Balanced approach to balanced budgets: of course people think it's a good idea.
by digby
Republicans have discovered that voters really like the idea of a "balanced budget" and are planning to run on it in the next election. People seem surprised by this for some reason:
The poll showed that 45 percent of Democratic voters think “balancing … the federal budget would significantly increase economic growth and create millions of American jobs.” A sky-high 61 percent of independents and 76 percent of Republicans agree.
But the data Republicans culled are much more granular than that.
Sixty-four percent of voters in Democratic-held districts — dubbed offensive districts by the NRCC — think balancing the budget creates a massive number of jobs. Swing district voters overwhelmingly agreed — to the tune of 62 percent. Fifty-seven percent of voters in Democratic districts represented by Republicans agree, as well.
It’s not only the broad idea of balancing the budget that’s a winner, but how Republicans want to do it also polls well. Seventy percent of voters in districts Republicans are targeting, and 67 percent of swing district voters support balancing the budget by reforming entitlements and cutting spending.
Hmmm, so voters think reforming "entitlements" and cutting spending will balance the budget and create jobs? By any chance could they be thinking that sounds like a "balanced approach"?
Obviously, since both parties treat deficit reduction like it is the holy grail, and the president has been saying this on a loop for about two years, it's fairly natural that many people would assume that it must be required to revive our economy. Why else would they seek to do it when the economy is suffering? Whether or not it includes tax hikes is irrelevant. All they know is that everyone agrees that we must achieve "balance." Even President Obama, who they trust and admire. (Wait, especially President Obama..)
The really good news is that the Democrats are likely to use this news as another scare tactic to allow them to move this along: they'll say "it's better if we cut your lifeline because we'll be much gentler about it." Don't worry it'll only hurt for a minute.
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