Poll: By Double Digits, More Blame GOP Leaders Than Obama For Failure To Work Together
Good timing: On the same day that an argument has erupted over who’s to blame for the fact that bipartisanship has begun its end of life consultations, a new poll has come along to shed light on who the public holds responsible.
The new Pew poll finds that more blame GOP leaders than Obama by double digits. But there’s a pretty big caveat: The amount who blame Obama is clearly on the rise. Take a look at this chart (click to enlarge):
Twenty-nine percent blame GOP leaders for the failure to work together; only 17% blame Obama, a double-digit spread of 12 points. However, the percentage who blame Obama is up from 12% in June and seven percent in February.
Presuming that a protracted spin war over who’s to blame for the breakdown in bipartisanship is about to kick into high gear, a lot will turn on how this is covered. Will the coverage be “Dems blame Republicans, while Republicans blame Dems,” or will the leading nonpartisan opinionmakers and analyst types actually make a call on who they think is really to blame here?
This blog’s homepage is here. RSS feed here. Twitter feed here. Email me here.
@Greg: “Presuming that a protracted spin war over who’s to blame for the breakdown in bipartisanship is about to kick into high gear, a lot will turn on how this is covered.”
And this spin war will help get h/c reform passed how?
Who cares! The Dems have the power to pass whatever they want. Isn’t the goal h/c reform? If the Dems now want to shift gears to fight a spin war are they conceding that they have lost the h/c reform battle? How is engaging in a spin war right now even a remotely good idea on the admin’s part?
The Republicans want to kill HC reform?
“No kidding”
oh sbj…it must be so frustrating for you that the majority of Americans see right through the GOP…what does this have to go with h/c reform you say? Well, the GOP isn’t going to vote Yes on ANYTHING that WH/Dems come up with…they are not concerned with h/c reform, they are only concerned with GOP political points…after all these townhalls and screaming and yelling from the GOP base, it must be so frustrating that the GOP is still being blamed for a lack of effort at bipartisanship…i personally find it humorous, because the GOP doesn’t even have a plan for h/c reform, they have NOTHING, NADA…they only have lies and misrepresentations, perhaps if they would actually propose some sort of h/c reform bill that wasn’t soley tax cuts i would have more respect, otherwise they will continue to be seen as obstructionists…they had a major role in this huge economic mess we are in and they are saying no to everything…No to the Stim, No to Sotomayor, No to H/C Reform, No to_____, No to _____ – just keep filling in the blanks…how sad!
@jennD: And you avoided my point entirely!
Think about it. Why would the admin complain about having to go it alone if they could pass a great bill with only Dem support? Wouldn’t they actually WANT to pass a great bill alone so that they could take credit all for themselves?
Obamas plan of bi-partisan is if the Republicans just give in and do what he says with no argument. The idea
of working together to a demorat is not in their game plan, they have super majority and will run ruff shod over the entire coutnry to destroy it with socialism and reckless spending beyong anything seen before. Obama has alread established his legacy, reckless spending and questionable birth mixes with socialist take over of all private enterprise and destruction of the best health care system in the world.
Oh, come now. It will be “Republicans blame Dems”. No doubt. LOL
Give us a hard one next time Greg!
Some days the little baby jesus just loves me.
I like this – people are getting it.
“of working together to a demorat is not in their game plan, they have super majority and will run ruff shod over the entire coutnry to destroy it with socialism and reckless spending”
Yeah, Obama is such a damn dictator he’s tried to reach a compromise and has thereby pissed off the left.
Y’all are just wack.
Oh my goodness, are we back in high school again? With its so and so’s fault? How about they grow up and admit they were trying to pull a fast one, however the American public isn’t as stupid as they think.
james maxwell – have you ever gone to any school ? Both your spelling and grammar suck. You need to be in a NCLB school, not in blogs.
{”Oh my goodness, are we back in high school again? With its so and so’s fault? How about they grow up and admit they were trying to pull a fast one, however the American public isn’t as stupid as they think.”
Who’s “they”?
Every time he reached out to them, the Republicans has spat in his face. How many times does he have that happen before he gets their message. We know all about his intentions. They were rebuffed, over and over, months ago. Why he was still going back for more of the same scorn and abuse, is what the left is complaining about.
edit.
have spat.
I hate not having a preview feature.
Well you can hardly blame him for trying, Liam. I know we have the majority, but we don’t get the majority and act like the Repugs – dictators.
We try to work with democracy. Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit
I have learned not to be amazed at people’s hate. Hate has twisted the sweetest person into a knot. Pres. Obama’s win has brought the worst out in people. I pity this country if people don’t want to do what is right without worrying about who else will benefit besides self. They will torpedo Health Care Reform because Black and Brown people will get what they have. God forbid healthcare actually becomes a right!
