It is no secret to those who stay abreast of politics that the Republican leaders met after the election of President Obama, and decided to oppose, obstruct, or delay everything the new president tried to accomplish. They decided their road back to power was not in cooperating and compromising for the good of the country, but to keep the president from accomplishing anything and then blame him for the failure to get anything done.It didn't work, and the president trounced the GOP in the 2012 election. That hasn't stopped them or altered their tactics. But it now looks like the public is starting to figure this out. A new United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll (conducted between September 25th and 29th of 1,005 nationwide adults, with a 3.7 point margin of error) shows that Americans now believe the top priority of the congressional Republicans is to just cause trouble for President Obama.
Those taking the survey were asked to name the top priority of the Republican Party, and 32% said it was just to cause trouble for the president (including 14% of Republicans, 31% of Independents, and 50% of Democrats). Reducing government debt was in second place -- a full 12 points behind.
And the one-third of Americans who believe that are right. A perfect example is the Affordable Care Act (commonly called Obamacare). The ACA was originally a Republican idea -- created by Republican senators as an alternative to Clinton's proposed health care reform. And the plan was supported by Republicans for years -- until it was adopted by President Obama as his plan to reform the health care system. As soon as the president supported the plan, the Republicans withdrew their support and began calling it a socialist takeover of health care by the government.
Now the Republicans have shut down the federal government, just because the president (and Democrats) refuse to repeal, defund, or delay Obamacare (a Republican health care reform plan). The truth is they they have given up any semblance of trying to govern. If the president came out in favor of breathing, the GOP would rush to outlaw it. Their hatred of the president long ago destroyed what little common sense they had.
