Poll: More voters would blame GOP for shutdown

A plurality of voters would blame Republicans in Congress for a government shutdown this fall, according to a poll released Monday by Quinnipiac University.

Forty-one percent said they would blame the GOP, and a third of people said that Democrats and President Obama would be responsible for a shutdown.

Seventeen percent said both parties would be equally responsible, and 9 percent said they don’t know which party would take the blame.

Broken down by political party, only 9 percent of Republicans polled said the GOP would be blamed, while nearly two-thirds of them said Democrats and Obama would be blamed.

{mosads}Nearly 80 percent of Democrats surveyed said Republicans would be blamed for a shutdown, and only 6 percent said members of their own party would be responsible.

When lawmakers return to Capitol Hill next week after their annual August recess, they will only have about 12 days in session before the deadline to fund the government.

Congress must pass new legislation to fund the government by Oct. 1.

Conservatives are calling for using a spending bill to defund Planned Parenthood over videos that an anti-abortion group has been releasing showing officials discussing the handling of fetal tissue.

A group of 18 House conservatives notified Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in late July that they wouldn’t support any legislation that continues to fund Planned Parenthood.

Many Republicans, including the GOP presidential contenders in Congress, have said Democrats would be responsible for a government shutdown.

Some conservatives argue a shutdown might not hurt their party’s brand heading into the 2016 presidential election, because while the GOP was largely blamed for the 2013 government shutdown, they prevailed in the midterm elections the following year.

The poll surveyed 1,563 registered voters between August 20-25 with a 2.5-point margin of error.