Voters Blame Both Sides In Congress For Gridlock

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Politico headlines a story about a new Quinnipac poll to point out that voters blame Congressional Republicans more than President Obama for the gridlock in government, but there’s much more to the story than that:

More voters blame Republicans in Congress for Washington’s dysfunction than President Barack Obama, a new poll finds.

Asked why there is gridlock, 51 percent of voters surveyed said it was because Republicans are determined to block Obama, while 35 percent said it was because the president lacks the skills to persuade congressional leaders to work together, a Quinnipiac poll out Friday morning found.

In a similar question, 53 percent of those surveyed said Obama was doing “too little” to compromise with members of Congress, while 68 percent said Republican leaders were doing too little to compromise with the president.

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed blamed both parties equally for the mess on the Hill, however. Sixty-four percent of respondents said the parties shared the blame, 23 percent said it was Republicans’ fault and 10 percent singled out the Democrats.

So, yes, Republicans are getting blamed more than Obama, but when it Congress specifically voters are putting a pox on both Houses of Congress.

FILED UNDER: Congress, Public Opinion Polls, US Politics, ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. george says:

    So, yes, Republicans are getting blamed more than Obama, but when it Congress specifically voters are putting a pox on both Houses of Congress.

    Not too surprising, most Congress critters are pretty poxy. For the most part, the Democratic Party is better than the Republican Party right now, but there are plenty of assholes in both, and there’s a real tendency in politics for the worst representatives of an ideology to make it to the top.

  2. edmondo says:

    But stonetools said that Americans would stand in line for hours in 2014 to vote for the Democrats. Could he be just a blind partisan?

  3. PJ says:

    Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed blamed both parties equally for the mess on the Hill, however. Sixty-four percent of respondents said the parties shared the blame, 23 percent said it was Republicans’ fault and 10 percent singled out the Democrats.

    “Who do you blame for gridlock in Washington, Democrats, Republicans or both equally?”

    That’s a really bad question.

    Unless they think that people believe that it’s either 100% the Republicans or the Democrats fault, or it’s 50% the Republicans and 50% the Democrats fault.

    Compare that with the other question:

    “Which comes closer to your point of view; there is gridlock in Washington mainly because President Obama lacks the personal skills to convince leaders of Congress to work together, or there is gridlock in Washington mainly because Republicans in Congress are determined to block any President Obama initiative?”

    Doug, what do you think the answer would have been if the question had been

    “Who do you believe mainly is to blame for gridlock in Washington, Democrats or Republicans?”

    instead?

  4. Caj says:

    Any voter who blames anyone other than the Republicans for gridlock in Washington must be living on another planet! They have been obstructionists from day one. The only word they know is NO! Couldn’t care less about the welfare of the country and how badly jobs are needed.
    It’s all about wasting time on repealing everything but the kitchen sink! Hang on though, have they tried to repeal that yet? Repealing and investigation after investigation is all they know how to do! The worst Congress in history and to think those useless cretins get paid for doing absolutely nothing but take time off and vote NO! Total disgrace to the country!

  5. Tillman says:

    A pox on both their houses! But give that guy measles and give the other guy cancer.

    I realize the bold script plays to your preconceptions, Doug, but it doesn’t erase how more people think Republicans are to blame. If anything, it just demonstrates frustration with the system in general.

  6. al-Ameda says:

    ….while 35 percent said it was because the president lacks the skills to persuade congressional leaders to work together

    So, apparently 35% of the people do not know that Republican congressional leaders do not want to be persuaded to work with President Obama, they want the president and Democratic Party leaders capitulate to Republican demands. It is amazing how stupid 35% of the public can be.

  7. Jon says:

    I have one name for anyone who blames Dems for gridlock on the hill: Hagel. I know he is no saint and Repugs do not like the guy, but he has a spotless ethical record, and besides what does Obama have to do to get a cabinet appointment accomplished smoothly, nominate DIck Cheney?