Public Rejects GOP "All Cuts" Demands

by Deacon Blues

Not that it matters to the GOP and the red-district crazies they pander to, but two polls show that the public is against Eric "Baby" Cantor's insistence for an "all cuts" debt reduction solution. Not only does the public want a balanced approach between spending cuts, tax increases on the wealthy, and a closure of tax loopholes, but they will blame the GOP more for a default than Obama. And no, the public doesn't consider closing loopholes to be a "tax increase", thereby undercutting the standard GOP talking points over the last half-year.

Both Quinnipiac and Gallup polls indicate support for a balanced approach, and against the GOP "cuts only" demands. The Q-Poll does show that Obama has a 56-38 percent disapproval rating on the economy, but trust him more than the Republicans by a 45-38 percent result to fix the economy. Obama's ratings here are easily explained, as Krugman and other ignored economists have been telling Obama's political team for months that the public cares about jobs much more than they do about deficits. Krugman is proven correct once again by the Q-Poll:

By a 62 - 32 percent margin, American voters say it's more important to reduce unemployment than to reduce the federal budget deficit.

Yet Obama has managed to squander way too much time on debt and deficits and has been ignoring since the fall of 2009 the only issues that really matter: jobs and homes.