Sequester Benefits Neither Party, Congressional Insiders Say
Congress is not expected to make any serious maneuvers to offset looming cuts to the defense sector before the fall elections, making the issue a political football heading into November.
So which party has the political advantage? Neither, according to the muddled results from National Journal's latest Congressional Insiders poll.
Which party benefits more politically from the looming sequestration defense cuts? |
||
| Democrats (22 votes) |
Republicans (22 votes) |
|
| Republicans | 0% | 46% |
| Democrats | 32% | 9% |
| Neither | 68% | 46% |
About two-thirds of Democrats surveyed said that the coming cutbacks gave political advantage to neither party. (The other third said it benefited Democrats.)
"Dysfunctionality is dysfunctionality," said one Democrat, who said no party benefited.
"It's a disaster for everybody," said another.
Not everyone agreed. One plotting Democrat said "Ds hold all the cards on the fiscal cliff. They win or they win with taxes up and defense cuts."
Among Republicans, an equal number, 45.5 percent, said the coming cuts, known as sequestration, benefited the GOP and neither party. Nearly 10 percent said they helped the Democrats.
"They both voted for it. Both agree it would be a disaster. Yet neither party is capable of governing or compromising. The less each side says about this, the better," a Republican said. "Each party should be embarrassed."
"These cuts would hurt our national defense. That is not good politics for anyone," added another.
One Republican described the potential political advantage the lawmaker sees in the issue: "States like Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida won't go for Obama if he continues to be AWOL on fixing the problem."
Leave A Comment