Republicans failing PR game while Americans agree on fiscal cliff

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.

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.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'