[Daniel Akst] Americans have Congress’ number

The American people believe all kinds of things. Three years ago, for example, a Harris Poll found that 71 percent believe in angels but only 47 percent believe in evolution.

That’s not all. Skepticism on global warming has been increasing, and surprising numbers believe all kinds of nonsense about the U.S. government’s role in the 9/11 attacks. Yet politicians who’ve been counting on voter gullibility in the recent debt-ceiling debacle ought to be worried, because in this case, people seem to have a pretty good idea of what happened.

First, they know it was a clown show. In a recent poll by the Pew Research Center and the Washington Post, respondents were asked to characterize the budget talks in a single word. Sixty-six percent branded them “ridiculous,” 42 percent used some form of “disgust,” and 36 percent used a version of “stupid.” If that’s not clear enough, a new New York Times/CBS News poll found that 82 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job ― a record.

And whom do the voters mostly blame? Well, Pew found that 42 percent said their impression of congressional Republicans had grown less favorable, but only 30 percent said the same of congressional Democrats.

The effect was less pronounced in the Times/CBS poll, which found that 72 percent disapproved of how congressional Republicans handled the talks, while 66 percent disapproved of how Democrats handled them. But when you look at how respondents felt about the issues, it’s clear they overwhelmingly reject the GOP’s stance. By a 62-29 landslide of opinion, they said creating jobs is now a higher priority than cutting spending. And 63 percent said that, in cutting the deficit, taxes should be raised on households earning $250,000 or more annually. That’s in keeping with a bevy of other polls showing that Americans either support higher taxes to close the deficit, or believe they are unavoidable. Finally, when asked if each party should stick to its position or compromise to get things done, 85 percent chose compromise.

It’s hard not to conclude that the voters place the blame on congressional Republicans. The positions endorsed by large majorities ― focusing on jobs, taxing the rich, and compromising for the greater good ― were those of Democrats, not the GOP. And despite an epic display of negotiating ineptitude by President Barack Obama, people seem to be giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Asked about his performance in the debt-talks, Times/CBS respondents were evenly divided, with 46 percent approving and 47 percent disapproving ― a much better rating than given to either party in Congress.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has made it clear that the Republicans’ primary aim is to defeat Obama in the next election, and they seem to be conducting themselves accordingly, digging in their heels at every turn no matter what the consequences. A headline in the satirical newspaper the Onion captured this approach nicely: “Obama Turns 50 Despite Republican Opposition.” The strategy makes a certain sense. After all, if the goal is to shrink government, why not discredit Washington by gumming up the works? And if budget cuts stifle a fragile economic recovery, well, a poor economy is usually a very bad thing for a sitting president.

But the polls show that most Americans want government to work ― and to create jobs. All of which suggests that the GOP is pursuing a strategy likely to backfire when the president faces re-election in 2012.

By Daniel Akst, Newsday

Daniel Akst, a columnist for Newsday, is the author of “We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess” from Penguin Press. ― Ed.

(McClatchy-Tribune Information Services)