More Americans Say Polarization in Congress Is Good

From the new poll out at USA Today, "Divided we still stand – and getting used to it":

The sharp political divide that Americans say they hate may be becoming the new normal.

A USA TODAY/Bipartisan Policy Center poll taken this month, the fourth in a year-long series, shows no change in the overwhelming consensus that U.S. politics have become more divided in recent years.

But sentiments have shifted significantly during the past year about whether the nation's unyielding political divide is a positive or a negative. In February 2013, Americans said by nearly 4-1 that the heightened division is a bad thing because it makes it harder to get things done.

In the new poll, the percentage who describe the divide as bad has dropped by nearly 20 percentage points, to 55% from 74%. And the number who say it's a good thing — because it gives voters a real choice — has doubled to 40% from 20%.

"Honestly, I feel like Congress is designed to be slow, so it could be frustrating but that's how they are designed to be," Gage Egurrola, 23, a salesman from Caldwell, Idaho, who was among those surveyed. "It helps stop bad policies."

Shar Wright, 65, of Bodfish, Calif., disagrees. "I think this is the new normal, and I think it's terrible," she says. "They're putting their own agendas first and they should be voting on what the people want and what the country needs. What we need is a lot more care, a lot more concern and a lot less of tomfoolery."

The shift in public opinion toward Egurrola's view may reflect broadening acceptance of Washington's polarization as an inevitable fact of life. Skepticism about the government's ability to solve big problems, fueled by concerns about the Affordable Care Act, could play a part as well. It sets a landscape that could boost Republicans in the November elections, minimizing the impact of Democratic charges that GOP forces have been obstructionist.

Now, Americans say it's more important for their representative in Congress to stop bad laws than to pass new ones. On that, there is no partisan divide: 54% of Republicans and 51% of Democrats say blocking bad laws should be their priority.

Indeed, we have to stop terrible Democrat Party legislation from ever seeing the light of day. The f-kers are destroying this once great nation, sheesh.

Luckily, Republicans are in line to make sweeping gains in Congress this year. And by next year, hopefully, the public will support significant legislative fixes to the predicament the left has gotten us into. Seriously, if the GOP controls both chambers  the pressure on the White House to compromise will be overwhelming.

So, until then!

More at the link.