Isn’t this all just a replay of the drama that occurred during the debate over the stimulus bill in January?
Everyone in the MSM was crowing about how the Repubs had gotten their mojo back, they were united in their opposition and on message, blah, blah, blah…then, surprise: the polls came out and it seems the public blamed the Repubs for the gridlock.
@ James Maxwell: I like how you did that: you took the “c” out and turned it into “demorat”. That is so clever and hilarious. Did you used to be a writer on that Fox News comedy show?
schrodinger’s cat – you have got it – that’s exactly the way it went with the stimulus. How many times did Michael Steele crow about the resurgence of the GOP during the stimulus fight?
And yeah, they sure came back – you can tell by this poll.
Tena | August 19th, 2009 at 01:49 pm
Well you can hardly blame him for trying, Liam. I know we have the majority, but we don’t get the majority and act like the Repugs – dictators
…………………….
Nobody is blaming him for trying. What he is being blammed for is not getting the Republicans message, after they spat in his face, several times, and he still kept giving them more chances to do so.
It is now starting to look less and less like an attempt at being bipartisan, and more like being a glutton for abuse and invective.
How many times does he have to have the Republicans slam the door in his face, before he stops knocking on it.
Why he thinks that if he just pets those rats, and chucks under their chins, one more time, they will suddenly be converted from vicious rats into cuddly lapdogs, is what puzzles me.
“Who cares! The Dems have the power to pass whatever they want.”
Who cares? Well, I think Obama does because that’s not how he wanted to do this – he wanted it to be democracy in action, not dictatorship in action.
I disagree, Liam. Just as with the stimulus package, he made a good faith effort to negotiate and then was able to sit back and let the Repubs look like complete a-holes by voting en-masse against the legislation.
I mentioned in a previous post today that if he doesn’t do this, then the Repubs are going to run around screaming and whining about being cut out of the process. Now that they’ve openly admitted they’re not going to vote for anything, Obama and the other Dems can now move on and concentrate on trying to put together some effective legislation. And based on this poll, the dems seem to have the political cover to do just that.
@tena: You are missing the point. You should be worried that the admin appears to want to fight a spin war about blame instead of passing a good bill. There’s something going on here and it is not good for the Dems.
@sbj: Right. Obama’s got a chance to make history and profoundly change the trajectory of this country but all he’s really interested in is a “spin war”.
Your “concern” is duly noted.
@catdude: Oh, pshaw! Don’t be so dramatic! If what you say is true then Obama and the Dems could have and would have been happy to have passed such profound legislation a month ago without any Repub support.
“How many times does he have to have the Republicans slam the door in his face, before he stops knocking on it.”
As many times as Obama finds necessary for his purposes, Liam.
@sbj: Not a dude, thank you very much.
How am I being dramatic? You don’t think that getting close to universal coverage in this country will be history making? Do you not feel that the passage of SS or Medicare changed the course of this country?
Either way, I’m not sure what you’re arguing anymore. Are you implying that the only reason Obama was trying to negotiate with the Repubs was so that he could turn around and blame them when the negotiations broke down? That what he’s wanted all along was a “spin war”? Doesn’t the fact that he didn’t attempt to pass anything a month ago imply that he was trying to negotiate in good faith?
@catwoman: I am arguing that h/c reform with a public option is doomed so the admin is now trying to lay blame.
The Dems can’t pass a bill by themselves via normal rules; they’ll have to go the reconciliation route. That route won’t allow them to do everything they want so they’ll either end up with a watered down bill, or they’ll end up with a Senate completely bogged down by parliamentary maneuvers.
The Dems now fully realize they won’t be able to pass effective legislation either route so the search now is for cover and it’s predictable – blame Repub obstructionism and the evil insurance cos.
@tena: “As many times as Obama finds necessary for his purposes.”
Indeed, for “Who has knowledge of the mind of the Lord? or who has taken part in his purposes?” Romans 11:34
“In the days when the seventh angel blows his trumpet–when he begins to do so–then the secret purposes of God are realized, in accordance with the good news which He gave to His servants the Prophets.” Revelation 10:7
And surely this applies to the Republicans: “Again and again he made them free; but their hearts were turned against his purpose, and they were overcome by their sins.” Psalms 106:43
From the Nation:
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/463769/print
Excerpt: Use the link to read it all.
“Barack Obama received 67 million votes in the last election. Senator Max Baucus of Montana received 349,000 votes when he ran for re-election last year. His Republican counterpart on the Senate Finance Committee, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, got just over a million votes when he last ran in ‘04.
