According to a new CBS poll released today:
71% of respondents disapproved of Republicans' handling of the debt talks, with only 21% approving. But beyond the lack of general buy-in to their legislative tactics, CBS reports that they even face a challenge in convincing their own base. [...]
Even half of the Republican respondents (51 percent) voiced disapproval of how members of their own party in Congress are handling the talks. Far fewer Democrats expressed disapproval of their own party's handling (32 percent) or President Obama's (22 percent) of the urgent quest to raise the nation's debt limit ahead of a looming default on Aug. 2 if action isn't taken.
Only 22% of Democrats disapprove of the president's handling of debt-ceiling negotiations while 51% of Republicans disapprove of the their party's handling of negotiations. So whose base is abandoning who here?
Just to add insult to injury -- a Gallup poll released four days ago shows that 74% of Republicans believe any deficit reduction legislation should also include new revenue.
In hindsight, it should be a no-brainer for Republicans to take the president's "Big Deal" offer, but they won't because tax cuts for the Super-Rich are sacrosanct.