little introspection and how about being a realist about this failures miserable track record?
Fact-free, today's GOP!
Boring, too.
scott
Repeating non-factual statements over and over again does not make them true. It's just makes them mind-numbing.
The answer to the original question posed at the top of this blog, is none of the above.
The political conversation is continuing to hide the underlying problem. We are all responsible for the impossible financial situation we sit in, up to our necks. Started in the Fifties, when we found ourselves to be the Economic Engine of the world, and actually believed we were destined to all be wealthy. But becoming wealthy is a special kind of game, that requires one to understand the rules, well enough to find a way around their limitations.
Some became very wealthy, and because they were wealthy, came to believe they were geniuses, and above adhering to moral rules and financial regulations. So, they bought themselves some fine young Politicians, and raised them to believe they were also Geniuses, and above the social strata so far beneith them, while posing as public servants. They came to believe it was their God-given right to become wealthy, while posing as caring human beings, which they were, and are not.
The general population followed the lead of the Politicians, and their Banker friends, and believed they too deserved to be millionaires, and overpriced their work, and talents, and all demanded to be paid some ridiculous amount of money, which they were. And continued to be overpaid for their modest talents.
Finally, in 2008, when this shell-game finally became visible, and we all realized were playing with imaginary money, we, as a collective, failed to demand we put some people in prison, for rigging the game! Why? Because they could buy their way out, in the first place! They continue, to this day, living far beyond our means! They won't stop. No one will stand up to them, because if they did, they would be either shot, or made to disappear. It's the Big Leagues.
The way out, is to do what Iceland did, and put some people responsible for financial fun and games, into jail, and kept them there!
We should do the same. End the waste of the Military, noone can afford war, anymore....end the 200 Billion or so wasted on Medicare fraud...each year! The Hospital Industries are pigs at the trough, their CEO's, into Jail! The poor Republicans in the House of Reps, need to have a talk with themselves, and realize, we know who they are, and what they are really doing in Washington.
And all of this in the middle of a world-wide Climate Crisis, that get's very little air- time, and All Media is responsible for this! We are in such a time of crisis, and don't even want to talk about it! We don't deserve Christmas! Solar and Wind is ignored by investors. Everyone working Fox broadcasting deserves coal in their stockings, and this weekend, a national sportscaster got criticized for telling the truth about handguns, on his broadcast!
The courts this week, refused to act against Monsanto, and no-one said a thing about it. The Methane in the Permafrost is being released by the thawing on Greenland. We all sit stairing at the T.V.,refusing to believe we may be doomed, while demanding to be entertained, or distracted. We deserve the reality we have been served~
You are one whacked out Liberal...you make the fringe look mainstream.
I really don't think they care what the public thinks about them. They know they have their base, that will never vote democrat, and they're trying to take care of their donors, the 1%. They certainly aren't doing this because they think its the best thing for the middle class
Law makers will never care about the people the represent in the us.
The top one percent like the tax bracket and loop holes they have paid to create.
Corps enjoy the most power over law makers through cash as well.
why else would this failure of a congress get reelected year in and year out despite its failures for the people.