In case you're wondering just how epic the GOP's failures are,
head below the fold as we take a closer look at at that NBC/WSJ
poll yesterday that shattered GOP talking points and the political conventional wisdom.
NBC/WSJ Pollster Peter Hart on @nbcnightlynews re: shutdown #'s: "These were jaw-dropping numbers. You see this once or twice in a lifetime"
— @AdamVerdugo
- Sure, GOP is getting more blame, but not as much as they did in 1995.
By a 22-point margin (53 percent to 31 percent), the public blames the Republican Party more for the shutdown than President Barack Obama – a wider margin of blame for the GOP than the party received during the poll during the last shutdown in 1995-96.
It was true that blame was more evenly distributed at the beginning of the crisis, but this poll marks the second showing a precipitous drop in GOP support (Gallup was the first). People may have spent the first few days of the crisis taking stock of the situation, but they're now coming off the sidelines.
- By opposing an unpopular law, Republicans will rally the public behind them
Just 24 percent of respondents have a favorable opinion about the GOP, and only 21 percent have a favorable view of the Tea Party, which are both at all-time lows in the history of poll.
No one could've predicted that being unmitigated assholes would backfire. Actually, everyone did outside of their rightwing bubble. Indeed, the trendlines of the polling aggregates are unmistakable:
And damn, I wish the elections were this November:
[O]ne year until next fall’s midterm elections, American voters prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress to a Republican-controlled one by eight percentage points (47 percent to 39 percent), up from the Democrats’ three-point advantage last month (46 percent to 43 percent).
Remember, Democrats need to win the generic congressional ballot by about seven points to take back the House. GOP Rep. Phil Gingrey may get his wish after all.
- Republicans might suffer, but so will Obama and Democrats as voters and the media put a pox on both houses.
Obama’s political standing has remained relatively stable since the shutdown, with his approval rating ticking up two points since last month, and with the Democratic Party’s favorability rating declining just three points (from 42 percent to 39 percent).
So much for the "both houses" theory. If only someone had suggested the past five years that standing firm against Republican intransigence wouldn't just be good policy, but good politics. I mean, someone inside the White House and congressional leadership offices. Because outside of the Beltway, the roar was deafening. Feels good to be proven right. Too bad it had to happen this way.
- Republicans can do anything they want since the public doesn't like Obamacare
[T]he health-care law has become more popular since the shutdown began. Thirty-eight percent see the Affordable Care Act (or “Obamacare”) as a good idea, versus 43 percent who see it as a bad idea – up from 31 percent good idea, 44 percent bad idea last month.
The Republican intransigence appears to be the best thing that ever happened to the law. You know how Republicans oppose anything that President Barack Obama does? Well, Republicans are now so hated, that the public seems to be rallying around the things Republicans oppose. I've gotta admit, I didn't see that one coming.
- The American people want Republicans to fight for smaller government
And by a 52-percent-to-44 percent difference, respondents believe the government should do more to solve problems. Back in June, the public was split, 48 percent to 48 percent, on whether the government should do more or less.
Republicans have somehow managed to make government more popular. Without the shutdown, they might've focused on Obamacare implementation problems and the absurd cost of the Canadian-built non-working federal exchanges website. That shit pisses even me off. But nope. By acting like total dicks, Republicans have reminded the public about the benefits of having a functional government.
So just how disastrous has this shutdown been for Republicans? They've rebranded in the wrong direction, hitting their all-time highs in unpopularity and bringing down the Tea Party (21/47), John Boehner (17/42) and Ted Cruz (14/28) down in the process. Fitting, since those are the masterminds of this genius plan which wasn't just doomed to obvious failure, but has made both Obamacare and the government more popular.
Epic.
