Bad news for the GOP and possible good news for average Americans
by digby
... who just happen to be out of work:
House Republicans, including Speaker John Boehner, face a sharp backlash from voters for pushing a budget deal that denies the extension of unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans past Dec. 28, according to a collection of polls being released Monday.
In Boehner’s Ohio district, for example, 63 percent of voters support extending the benefits, 34 percent don’t. As part of the budget compromise and at the urging of the GOP, the benefits were not extended.
In his district, according to the Democratic poll firm PPP, just 31 percent are more likely to vote to re-elect Boehner, while 33 wouldn't. The same poll finds that Boehner's approval ratings are upside down: 40 percent approve, 50 percent disapprove. The sample of Republicans in the poll was 42 percent, Democrats 28 percent, and independents 31 percent.
It's hard to know for sure if Boehner's unpopular because he's seen as a sell-out by the Tea partiers or if he's unpopular because he's acting like Ebenezer Scrooge on steroids. But the good news for Real Americans is that this might just mean the congress will come back and pass a UI extension. These numbers are pretty clear. The public does not like the idea of cutting people off when there are no jobs. gee, it turns out that the majority of Americans aren't complete jerks. Somebody tell the GOP.
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