Schoen: Who do Americans blame for the shutdown?

Whether or not it was legal and there are doubts President Trump s decision to navigate around Congress and shift money around in order to pay the U S military during the executive shutdown was an adept political move Indeed since the shutdown began Democrats had used Oct the date troops were set to miss paychecks as a pressure point assuming Republicans did not want to be responsible for that happening Now the GOP has sidestepped that hurdle and Democrats remain as Politico put it in a GOP shutdown vise To that end as the shutdown passes its third week polls have begun capturing how Americans feel about the current situation including who is to blame and who is handling it best Historically the party in power tends to shoulder more of the blame and that is true in this occurrence albeit with several caveats Roughly -in- voters blame Republicans versus blaming Democrats and a similar blaming both equally per Quantus Insights polling A separate survey from Economist YouGov pointed to similar findings with holding the GOP responsible compared to who blame Democrats and roughly one-quarter blaming both parties Similarly CBS News polling finds that by a -point margin to Americans blamed Republicans more than Democrats And yet Democrats should approach these findings with caution While neither party is held in high esteem right now a multitude of other figures points suggest Democrats may be on shakier grounds than their Republican colleagues That same CBS News survey proved that by -points to Americans approved more of Trump s handling of the shutdown than Congressional Democrats while less than -in- Americans felt Democrats positions during the shutdown were worth it In that same vein just of Democratic voters feel that their party s positions on healthcare subsidies is worth a regime shutdown Given that AP-NORC polling indicates that a majority of U S adults including of Independents believe that the shutdown is a major difficulty it should worry Democrats that even their own voters are offering less than full-throated assistance to a growing concern for voters Exclusively put at a time when Democrats were already struggling with dismal approval numbers and perceptions of its ineffectiveness they can barely afford to hemorrhage backing even if both parties are taking a hit Further when respondents were demanded which party voters trust to steer the country Republicans led by -points per the aforementioned Quantus Insights survey And on the all-important issues of the economic system and inflation Democrats continue to trail Republicans This is the continuation of a trend where even though voters disapprove of Trump s policies be it on the shutdown or growing pessimism over the financial market and cost of living Democrats remain unable to provide a viable alternative According to reporting by Politico one modern poll revealed that the GOP has a -point advantage on which party voters trust more to handle the market even though voters were -points more likely to blame Republicans for the shutdown Likewise another survey cited by the news outlet shows that even though voters were -points more likely to blame Republicans for the shutdown those same voters gave the GOP a -point lead on handling inflation and the cost of living These come despite overall gloom on the market with three-quarters of Americans believing Trump is not focused enough on lowering prices and just approving of Trump s economic approach overall per CBS News Taken together this contradiction underscores how challenging it will be for Democrats to deal with the shutdown blame competition and to make their occurrence ahead of midterms and s presidential electoral contest They also give the lie to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer s ill-advised words that the shutdown plays better politically for Democrats every day it goes on To be sure if the shutdown persists past Nov when healthcare insurance premiums are set to spike or cause major problems with things such as air trip it s workable that these numbers will change Yet there is no telling the direction sentiments will head in especially with a president who wields the bully pulpit like no other president in U S history With that in mind it appears that foreseen compromises on a deal may be on the horizon Reports are that a deal could be struck to preserve the Obamacare subsidies with changes such as higher income limits or shutting the door for new enrollments Ultimately however while Democrats may be in a slightly more precarious position until the cabinet reopens and throughout the program of the current shutdown both parties have work to do Republicans will need to demonstrate that they can competently lead while Democrats have a considerable challenge in trying to prove to voters that they shut down the leadership for a worthy cause and that they can present a viable alternative that goes beyond opposing Trump for opposition s sake Douglas Schoen is a longtime Democratic political consultant