In a harsh slap at Democrats looking to blame President Trump for the recent — and likely future — government shutdown, a new poll finds that congressional Democrats far more than the White House or Republicans are getting stuck with the blame.
A Zogby Analytics survey provided to Secrets said that while a plurality blames a combination, Democrats are more damaged.
Zogby Analytics survey results.
Some 29 percent blame congressional Democrats for the three-day shutdown, 20 percent blame Trump, 9 percent Republicans and 43 percent a combination.
“In a stunning rebuke of congressional Democrats, who believe they are on the verge of a ‘blue wave’ during the 2018 midterm elections, numbers suggest their strategy of playing hardball with congressional Republicans could backfire — especially when there may be a showdown over the budget and DACA in the coming weeks in order to keep the lights on in Washington. In fact, voters blame Democrats three to one in comparison to Republicans,” said the Zogby Poll analysis.
During the showdown, Democrats dubbed it the “Trump Shutdown,” but the White House effectively fought back by calling it the “Schumer Shutdown,” for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer who balked at a budget deal because it did not include a deal to let some 700,000 younger illegals stay in the U.S.
Zogby Analytics also noted that the Democratic base agreed with the overall poll findings and that should be a pause to considering another shutdown. From Zogby:
These numbers held up even among traditional Democratic voting blocs—women (23% blamed Democrats versus 9% who blamed Republicans); 33% of 18-24 year olds blamed Democrats compared to 4% who blamed Republicans and 28% of Independents blamed Democrats versus 6% who blamed Republicans. Other groups who traditionally vote Democrat, such as lower income voters (26% blamed Democrats compared to 3% who blamed Republicans) and Hispanics (2 to1 blamed Democrats over Republicans) were quicker to fault Democrats.
Anything can happen from now until November, and it’s not impossible for Democrats to take back both houses in the midterms. But Democrats might want to re-think shutting down the government, as voters hold Democrats more responsible than Republicans and the President.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
