The one that everyone is talking about, and Democrats are fist-pumping over. It’s only one poll, but it paints a pretty grim picture of how the shutdown has played politically for Republicans. For example:
‐A majority of Americans (53 percent) blame Republicans for the shutdown, compared to just 31 percent who blame President Obama. That’s also a wider marging of blame than the GOP received during the 1995–96 shutdown.
‐The Republican party’s favorability rating has dropped to an all-time low, according to the poll results. Just 24 percent said they have a favorable opinion of the GOP, and just 21 percent said the same about the Tea Party. House speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) hauls in 17 percent, while Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) gets 14 percent.
‐Obamacare has become more popular since the shutdown began, with 38 percent saying the law is a good idea, versus 43 percent saying it’s a bad idea, up from a 31–44 percent split last month. Only 23 percent said they favored defunding the law “even if it means continuing the government shutdown.” Fifty percent said they opposed this strategy.
‐The president’s approval rating also ticked up slightly to 47 percent, up from 44 percent in September. His disapproval rating fell to 48 percent from 50 percent.
‐Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of both parties in Congress, the GOP by a 24–70 percent margin, and Democrats by a margin of 36–59 percent.
‐Americans said they favored a Democratic controlled Congress versus a Republican controlled Congress by a 47–39 percent margin.
As some have pointed out, the poll is significant not for its implications for the 2014 midterms, which are probably minimal, but rather the implications its has for the current debate over government funding and the debt ceiling. On that front, there is some good news for Republicans: By a margin of 43–40 percent, Americans disagree with the president’s position of refusing to negotiate until the government has been reopened and the debt limit has been raised.
Check out the full results here.