There is a "Wake me when it is over" sense to the national political impasse and federal government shutdown.
Although the last time Washington managed to shut itself down was 1996, a polarized Congress has allowed the illogical solution of offering no government to become a real choice.
While programs have stopped and real people are being harmed, there is a political cost that can also be measured.
Yesterday’s Gallup poll showed that Congress’ overall approval rating is down to 11 percent in October from 19 percent in September, the second-lowest approval rating for Congress in Gallup’s history, the public option firm reported.
The all-time lows came in February and August 2012, when Congress held a 10 percent approval rating.
The news is breaking bad for both Democrats and Republicans, but surveys taken this week show that the GOP can only look at the size of their public opinion defeats, not their victories.
First up was a new ABC News/Washington Post poll reporting that 70 percent of Americans disapprove of how the Republicans in Congress are handling the budget negotiations, up seven points from a week ago. Far fewer, 51 percent, disapprove of President Barack Obama’s approach, essentially unchanged in the past week.
"In another way to look at the results, Obama’s gone from 41 percent to 50 percent approve-disapprove last week to 45 percent to 51 percent now — a nine-point negative margin then, a similar six-point negative margin today. … But the Republicans have gone from 26 percent to 63 percent approve- disapprove to 24 percent to 70 percent, an initial 37-point difference widening now to a 46-point negative result," the pollsters said.
A Pew Research survey also released yesterday showed that the public feels Republicans are to blame for the government shutdown, not Obama, 38 percent versus 30 percent.
The troubling part of the Pew Poll is that both Democrats and Republicans are being rewarded for not negotiating and their supporters are urging them to stick to their guns.
A majority 58 percent of Democrats surveyed said it would be unacceptable for Obama to agree to cuts in the Affordable Care Act, even if that is the only way to end the shutdown.
And 54 percent of the Republicans say it also would be unacceptable for the GOP to agree to any deal that does not include cuts or delays to Obamacare, according to Pew.
In solid blue Hawaii, where does this leave the GOP?
David Chang, the Hawaii Republican Party state chairman, agrees that neither the Rs nor the Ds appear likely to compromise.
"What I am trying to convey to people is you can’t have it both ways. If Democrats get everything they want, it will increase debt. Also, Republicans can’t get everything they want. Obamacare is law of the land; it is something we are going to have to live with," Chang said in an interview.
Chang noted the political reality of Hawaii, saying local Republicans have to deal with both an unpopular national image and the fact that "the Democratic name automatically gives you 30 points over Republicans."
"So yes, on the surface it may hurt the party, but I am trying to communicate that it is best for the state and nation because we don’t want to be in debt," Chang said, hoping that voters will see an issue of sustainability in his argument.
Some movement of any sort in Washington would make Chang’s task easier, but like finding Republicans in Hawaii, it is not a good bet.
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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.
