Why Winning The Shutdown Blame Game Is 'Really Tough' For Both Parties

The blame game in Washington is already underway as Congress careens toward another government shutdown.

But Americans' attitudes about government are largely baked in along party lines, and pollsters warned there's little either House Republicans or Democrats and the White House can do to win the war of public opinion about who's to blame if a shutdown occurs.

"In prior shutdowns we've seen some movement [in public opinion] based on who was seen as being more intransigent. I'm not sure we'll see that this time around," Patrick Murray, the director of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University, told Newsweek.

Increasingly, both parties have "less ability to move public opinion because of how much a role partisan tribalism plays" in American politics, Murray said.

A Monmouth poll released Wednesday found a majority of Americans want Congress to reach a compromise to keep the federal government funded and don't think either party is looking out for their economic interests.

In the event of a shutdown, 43 percent of Americans said they would blame Republicans in Congress, the poll found. In contrast, 48 percent said they would either blame President Joe Biden (27 percent) or congressional Democrats (21 percent) if the government shut down.

The poll mirrors other national surveys that show Americans' views break down along party lines, with most Democrats and Republicans saying they would blame the opposite party if Congress can't strike a deal to keep the government funded.

Public opinion around the shutdown debate highlights the growing "negativity and cynicism about government," Charles Franklin, the director of the Marquette Law School Poll, told Newsweek.

Franklin added that both parties may come away disappointed if they're betting a shutdown will lead to a massive boost in public approval for their side.

"It's really tough to get people out of their partisan corners," Franklin said.

Congress has until midnight on Sept. 30 to reach a spending deal to avoid a fourth federal government shutdown in the past five years.

The Senate passed a bipartisan stopgap measure earlier this week that would keep the government open through mid-November while Congress worked out a longer-term spending plan. The White House has backed the plan, which includes aid for Ukraine and disaster relief funding.

"The Senate's bipartisan continuing resolution will keep the government open, make a down payment on disaster relief, and is an important show of support for Ukraine," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

But the Senate plan faces steep opposition in the House from conservative Republicans who oppose additional Ukraine aid and want an increase in border security funding.

With both chambers far apart on a deal the odds of a shutdown have gone up dramatically in recent days, intensifying the finger-pointing ahead of Saturday's midnight deadline.

But while the drama has consumed Washington, most voters outside the Beltway don't seem focused on the shutdown fight, said Dante Scala, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire.

"Voters aren't necessarily paying a whole lot of attention until there's actually a shutdown," Scala told Newsweek.

"None of what's happening will change Americans' minds that the country's on the wrong track," he added. "There's a lot of blame to go around."