Republicans Love Living In Their Bubble

Filed in National by on February 21, 2013

Steve Benen looks at the latest polls, and – surprise! – Americans still aren’t buying what Republicans are selling.

This poll suggests the GOP isn’t just wrong, its understanding of public attitudes is the exact opposite of reality. The public is prepared to hold Republicans responsible for this self-inflicted wound that will undermine the economy, the military, and public needs. The one thing the GOP is counting on — avoiding blame at all costs — is already failing miserably.

Indeed, looking ahead, voters were asked, “What should be the focus of steps to reduce the deficit?” A whopping 76% majority said there should be a combination of spending cuts and new revenue. Only 19% of the public — fewer than one in five — agrees with the Republicans cuts-only approach. Given the number of Americans who self-identify as members of the GOP, this suggests the Republican Party has failed to even persuade some of its own voters.

Wait, it gets even worse for Republicans (and better for Democrats).

On specific issues, the same poll found that Americans side with President Obama over the GOP on who has the better approach to reducing the deficit, who’s right on reducing gun violence, who has the better plan to deal with immigration, and by a huge margin, who’s better on the climate crisis.

What’s the good news for Republicans in these new national polls? There is no good news for Republicans in these new national polls.

Meanwhile, the Koch brothers are scratching their heads in confusion.

The massive amount of outside political spending unleashed by Citizens United did not, as feared, make it easier for rich people to buy an election. Instead, it showed that rich people are pretty dumb about politics. Take the billionaire businessmen Charles and David Koch who are spending their 2013 figuring out why they the money they spent in 2012 was such a waste. They have already fired most of their 100 staffers at Americans for Prosperity, and they’re now conducting an audit.

Like American Crossroads and the Republican National Committee, the Koch brothers are trying to figure out why they couldn’t beat President Obama — and several Democratic Senate candidates in red states. The Kochs have delayed their twice-a-year meetings with big conservative donors until they’ve finished their audit, Politico’s Kenneth P. Vogel reports. The results of the audit will be presented at an April seminar, Vogel writes, adding, “Early indications suggest that they’ll continue playing in politics but will tweak their approach to reflect 2012 lessons.”

First, I love the fact that they wasted sooooo much of their money.  Second, they simply refuse to see what everyone who didn’t buy into skewed polls saw – Republican policies are terrible.  Hey, when your egos insist you surround yourself with people telling you what you want to hear and skewing polls in order to make you feel better you end up with the 2012 election.  When your answer to that loss is to substitute a Hispanic for Mitt Romney and have him put forth the exact same policies then you’ve learned nothing – and all the money in the world won’t change that.

Also… only “22% of Americans, nearly a record low, consider themselves Republicans.”

You’re welcome.

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A stay-at-home mom with an obsession for National politics.

Comments (6)

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  1. PainesMe says:

    Let’s not forget that more than one death star had to be destroyed before the empire fell.

  2. Jason330 says:

    “Only 19% of the public — fewer than one in five — agrees with the Republicans cuts-only approach.”

    Grover Norquist and “moderate” Democrats in congress wield a disproportionate amount of power because they don’t really have to answer to voters.

  3. Scritchy says:

    “Let’s not forget that more than one death star had to be destroyed before the empire fell”

    The republican party is a cancerous malignant tumor that just won’t go away. And it never will as long as they control a US media that gives equal credibility to delusionals and idiots perched on the right, i.e. climate deniars.

  4. Truth Teller says:

    Yes but who is your Father Luke ?????

  5. Dave says:

    “The republican party is a cancerous malignant tumor that just won’t go away.”

    Yes it is. Not very quickly mind you, but remember they are aging out of existence. Because the average age of a member of the GOP is 50, they are slowly going to see their Maker. Of course the average age of Democrats is 47.3 (or some number close to that).

  6. It is very surreal to watch Republicans these days. People like Jindal and Cruz talk about how Republicans don’t offer ideas about how to help the middle class (and I’m thinking yes, yes….) and then don’t offer any ideas to help the middle class. I’m assuming its going to take a 2016 loss to get them to change, since they’ve convinced themselves about selling the same stuff in a prettier package.

    Also, I’ve been highly amused at listening to the GOP try to discover political correctness, which they’ve railed against since the 1990s.