AJC poll: If federal government shuts down, GOP will get much of the blame

The House is controlled by Republicans, and hard-liners in the party have pushed their leaders to take increasingly conservative stances as part of the annual appropriations process. As a result, House-approved funding bills have contained steep spending cuts and language to curtail diversity and inclusion programs and limit access to abortions and transgender health care.

The Senate and White House, which are under Democrats’ control, have rejected the House’s approach to funding the government.

Among poll respondents who identified as Democrats, 76% said they would blame Republicans for a shutdown. Thirty-nine percent of independents also point the finger at Republicans, compared with 17% who said Democrats would be responsible and 16% who would hold Biden accountable.

Among Republicans, however, 44% say Democrats would be responsible for a government shutdown and an additional 37% mentioned Biden.

While Congress approved a stopgap temporary funding bill in September, hard-liners were so outraged they ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy. With another funding deadline looming, poll respondents said they don’t have much faith in members of Congress.

A majority — 57% — said they had little or no confidence Congress can “effectively respond to a crisis” after weeks of turmoil marked by a drawn-out battle over who should succeed McCarthy as speaker and disagreements over emergency aid for Israel and Ukraine.

Independents were more likely than Republicans and Democrats to say they were “not at all confident” in Congress’ ability to navigate difficult decisions. Independents also were more likely than Republicans and Democrats to say they have an unfavorable impression of Congress.

Overall, 69% of respondents said they look at Congress unfavorably, compared with 23% who said they have a favorable opinion.

Scott Brown, who lives in Hall County, said over the years he has seen lawmakers in Washington become increasingly combative and divided. That leads to more gridlock, he said.

“There’s no decorum and there’s no decency in the way people were talking to each other,” he said. “It’s hard to reach an agreement when you started off with inflammatory labels on each other, and so everybody’s looking at what the differences are instead of looking at what our similarities are.”

Audrey Ellis, who lives in Fairmount in rural northwest Georgia, said her opinion of Washington lawmakers is low because she is tired of the partisan bickering.

“It’s the Democrats against Republicans, Republicans against Democrats,” she said. “Somebody needs to be in there that can get something done and not just yell at each other all the time.”

While Ellis, who is a Republican, is critical of most lawmakers, she gave high marks to her congresswoman, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“She’s got a mouth on her, but she stands up for what she believes in,” Ellis said.

Greene, a Republican who lives in Rome, is generally regarded unfavorably by Georgians. Overall, 57% of respondents said they have an unfavorable opinion of her. That rose to 62% among independents and 76% among Democrats.

Greene fared better among Republicans, with only 38% saying they viewed her unfavorably. However, fewer than half of respondents — 41% — had a favorable opinion of her.

The poll involved 1,002 likely general election voters in Georgia, and the margin of error was 3.1 percentage points. It was conducted Oct. 26-Nov. 3 by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs.