Poll: GOP Shutdown Not Popular With Voters
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Republican Party gambled quite a bit on a government shutdown Monday night and the early returns show the GOP may be holding a hand of Aces over Eights, also known as the dead man's hand.
According to the latest Quinnipiac Polling released Tuesday, by a 72-22 percent margin, voters opposed Congress shutting down the federal government to block implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Republicans supported a federal government shutdown 49-44 percent. Opposition is very strong among Democrats (90-6 percent) and among independent voters, 74-19 percent.
Further, the poll found voters also opposed by a 64-27 percent margin, blocking an increase in the nation's debt ceiling as a way to derail the ACA. All of this comes despite the law, also known as Obamacare, still has voters divided by a 45-47 percent margin of favorability/unfavorability.
Voters are extremely dissatisfied with the work of Congress in general. The Q-Poll found that voters give Republicans in Congress a disapproval rating of 74-17 percent. The Democrats weren't much better with a 60-32 percent disapproval to approval rating.
Fifty-five percent of voters blamed Republicans for the gridlock in Washington while 33 percent said it was Obama's lack of skill for the gridlock.
Finally, the poll asked about the 2014 Congressional races and voters picked a generic Democrat over a generic Republican by a 43-34 percent. Still, it's 13 months before an election and anything can happen to change the dynamics completely.
