Congress grandstands, and America is not impressed

As Democrats and Republicans argued over the past few weeks about which party better understands the will of the American people, they may have forgotten about a crucial element of politics: the will of the American people.

According to three recent polls, Americans are extremely dissatisfied with the job their representatives are doing, and most think the attempt to block the implementation of the Affordable Care Act -- also known as Obamacare -- by shutting down the government was a bad idea.

The polls -- one by CNN and ORC, one by Quinnipiac University, and one from health care industry report The Morning Consult -- paint a bleak picture for both parties, but especially for Republicans, which analysts say are viewed as mostly responsible for Washington’s current quagmire.

“I just think that both parties are in such bad odor that no one is going to particularly benefit,” said Karlyn Bowman, a poll analyst at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. “But there’s no question that Republicans are getting a little more blame.”

CNN’s survey found that only 10 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, an all-time low for CNN’s polls. The survey also found that 87 percent say they disapprove of the job the federal government is doing as a whole, an all-time high.

Democrats saw their approval drop more in recent weeks than Republicans, but still maintain higher favorability ratings. According to the CNN poll, 52 percent of Americans see Democrats in an unfavorable light, whereas 62 percent of Americans view Republicans unfavorably.

But even though the gridlock is negatively affecting both parties, it seems like the Republicans are getting the brunt of the blame.

The polls suggest that while Americans are increasingly ambivalent about the Affordable Care Act, most believe that Republicans should stop trying to repeal it.

Seventy-two percent of Americans oppose Republican efforts to shut down the government in order to delay the implementation of the ACA, according to the Quinnipiac poll released on Tuesday; 22 percent support the effort.

So why, exactly, are politicians forcing a shutdown if Americans are so opposed to it?

Analysts say that House Republicans’ shutdown strategy could be banking on the fact that a slight majority of Americans have negative views of the health care act signed into law during President Obama's first term.  

But that’s not a smart policy, according to Jon Krosnick, a social psychologist and communications and political science professor at Stanford University. Krosnick and his colleagues have studied people’s understanding and perception of Obamacare since 2010 (PDF). Their studies found that as people come to know more about the law, they view it more favorably. That could make Republicans’ absolutist stance against the ACA backfire, he says.

“You can imagine Congress saying, 'the public is moving in our direction, let’s shut down the government,' ... But that’s a bit of an 'extremization' of public opinion, and it’s at their own peril,” he said. “If only the American public were educated completely (on the ACA), then more than 70 percent would favor it.”

Repealing or defunding “Obamacare” by linking it to the federal budget seems to be a particularly noxious proposition for most Americans, regardless of their opinion of the law.

According to The Morning Consult report (PDF), only 7 percent of registered voters think the law should be delayed or defunded.

Karlyn Bowman says that’s because most Americans, whether for or against this particular law, usually believe in upholding the law in general.

“Americans don’t think much about process, but when they do, they have a sense of fairness,” she said. “Americans don’t want to upend a Supreme Court decision.”

That’s why Bowman and other analysts say they’re confused about the current situation in Washington. They say there’s no perceptible political advantage to be had in the current budget debacle.

And they say it’s not only political parties that are suffering because of the shutdown and showdown over Obamacare. Americans are too. Jon Krosnick says that the more politicians rely on rhetoric and political maneuvering to run Washington, the less people actually learn and care about laws like the ACA.  

Karlyn Bowman is also worried about the effect of the shutdown on Americans’ involvement in politics, saying that if it continues, “people will just start to tune out.”

It seems as if that may already be happening.

Diego Manuel, a 26-year-old artist from Denver says he used to go to protests and read a lot about politics, but has become increasingly apathetic over the last few years.

“Of course I still care (about politics), but i don’t go out of my way to get involved anymore” he said. “The debates have come to such a standstill that it feels like I can’t root for either side ... that’s just something I’ve gotten used to.”