Nearly 9 in 10 doubt Obama, GOP can break gridlock

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By JENNIFER AGIESTA and EMILY SWANSON

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans may not agree on much lately, but one opinion is nearly universal: There's almost no chance that President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and the Republican Congress can work together to solve the country's problems.

A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds just 13 percent of Americans are confident the leaders, separated by nearly 2 miles of Pennsylvania Avenue, can work together, while 86 percent have no such faith. That's far more than the 58 percent who felt that way just after the 2010 midterm elections in which the tea party movement rose to prominence.

The doubts cross party lines: Fewer than 1 in 5 Democrats or independents have confidence the two sides can cooperate. Republicans are even more pessimistic, with just 1 in 10 confident Obama and Congress can work together.

Those who lack confidence spread the blame around: 41 percent say neither side would do enough to work together, 35 percent place more blame on the Republicans, 22 percent on the president.

FULL story at link.


FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2014 file photo, the Capitol is seen at dusk in Washington. Americans may not agree on much lately, but one opinion is nearly universal: There{2019}s almost no chance that President Barack Obama and the Republicans in Congress can work together to solve the country{2019}s problems. A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds just 13 percent of Americans are confident the leaders on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue can work together, while 86 percent have no such faith. That{2019}s far more than the 58 percent who felt that way just after the 2010 midterm elections in which the tea party movement rose to prominence. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141210/us--ap_poll-no_confidence-1c46ea875e.html

[VanillaRhapsody]

1. well only 4 out of 10 of them showed up to do anything about that at the Midterms....

[quadrature]

2. lots of people like gridlock ...nt

[immoderate]

3. Scary. This will become a reason to elect a Repulican president.

Not a good one, though.

--imm

[hfojvt]

4. how many people are HOPING that they cannot break the gridlock

I know that I am hoping they will NOT.

At this point, the only alternative to gridlock is that the Republican Congress will pass a whole lot of crap that screws the American people, and if there is no gridlock, that just means that Democrats have gone along for the ride.

Social security "reform" - that cuts benefits and makes people work longer
tax "reform" - that cuts taxes for the rich even more
entitlement "reform" - ending the New Deal as we know it

and so on.

The only way that I want to see gridlock ended is by having all of the Republican Congresspeople be visited by three ghosts before they wake up tomorrow.

Failing that, I certainly do not want to see Democrats compromising with Congressman Scrooge and Senator Potter.

[jwirr]

5. Exactly - why should we want them to break the grid lock? We do not want anything they are offering.

[davidpdx]

9. True and we just had 8 years of Republicans prior to Obama and that turned out just peachy

[hfojvt]

12. actually just six years of Republicans

and Democrats blocked a lot of stuff in the Senate, so there was still gridlock (boo hoo hoo)

[cstanleytech]

6. Its not Obama who cant work with them its that they (the republicans) refuse to work with him and

its really to bad that the republicans cannot be impeached for their decision to tell the nation "Fuck off and die".

[classof56]

7. +1 and a bunch!

Damn!

[quadrature]

8. really? .. Pres.Obama seems rather good at standing his ground

perhaps you have an example of Pres.Obama
working with others

[pampango]

10. "...we as the electorate are stupid in sending the same people back and expecting things to change,"

said Cole, a retiree who lives in Ocala, Florida.'

Looking back on last month's elections, 52 percent say they're disappointed with the results ...

A majority say Obama is likely to prevent Congress from repealing the health care law passed in 2010, while nearly half say the GOP is likely to block Obama's executive order on immigration. Another 42 percent think the GOP will block or roll back Obama's environmental regulations. Fewer think either side will be able to enact the policies on their agenda.

[blkmusclmachine]

11. Obama will cave to the GOP. He always does.

That's what a self-described '80s Republican does...

[Orsino]

13. For much the same reasons that the GOP completely caved to Big Money.

The president just isn't being paid quite as directly, and not by precisely the same Big Money.

But there it is, folks (and I'm looking at you, Supreme Court majority): money has paralyzed our government, preventing it from addressing basic concerns. Still ready to swear you don't see that, and to open the floodgates all the way?