The Democrats Will Be to Blame if There Is a US Government Shutdown

Barack Obama's job-approval rating is its lowest level since 2011, reflecting public disapproval of his clashes with Congress on spending and a growing opposition to Obamacare, according to two new polls. The Bloomberg National Poll of 1,000 adults conducted on September 20-23 shows the president with a 45% job-approval rating. The Gallup poll of 11,259 adults on September 21-22 gives him 44%. The Gallup survey shows that the President is rapidly losing support within his own party. While 78% of Democrats still give him a positive job-approval rating, he's lost 13 points from a high of 91% in the month after his re-election. "Loss of support from a president's core supporters is an ominous sign, as they are typically the last group to abandon the president when things go sour," Gallup said. "Obama still enjoys the support of the vast majority of Democrats, 78%, but that is down 13 points from the end of last year and is 6 points below his average 84% approval rating from Democrats throughout his presidency." While the two polls may have been bad news for the President, the Republicans were also blamed by respondents. In the Bloomberg survey, for example, respondents blamed both Obama and congressional Republicans for the partisan mess in Washington over spending and the debt limit. But they still give the President a better favorability rating at 47% to congressional Republicans at 34%. Results for both parties are the worst since the Bloomberg National Poll started in 2009. The Bloomberg survey also found that Democrats' approval rating at 44% was a two-year low. J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., which conducted the Bloomberg survey, said results show that the President is entering the budget fight with a "slippery advantage" in popularity over Republicans. "Obama has been damaged, but the Republicans haven't crawled out of their own hole," she said. And meanwhile, the Battle of the Budget continues unabated. House Speaker John Boehner and GOP survivors of the 1995-96 government closures that weakened Republicans and strengthened the hand of Democratic President Bill Clinton, are afraid of the 2014 election consequences for the GOP of a government shutdown, but Boehner says he doesn't expect one to occur on Tuesday. As for the real-life consequences of a shutdown - there aren't really any unless you plan to visit a national park, buy a house with a government-guaranteed mortgage or receive certain mothers' food supplements for young children. But because of the time it takes the Senate to approve even non-controversial bills - and please note that while the House worked Saturday, the Senate will not re-convene until Monday afternoon and has no plans to start sooner - the possibility of a short shutdown looms. Saturday the House took up the bill returned by the Senate, which eliminates the part that would defund Obamacare. The House, in turn, amended the Senate-passed bill to approve the budget, extend the continuing authorization one extra month to 15 December, and delay the implementation of Obamacare for one year. The bill that the House is returning to the Senate also eliminates the medical device tax that would have helped to pay for Obamacare. But since the House is returning its amended bill to the Senate over the weekend, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin of Illinois - Obama's home state, said that because of the time it takes the Senate to approve even non-controversial bills, "That is a concession on their part that we're going to shut down the government." And at a community college near Washington, Obama insisted on Friday that he would not negotiate over his signature domestic achievement, either on a bill to keep the government operating or legislation to raise the nation's borrowing authority : "The entire world looks to us to make sure that the world economy is stable. You don't mess with that....And that's why I will not negotiate on anything when it comes to the full faith and credit of the United States of America." Responding to Obama's non-negotiable stand, House Speaker Boehner said, "Well, I'm sorry but it just doesn't work that way." The last-ditch effort on Obamacare comes days before coast-to-coast enrollment in the plan's health care exchanges begins on October 1. ~~~~~ Dear readers, when we consider these events and positions, several things become clear. The GOP House is leveraging as best it can its minority position in the Washington legislative hierarchy. With a Democrat Senate majority and a Democrat President, it is impossible for the GOP House to overturn Obamacare. But we should not forget that the House represents the majority opinion of Americans, who want Obamacare eliminated by a 55% to 65/% majority, depending on the poll. So the GOP's tactic is to nibble away at the parts of Obamacare that delay it - eliminating the funding medical device tax, delaying individual enrollment for one year - all with the hope that the 2014 legislative elections will return a GOP majority to both the House and Senate. That would stop Obamacare in its tracks until the 2016 presidential election, since any presidential veto could probably be overturned in the House. As for President Obama's refusal to negotiate - my only comment is, 'grow up into your office and the real world of political decision-making. You will be forced to negotiate, if not sooner, then later.' Don't blame the GOP for the Senate Democrat majority's and your own intransigence in the face of the clear demand of the majority of the American electorate.