Government Shutdown 2013: Boehner, McConnell Score Worst Net Favorable Ratings In Gallup Poll
The budget stalemate resulting in a government shutdown and threatening a national default isn’t just poisoning lawmakers’ view of each other. The American public's opinion of them is worse than ever too, according to Gallup.
Gallup’s survey of 1,028 U.S. adults 18 years and older between Oct. 3 and Oct. 6 found that the favorable ratings for President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., all decreased by six percentage points. Their unfavorable ratings went up between six and 10 percentage points.
The tough stance that Boehner has taken throughout the whole budget fiasco hasn’t been helping the speaker among the ordinary Americans he said he’s fighting for, as his net favorable rating of -24 percent is the worst among the nation’s leaders, according to Gallup’s polling data. Moreover, the net favorable ratings for both Boehner and McConnell are the worst the polling firm has ever measured for the two leaders.
Take a look at these Gallup tables to see how leaders stack up against each other.
The stalemate on the Hill began with Republicans aiming to defund Obamacare, the nation's health care law, or at least delay it for one year through a 2014 continuing resolution to fund the government. Democrats banded together to prevent any anti-Obamacare admendments to the temporary funding bill. With the House GOP refusing to change course, and Senate Democrats standing firm, those efforts have led to the first government shutdown in 17 years. About 800,000 workers have been furloughed and many federal facilities have been closed.
Here's how things are looking after the shutdown:
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.