“The American people have sent a clear message that they support the president’s and Democrats’ balanced approach. If Republicans kill a sensible deal because they’re afraid of Grover Norquist, they’ll be responsible for the damage a recession will do to our economy.”
“What part of Nov. 6 does the GOP not get?”
“The Republicans have more to lose, because they have been so resistant. The national perception of the Republican Party could get even worse if a deal isn’t struck.”
“Republicans, especially. Obstruction is ‘out.’ Compromise is ‘in.’ ”
“Republicans have a serious risk of being seen as obstructionists if they refuse to work with Democrats to get this done.”
Both
“Real people don’t distinguish between ‘R’ and ‘D’—just the people here in Oz do.”
“Voters are tired of the ‘blame game.’ They want results. Both parties will share responsibility if no reasonable deal is struck. Both will share in the credit if a realistic, comprehensive deal is agreed to.”
“Voters are tired of excuses and polarization. They want compromise in the middle.”
Which party has more to lose if a deal isn’t struck to avoid the fiscal cliff?
REPUBLICANS (20 votes)
Republicans: 30%
Democrats: 15%
Both: 55%
Republicans
“Speaker Boehner must not be the only Republican willing to restore the brand and credibility of his party. November showed Republicans their shrinking base will win fewer elections, not more.”
“If we go over the fiscal cliff, the GOP will look like they held 98 percent of the public hostage to protect the richest 2 percent, whose taxes are going up anyway. Very dumb.”
“Republicans have more to lose—as they are about to abandon their commitment to voting against tax increases.”
“We could sky-write our proposal to avoid the fiscal cliff above the White House—and if Obama said that House Republicans were being intransigent, it would be taken as gospel, and we would get blamed.”
“Obama has the bully pulpit; he won [the election], people want the two sides to work together, and we must.”
Democrats
“Increases in tax rates would be bad for the economy, but ultimately the president bears responsibility for the economy, and he will bear the brunt of the damage.”
“The president is the leader, and he has to lead. It’s incumbent upon him not to be political, but to lead.”
Both
“Bad policy is bad politics, and with divided government there will be enough blame to go around.”
“Averting the looming fiscal crisis and helping our hardworking families should not be the concern of one party or one body of Congress. As leaders in Washington, we must work together to do the job the American people have sent us to Congress to do and address our nation’s economic challenges to provide certainty to American families and businesses.”
________
Democratic Congressional Insiders Sens. Sherrod Brown, Ben Cardin, Thomas Carper, Christopher A. Coons, Mark Pryor, Tom Udall; Reps. Jason Altmire, Robert Andrews, Tammy Baldwin, Karen Bass, Xavier Becerra, Howard Berman, Lois Capps, Michael Capuano, Dennis Cardoza, James Clyburn, Gerry Connolly, Joseph Crowley, Diana DeGette, Rosa DeLauro, Elliot Engel, Anna Eshoo, Sam Farr, Chaka Fattah, Bob Filner, Rush Holt, Mike Honda, Marcy Kaptur, Jim Langevin, John Lewis, Zoe Lofgren, Ed Markey, Jim McGovern, Jim Moran, Gary Peters, Collin Peterson, David Price, Linda Sanchez, Kurt Schrader, Allyson Schwartz, Jose Serrano, Bennie Thompson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Henry Waxman, Peter Welch, and Frederica Wilson.
GOP Congressional Insiders Sens. Johnny Isakson, Richard Lugar, David Vitter; Reps. John Boehner, Charles Boustany, Kevin Brady, John Campbell, Eric Cantor, John Carter, Tom Cole, Mike Conaway, Jeff Denham, David Dreier, Sean Duffy, Jo Ann Emerson, Jeff Flake, Scott Garrett, Bob Goodlatte, Trey Gowdy, Kay Granger, Doc Hastings, Nan Hayworth, Tim Huelskamp, Mike Kelly, Peter King, Jack Kingston, Adam Kinzinger, John Kline, Dan Lungren, Kenny Marchant, Kevin McCarthy, Patrick McHenry, Candice Miller, Sue Myrick, Devin Nunes, Tom Price, Dave Reichert, Reed Ribble, Phil Roe, Paul Ryan, Aaron Schock, David Schweikert, Austin Scott, Adrian Smith, Steve Stivers, Lee Terry, Pat Tiberi, Fred Upton, Daniel Webster, and Joe Wilson.
This article appeared in print as "Congressional Insiders Poll."
This article appears in the Dec. 1, 2012, edition of National Journal.
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