So how, exactly, was Obama’s landslide victory a mandate for Baucus and Grassley to hijack the president’s agenda? When it comes to healthcare reform, trusting Baucus was the first mistake Obama made. Allowing Baucus to cede so much authority to Grassley is the second.”
sorry to just pop in and snark, but…
SchrodingersCat, don’t argue with sbj about consistency and reason, he/she/it is full of something, and it’s neither of those things.
sbj~
You worry about rebuilding the GOP and we will worry about the Dems passing historical legislation…its ok, we are all good here…
@jennD: Who cares about the GOP?
Are you willing to support h/c reform that does not include a public option?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/18/AR2009081803449.html
Also from The Nation;
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090831/greider/print
Excerpt: Use link to read the entire article.
“Many Democrats are concerned that the early promise of the Obama administration has given way to the politics of triangulation.
After his brilliant beginning, the president suddenly looks weak and unreliable. That will be the common interpretation around Washington of the president’s abrupt retreat on substantive heathcare reform. Give Barack Obama a hard shove, they will say, rough him up a bit and he folds. A few weeks back, the president was touting a “public option” health plan as an essential element in reform. Now he says, take it or leave it. Whatever Congress does, he’s okay with that.”
The WaPo also releashed a small storm of anonymous statements from purported WH aides who said the public option is dead.
1. I don’t believe a thing Anonymous says about anything.
2. It’s hardly worth asking that question, sbj, cause the House isn’t going to pass a bill that doesn’t have pubic option in it.
“After his brilliant beginning, the president suddenly looks weak and unreliable. That will be the common interpretation around Washington of the president’s abrupt retreat on substantive heathcare reform. Give Barack Obama a hard shove, they will say, rough him up a bit and he folds. A few weeks back, the president was touting a “public option” health plan as an essential element in reform. Now he says, take it or leave it. Whatever Congress does, he’s okay with that.””
I saw the same damn thing written 80 times during the campaign, at least.
Everybody underestimates Obama all the time.
@tena: How do you propose to pass this legislation? You don’t have cloture votes in the Senate if you include public option. If you go the reconciliation route, you can’t reform the insurance market (amongst other things).
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_5/vested/36701-1.html?type=printer_friendly
Grassley is up for reelection next year, so it should have been clear from the start that he was not going to do anything that would rile up his right wing in Iowa. He needs them in the primary.
Knowing that, the White House should never have made Grassley a key negotiations partner.
Everyone knows that all Republicans fear primary challenges from the right. That is what drove Specter out of the party, so it was foolish of the White House to expect that Grassley would buck his right wing, when he has to get renominated in 2010.
@sbj
Which Senate Democrat has gone on record saying they will filibuster Health Care Reform with the Republicans, if it includes a public option?
Sanity!
@BBQ: You think you have 60 votes for cloture?
Mary Landrieu? Ben Nelson? “Though she is now opposed to the public option, she said she may still vote for a reform package that includes it. “It would be unlikely, but I’m not saying no, no and no,” she said.
…
Landrieu said that in her estimation, a public option is not likely to be a part of the final reform plan. “I don’t think that’s likely, but I’m not counting all the votes,” she said.
Aske if there were any other Democrats in the Senate that she knew of firmly opposed to a public option, she didn’t miss a beat. “Ben Nelson,” said Landrieu.”
Put it to a vote. Force those wavering Senators to go on record. Why let them defeat itm by just threatening to oppose it.
That is the craziest thing of all. Call their bluff. Bring the Public Option to the floor. Make those who oppose the Public Option cast a difficult vote, that we can then use against them, when they come up for reelection. When push comes to shove, I bet many of them will toe the party line.
Here is a modest proposal.
Reid and Durbin should call a Senate Democrats caucus on the subject of the Public Option.
They should propose that the entire group cast a caucus vote, to determine if they should include the Public Option or not. Majority vote governs, and all those who are on the losing side of the caucus vote must agree to abide by the decision, and go forth with unanimous voting support for what was decided in private.
poor little delusional koolaide brigade still clinging to the lies that the evil repugs are the only ills the dumbos have! Just keep ignoring the average american and go on and on how it’s the repugs that are behind all the problems in the DNC. We know different we know what a corrupt pile of dog doodoo the dnc is. The repugs got our message in 2006/08 I’m sure the dumbos won’t get understand the message but they sure will get it!! bye bye DNC!
Democratic Party ratings plummet
The percentage of Americans who hold a favorable view of the Democratic Party has slipped below 50 percent for the first time since President Barack Obama took office, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday.
Only 49 percent of Americans now hold a favorable view of the Democratic Party, down from 62 percent in the same poll shortly after Obama assumed office. Democratic favorable ratings hovered around 60 percent as recently as April, when 59 percent of those polled held a favorable view.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26262.html#ixzz0OfKnDxPi
HAR HAR HAR
Hey folks,
Look who has returned, the lying Republican Arse Troll that tried to pass as an Independent, last week. See how he is still bashing only Democrats, and defending Republicans.