A plurality of Americans do not want their elected Representatives to vote for a debt ceiling increase by 42 to 22 percent and a majority of Americans are more concerned with raising the debt limit without spending cuts attached than they are with a major economic crisis if the ceiling is not raised by a 51 to 32 percent margin, according to Gallup's latest polling.The bottom line as explained by Gallup:
Despite intense lobbying of Congress by President Obama, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and others in the administration about the economic urgency for raising the nation's debt limit, fewer than one in four Americans favor the general idea of raising it. Also, Americans are significantly more concerned about the budgetary risk of giving the government a new license to spend than they are about the potential economic consequences that would result from not raising the debt limit. Both of these findings put Americans more on congressional Republicans' side of the debate than Obama's -- at least in terms of political leverage as the two sides negotiate a deal. Nevertheless, Americans place Obama and the Republicans in Congress at parity in their preferences for whom they trust more to handle the federal budget deficit and debt ceiling, similar to the close division in U.S. partisanship, more generally.
The very public battle has had each side of the debate bringing their arguments straight to voters, using media and social media sites to present their case and respondents to the polling seem to be more in agreement with the Republicans than with the administration and liberal arguments.
The impasse has come as Republicans insist on spending cuts or reductions to equal, at least, the amount the Obama administration is asking for as an increase to the debt ceiling and Obama and Democrats insisting on raising taxes which the GOP has consistently made clear is a non-starter and will not pass the House of Representatives.
The new messaging campaign from Obama, as of yesterday, was to threaten social security by claiming that if the impasse is not overcome then elderly will not receive their social security checks come August 3, 2011.
For Obama, when all else fails, terrorize the elderly.
Nice.
[Update] Another Gallup poll finds that the majority of Americans (53%) that are watching the debt debate very closely want their member of congress to vote against it.
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