Americans Rapidly Losing Confidence In GOP's Ability To Reduce The Deficit

[ProSense]

Americans Rapidly Losing Confidence In GOP's Ability To Reduce The Deficit

Jon Terbush

The freshly installed Republican majority in the House of Representatives is getting a rude wakeup call as they transition from campaigning to governing.

Amid enormous voter discontent with the Democratic status quo and with concern running high over the economy last November, voters handed the keys over to Republicans, giving them a crack at dealing with government spending and the national deficit. Yet just two months into the new Congress, self-identified Republicans and Independents -- and particularly Tea Party sympathizers -- have already lost a great deal of faith in the GOP's ability to come up with a better approach to solving those problems, according to a newly released Pew poll of adults nationwide.

In the poll, 21% of Americans said they believed Congressional Republicans had a better approach to the deficit than did President Obama, while 20% felt the reverse. In addition, 52% said there wasn't much difference between Obama and the GOP House.

That's a sharp reversal from last November, when 35% said the GOP had better plan, compared to 24% who said Obama knew best how to deal with the deficit. And while Democrats haven't soured much more on the GOP's capability -- not very many were so hot on Republicans to begin with -- the poll shows Republicans and independents turning away from the GOP in huge numbers.

In November, almost seven in ten Republicans believed the GOP had a strong plan for dealing with the deficit. That number has fallen to 52% now, a 17-point drop. Among Independents, that swing was 20 points, form 37% down to a measly 17%.

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[niyad]

1. really? I never had any confidence that they could, or would.

[Deep13]

3. +1

[ProSense]

4. Yeah, the piece makes that point about Democrats. Still

Republicans and Independents got smacked by reality.

The 20-point drop among Independents is huge.

[SharonAnn]

12. Of course not. They basically created it. Nearly all of it.

[deutsey]

2. There's a sucker born every minute, as the saying goes. n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. And then there are those of us who knew darned well they'd drive it up.

[unblock]

7. bingo. they always use it as an excuse to block small, democratic programs, and then

spend several orders of maginitude more on republican programs.

military spending and tax cuts for the rich and corporate welfare are HUGELY expensive, yet they harp relentlessly on comparatively small programs that help ordinary people, nevermind that the largest of such programs (such as social security) are self-funding.

[toddwv]

6. Some people will never learn.

[grahamhgreen]

8. "52% said there wasn't much difference between Obama and the GOP House". He could change this

by pushing for tax increases on the wealthy - that 81% of us want.

he also needs to push his "closing the loopholes" message more, IMHO.

[vicarofrevelwood]

9. My Father called the GOP what I call them today,

Bullshit Artist! And Damn good ones.

[old mark]

10. K&R- Dumbasses- I knew that all along...nt

[CitizenLeft]

11. to the teabaggers who tripped over themselves voting in the mid-terms:

No shit, Sherlock.