How bad is the GOP's image problem?
A new survey puts the GOP last in the ratings of 11 political figures and institutions. But the tide of US politics ebbs and flows 鈥� and in the 'fiscal cliff' negotiations, many Americans appear to be holding both sides accountable.
House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio points to a chart while speaking to reporters in the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 13. Congressional leaders and the Obama administration are attempting to negotiate a deal to avoid the so-called 'fiscal cliff' and work toward a deficit reduction package in the next session of Congress that begins in January.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
How bad is the Republican Party鈥檚 image problem? Pretty bad, according to the latest polls. A just-released NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey put the GOP dead last in the ratings of 11 political figures and institutions, for instance. Fully 45 percent of respondents said their feelings about the party of Abraham Lincoln were now 鈥渟omewhat鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� negative.
Part of the GOP鈥檚 problem is that losing a presidential election isn鈥檛 good for your brand. Many voters probably still see the Romney campaign as the face of the party as a whole. Part of it stems from the fact that there are now more self-identified Democrats in America than Republicans. Partisans usually disapprove of the other US political team.
But there鈥檚 no escaping the fact that in general, voters now see the GOP as an unappealing product. Asked an open-ended question about which word would best describe the party, 65 percent of respondents to the said something negative, such as 鈥渂ad鈥� or 鈥渙utdated鈥�. It鈥檚 as if it was a Ford Pinto, or .
A released Thursday had similar results. Only 25 percent of respondents approved of the way Republican leaders in Congress are doing their jobs. Democratic congressional leaders had a 40 percent approval rating in the Pew survey, while President Obama鈥檚 comparable figure was 55.
It thus appears the administration has public opinion on its side in the negotiations over ways to avoid the 鈥渇iscal cliff鈥� of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts. Fifty-five percent of Pew respondents said Mr. Obama was making a serious effort to reach agreement on the budget deficit, while only 32 percent said the same thing of GOP leaders.
But Democrats shouldn鈥檛 start hiring the DJ for the victory party just yet. There are indications within these surveys that the GOP鈥檚 image is in part cyclical 鈥� and that the Democratic Party would not escape blame if no agreement is reached and Obama and House Speaker John Boehner plunge together over the fiscal cliff鈥檚 .
On the cyclical point, there鈥檚 one striking part of the NBC/WSJ poll in which respondents rate their feelings about Obama鈥檚 reelection. Thirty percent say they are 鈥渙ptimistic,鈥� 23 percent say they are 鈥渟atisfied,鈥� 17 percent say they are 鈥渦ncertain,鈥� and 30 percent say they are 鈥減essimistic.鈥�
Those responses are virtually identical to the ones voters gave in 2004 when the same pollsters asked how people felt about George W. Bush鈥檚 reelection.
We鈥檙e not saying that Republicans don鈥檛 need to reach out to Hispanics, or try to appear less the party of plutocrats, or develop new leaders. We鈥檙e just saying that the tide of US politics ebbs and flows. By 2016, we鈥檙e fairly certain the GOP will not appear as if it鈥檚 about to march off the stage of history, as did the Whigs.
As for blame, it鈥檚 true that more voters say they鈥檇 blame Republicans than say they鈥檇 blame Democrats if the United States plunges over the fiscal cliff. That disparity is 24 percent to 19 percent in the NBC/WSJ poll.
But that is not a huge difference. And the real story in that answer may be that fully 56 percent of respondents said that both sides would be equally to blame if no deal is reached.