Republicans failing PR game while Americans agree on fiscal cliff

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
12/13/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Americans willing to accept taxes, cuts to have a deal.

Americans have spoken and they're saying they want a deal on the fiscal cliff, and soon. The latest poll from the Wall Street Journal and NBC News shows the overwhelming majority of Americans want to see a deal despite the ideological impasse that has gridlocked Washington.

As time runs out, Americans are becoming frustrated with Congress, especially the Republicans.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The poll asked respondents if they wanted to see a resolution to the fiscal cliff crisis. Over two-thirds of respondents felt so strongly about the fiscal cliff that they said they would be willing to pay more taxes and accept cuts as part of a deal to resolve the crisis.

That same number also felt that Republicans and Democrats needed to work together to reach a compromise.

The numbers show that both Republicans and Democrats may be out-of-touch with their bases, as both sides cling to their ideological positions and refuse to budge on issues that matter most to them. In their mutual, stubborn defiance, they may be ignoring the public, whom they have sworn to serve.

Obama and the Democrats seem fixated on the termination of tax cuts for those making over $250,000 per year and Republicans want to see government spending cuts. Both sides remain at an impasse while they wait for the other to compromise.

The most striking thing about the poll, is that it clearly shows Americans, regardless of political affiliation, want to see Congress work with the President to resolve issues of national importance. The people are growing weary of what they see as political games and public theater.

Given that it is the American people, and not members of Congress who will suffer the most if the country goes over the fiscal cliff, those sitting in Washington should expect to face ire if they fail their constituents.

However, failure may be the plan.

From the Democrats perspective, failure could pay dividends because earlier polls have shown that Republicans will pay a higher political price for going over the fiscal cliff than democrats.

Even now, updated polls show that Obama is enjoying an uptick in popularity while Obama is seeing a decline. Clearly, the GOP needs to improve its public relations game, which is failing, badly.

The cost of that PR failure could lead Obama and the Democrats to conclude they have little to lose by going over the cliff, which could force the Republicans into a devil's compromise, giving a lot to gain little.

You can view the complete poll results here.

� 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Keywords: Republicans, Democrats, PR, economy, fiscal cliff

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1 - 6 of 6 Comments

mgm.
5 months ago
Mike Robertson.Talk about dumb down ,I have not heard or seen in writing for the last forty years the myth that Austria was the first victim of Nazi aggression a myth that is not accepted even today in Austria.Did you know that Hitler was a fellow countrymen of your parents?I've read enough Bios of German WW2 personalities and histories of it's armed forces and nobody ever related that Austrians would not be given highest military commands or assign to posts in it's brutal administration of Europe or "Finale Solution"because of suspect loyalty to the Nazi regime .Austria was occupied by the Allies at the end of the war .that tells you something right there.As for Greece the problem is nobody in Greece rich or poor paid taxes it was the national past time and a shallow economy built on a ancient world theme park called modern Greece and when money gets tight in the world first thing that gets cut is entertainment and Greece suffers..When it comes to health care the other party Republicans had no plan President Obama had one and he won both elections .
vance
5 months ago
The GOP has a PR problem because they have the entire Marxist Media complex working 24/7 against them. The GOP were too stupid to understand that they needed to get their own television media to communicate to the public. Having weak leadership doesn't help. The 52% Catholic vote for the Party of Death and Deceit is no help. Obama and his HHS Mandate against the church has them to thank.
Pete Brady
5 months ago
This article illustrates just how "dumbed-down" Americans have become. A "fiscal cliff" is going to happen why? Because automatic "tax increases" and automatic across-the-board "spending cuts" are going to take place unless Congress and the President come to terms and do SOMETHING to avoid it all. BUT what does the article say that Americans see as the "SOMETHING" that must be done to avoid the "fiscal cliff?" Why the very thing that would precipitate the crisis --- "Over two-thirds of respondents () said they would be willing to pay more taxes and accept cuts as part of a deal to resolve the crisis." What??? The fiscal cliff IS "tax increases" and "spending cuts" AND the way to avoid this crisis is TO DO WHAT IS FEARED, "pay more taxes (&) accept cuts." That says the problem is the cure and vice-versa. Come again. OR maybe, just maybe, it's not really a problem at all. The logical fallacy here is too much. But what is more illustrative here as to just how "dumbed-down" Americans have become is their acceptance of the term "fiscal cliff" without understanding one thing about it other than the media's constant repetition that it is bad. Why is it bad, what goes into making it a bad thing? Where did the term originate? Why on earth would automatic cuts to government spending be a bad thing? I can tell you why tax increases would be. And that is because historically for every $1 increase in taxes the government has increased its spending by $1.17. Not a small number, folks, that's 17% spending ABOVE revenues. Raising taxes doesn't solve the deficit or the debt; it just feeds the habit. And how does that answer the concerns of the 58% of poll respondents who said the deficit needs to be addressed "NOW!" We have all these so-called wars, on "drugs, poverty, terrorism," etc. --- there ought to be a "War against Government Spending." What we really see in the "fiscal cliff" is the all-to-willing acceptance by Americans of yet another Chicken Little "the sky is falling" theme from the government and its accomplice, the American "Pravda" mainstream news media.
mgm.
5 months ago
The Republicans do not have a problem getting their image and message out for the last two years Right-wing radio, thousands of TV commercials and their propaganda organ FoxNews has put the message out ,that message and their image of America was rejected in the last election .Their message was rejected in a time of high unemployment which in the past would would have assured a turn over in the White House which shows just how popular their reactionary message wasn't .
DarthJ
5 months ago
Not to be a wet blanket, but I don't think a poll is an absolute conclusion to anything. How many people were polled? Where were they from? How was the poll worded?
The debt is going to continue to increase unless someone takes the harsh measure of scaling down the Federal government (whose employees, funded by the citizens, make an average of 16% higher pay than the median private sector job).
mike robertson
5 months ago
It is sad that Catholic democrats have been a definite player in bringing the population to the dumbed-down situation where common sense and moral decency are not valued. The Catholic democrats' candidate is taking us to a Greek-style collapse with unsustainable debt. The demonization of the wealthy reminds my parents of a dictator they had to endure as children in Nazi-occupied Austria. If the government steals all of the wealthy people's assets they can run their Welfare Colossus for months at most. Neither the Catholic democrats nor their candidate have an answer as to what we do then. The Catholic democrats' candidate has brought us a brutal economic policy. What do we get in exchange for the Greek-style debt? High unemployment, high poverty, lower incomes and lower levels of wealth. This should not surprise us since the Catholic democrats' candidate also is waging his immoral war against the Church, threatening us with having to close our institutions. This because we refuse to obey his corrupt "health care" law and choose to instead obey God and His laws. The Catholic democrats' candidate also voted for the legal killing of girls and boys outside of their mom's womb even after they survive the attempt to kill them in the womb. The Catholic democrats' candidate thinks he knows more than God as to what should constitute marriage. He refused to acknowledge God on Thanksgiving. No surprise the Catholic democrats' candidate should have such appeal to a world moving farther and farther from God. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.

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