You'd think after the election, the Republican Congressional leaders would be granted a bit of a honeymoon. But if that's what you thought, you thought wrong.
Did the lame duck session damage the GOP's appeal because they were too accomodating? Is health care reform repeal turning off voters? Maybe a little of both, depending on whether you're a tea party supporter or not. Overall with the public, they get 34/43 approve/disapprove, a -9 and that's 30/45, a -15 with indies. Those are both drops since the election.
From Pew:
While Obama’s overall job performance measure has held steady since the midterm election, this has not been the case for the Republican congressional leaders. The new survey finds the public disapproving of their policies and plans for the future by a 43% to 34% margin. Just two months ago, in a poll taken days after the election, the public had a more positive view: 41% approved, 37% disapproved.
Changing views of the GOP’s policy agenda are most noticeable among moderate and liberal Republicans, who approved of party leaders’ plans by 78% to 3% in November. Today, 57% of moderate and liberal Republicans approve while 22% disapprove. Independents, too, have grown more dissatisfied with the GOP’s direction; shortly after the election, about as many independents approved (39%) as disapproved (35%) of the GOP’s plans and policies for the future. Today, 30% approve while 45% disapprove.
The public continues to say they want Obama and Republican leaders to work together, but there is considerable skepticism that this will occur. About six-in-ten (61%) say GOP leaders should try to work with Obama to accomplish things, even if it means disappointing some groups of Republican supporters. A similar percentage (65%) says Obama should do the same in working with Republicans.
But by roughly two-to-one (63% to 30%), most Americans think Republicans and Democrats will end up bickering and opposing one another more than usual this year.
In fact, here's a focal point on the tea party: they are resistant to compromise, whereas everyone else is pretty much split.
Republicans who agree with the Tea Party movement favor standing up to Obama by three-to-one (72% vs. 24% who want to work with Obama). Republicans who disagree or have no opinion about the Tea Party are divided: 51% say GOP leaders should try to work with Obama, while 46% say they should stand up to Obama.
I suspect it's all about results with most Americans. Give us good results and we will live with compromise. Give us compromise without results and get nothing in return.
And is the tea party losing steam?
In general, the Tea Party has as many opponents as supporters; 24% say they agree with the Tea Party movement, 22% say they disagree. In March of last year, when the Pew Research Center first measured views of the movement, the same percentage said they agreed with the Tea Party movement, but fewer (14%) disagreed.
And here's the tea party in a word:
It's 24% of the population, driving 100% of Republican policy.
Still, Republicans must surely remember how they lost power last time. That 34/43 approve/disapprove might have even more effect than a call for a more civil tone.