Going into the current government shutdown, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress chose to ignore history. In previous government shutdowns, the party in power, specifically, the party that controls the presidency, has taken the blame from the American people when the government shuts down.
There is a reason why government shutdowns are referred to by the names of presidents and not leaders in Congress.
The American people believe that part of the president’s job is to keep the government open, so when Donald Trump decided not to negotiate with Democrats and shut the government down, the past precedent pointed toward Republicans getting the blame.
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The Washington Post has conducted the first poll on the shutdown, and they found that 47% blame Trump and the Republicans, 30% blame Democrats, and 23% blame both sides.
One of the important points to understand is that the Republican message, trying to blame Democrats, has largely failed to break through beyond the core MAGA base of the party.
The standard Republican/MAGA base in polling is 30%-35%, so the government shutdown message being at 30% suggests that only the rock-solid supporters are buying what Republicans are selling on the shutdown.
If the Republican message isn’t influencing the American people, then what is resonating?
Democrats have broken through with the American people in two big ways, according to the poll, and neither bodes well for Republicans.
Let’s get deeper into what people are thinking and why the Democratic message is working.
