A poll released Thursday provided confirmation of what’s long been anticipated: more Americans blame Republicans — not President Barack Obama and Democrats — for the first government shutdown since 1996.
According to the latest CBS News poll, 44 percent said they blame the shutdown on Republicans in Congress, compared with 35 percent who said they blame Obama and Democrats. Seventeen percent said they blame both sides.
Those numbers mirror the findings in a CBS poll last week and are consistent with other pre-shutdown surveys.
A CNN/ORC International poll released on Monday showed that Americans would be more inclined to blame congressional Republicans for a shutdown than Obama.
The CBS poll showed that 72 percent of Americans disapprove of shutting down the government over differences related to the Affordable Care Act, comparable to findings in a Quinnipiac University poll on Tuesday.
But the gambit has plenty of support from the tea party.
Fifty-seven percent of supporters of the conservative movement said they support a shutdown over the health care law, according to the CBS survey. Republicans were split on the question — 48 percent said they approve a shutdown over the law, while 49 percent said they disapprove. Eighty-six percent of Democrats said they disapprove.
