Conservatives are continuing their efforts to enact deep cuts in domestic spending and acting like they are willing to shut down the government if they don’t get their way. But the public doesn’t want deep cuts in most domestic spending areas, and it is decidedly unenthusiastic about shutting down the government to attain these cuts. Consider these results from a just-released Bloomberg News poll.
The survey asked about a number of domestic areas and found opposition to cuts in eight different areas. Views ranged from 77-21 opposition to significantly cutting education programs to 50-46 opposition to significantly cutting funding for public television and radio.
Perhaps even worse news for conservatives is how opposed the public is to shutting down the government in the quest for deep spending cuts. By an overwhelming 77-20 margin, the public favors compromise over spending cuts to avert a shutdown rather than holding out for deep cuts even if that means shutting down the government.
Conservatives may think the public is simpatico with their antispending crusade. The facts suggest otherwise.
Ruy Teixeira is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. To learn more about his public opinion analysis go to the Media and Progressive Values page and the Progressive Studies program page of our website.