When the government shutdown ended, Rasmussen asked voters what they thought about it. Not surprisingly, 67% say they approve of the shutdown’s end. Twenty-four percent disapprove of ending the shutdown, presumably all rabid Democrats. They wanted the shutdown to continue until Republicans gave Democrats whatever it was they wanted.
Rasmussen asked voters who was to blame for the shutdown:
Voters are divided over who is most to blame for the government shutdown, with 39% blaming Republicans in Congress, 37% blaming congressional Democrats, and 21% saying that both parties are about equally to blame.
Those are remarkable numbers, considering that Senate Democrats, who filibustered the continuing resolution, were indisputably the cause of the shutdown. I assume these numbers reflect both the invincible ignorance of most of the electorate, and the polarization that causes respondents to defend their own party to pollsters, regardless of what they actually think. It used to be that only politicos spun the polls; now, respondents do.
Demographic variations on the “blame” question were minor, but for what it is worth, Hispanics were a little more likely than members of other ethnic groups to blame the Democrats.
Apart from the question of responsibility, most voters who have an opinion think Republicans came out ahead, poltitically:
Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters believe Republicans benefit most politically from ending the government shutdown. Just 18% think Democrats benefit most from ending the shutdown, and 33% are not sure.
Maybe voters were answering this question more honestly than the “blame” question, somewhat like the way some voters won’t tell pollsters that they are going to vote for Trump, but will say that most of their neighbors are voting for Trump.
