Fiscal cliff brinksmanship leads to GOP black eye

Republicans fall over the cliff

By Mark S. Mellman - 01/08/13 07:17 PM ET -- The Hill

Just how much did the fiscal-cliff debate hurt the GOP? A lot. Politically attuned Republicans ought to consider the damage already wrought as they plan strategy for the next round, instead of getting giddy about a government default.

While the fiscal cliff did not command as much attention as some other issues, voters were engaged at a significant level. At the high point, 40 percent of Americans told Pew pollsters they were following the issue closely. Tragedies like the massacres in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., were closely followed by more — 57 percent and 48 percent, respectively. Hurricane Sandy transfixed 53 percent, while Election 2012 was followed closely by 60 percent at its high. All in all, the fiscal cliff was the ninth-most-closely followed story in 2012 and early 2013.

The results of the ultimate accord were not particularly popular, with voters divided. Pew found 38 percent approving of the agreement, while 41 percent disapproved. Gallup gave a similar 2-point advantage to opponents over supporters of the final agreement.

Republicans, no doubt, thought that the public ambivalence about the plan created space for them to oppose it. It didn’t, and the GOP ended up with a big black eye. According to Pew, voters disapproved of the way Republican leaders handled the issue by a vast 66 percent-to-19 percent margin. Gallup pegged disapproval of the Republicans’ efforts at 67 percent. That means even some GOPers failed to rally to their party’s defense.

(More here.)