Americans have almost nothing nice to say about the budget negotiations that narrowly averted a government shutdown, but that doesn’t mean they have nothing to say at all.
In a Pew poll released Tuesday, just 3% of adult Americans nationwide used positive terms to describe the budget negotiations, while 69% described the negotiations negatively. Additionally, 16% used neutral terms to express their feelings about the budget wrangling that nearly resulted in a government shutdown last week.
Pew surveyed 427 adults nationwide on April 9 and 10 — the two days immediately after the budget deal was announced — and asked for their thoughts on the entire negotiating process. “Ridiculous” was the most common response, followed by words including “disgusting,” “frustrating” and “stupid.”
The seventh most common response? “Bullshit.”
The poll also found that Americans blamed both parties and President Obama for almost allowing a temporary government shutdown. As to who gets the blame, 87% of respondents placed “a lot” or “some” blame on Democratic leaders, while 80% in part blamed Republican leaders, and 79% said the same about Obama.
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