Resurgent Republic has a revealing poll this morning that finds that 54 percent of voters in a dozen toss-up states are aware of January’s pending tax-increase-palooza and people aren’t happy about them. According to RR:

a majority of these voters opposes bringing back the “marriage penalty” (87 percent), raising the tax rate on dividend income (79 percent), reducing the child tax credit (74 percent), raising income tax rate on all wage earners (73 percent), reviving the “death tax” (63 percent), raising capital gains tax (61 percent) and increasing the number of families paying the alternative minimum tax (50 percent).
If the Democrats who control Congress do not stop or delay these scheduled tax increases before the November election, 55 percent of the voters in these states would be less likely to vote for Democratic candidates for the House or Senate, including 57 percent of Independents.

Following from that, the poll also found that a majority surveyed believe spending is to blame for the deficit, not a lack of funds. And they’re not happy about the coming quitters and losers lame-duck session of Congress:

Three-fourths of Republicans and two-thirds of both Independents and Democrats agree that “a lame duck session of Congress is a bad idea. Members of Congress should cast votes on important bills before facing the voters, not wait until after an election to cast those votes.”

In short: “Hell no” message to tax increases. “Hell no” to lame-duck cramthroughs. “Hell no” to reckless spending. And this isn’t just from people showing up to Sarah Palin rallies.

It promises to be a hot August for incumbents back home.

Sitting members (I’m thinking bipartisanly — Judd Gregg …) should be asked to commit to what they will and will not vote for after the elections. As we put it in our editorial today:

In November, the voters will make it known how they feel about the recent radical expansions in the scope and expense of American government, and they deserve to have their opinions taken into consideration when it comes to addressing the deficit. More important: They deserve to have someone to hold accountable if the taxers and spenders in Washington do not strike the right balance. Between now and November, Republicans should press Democratic office-seekers at every turn and work to extract the appropriate promises on this issue, even if that means making the lame-duck session an election issue in its own right. Even the lamest of congressmen should know better than to duck that obligation to the voters.