Over the weekend, we used our weekly rotating question to ask about a topic that's on everyone's minds.
Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos/SEIU (7/21-24, registered voters):
Q: If negotiations between President Obama and Congressional Republicans on the federal debt ceiling fail, and it leads to an economic crisis, would you place more blame on the President or on Congressional Republicans, or would you blame both equally?
President Obama: 35
Congressional Republicans: 46
Both equally: 18
Not sure: 1
(MoE: ±3.1%)
These numbers confirm a lot of other polling which shows that Republicans are getting hammered on the debt ceiling negotiations, almost no matter how you ask the question. Interestingly, both self-described moderates and independents are ready to blame the GOP more, and even Republicans are more critical of their own party than Democrats are of theirs.
But there's never any telling how long this state of affairs might last. After all, healthcare reform polled pretty well until the GOP started slagging it left and right in 2009. The big difference, though, is that if there is a deal on the debt, the Republicans will have to own it, unlike with the Affordable Care Act, where they voted en masse against it. And if there is no deal, well, then, it looks like they will pay the greater price.