Poll: GOP would shoulder blame in debt ceiling fight

Republicans in Congress would shoulder most of the blame if the debt ceiling were not raised this month, a recent poll finds. 

According to a CNN survey released Monday night, 54 percent of people would blame Republicans and 29 percent would blame President Obama if the borrowing limit were not increased. Another 12 percent said they would blame both parties. 

{mosads}While there is little chance the borrowing limit will not be raised, the numbers echo similar polls last year that showed Republicans receiving most of the blame for the government shutdown last October. 

Independents would blame Republicans by a 49 percent to 30 percent margin for not raising the debt ceiling. 

The $16.7 trillion limit, which was suspended in October, is set to be hit Friday. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has warned that the government would only be able to use extraordinary measures to extend the deadline until the end of the month. 

Republicans have not yet decided on a strategy to raise the debt ceiling. A number of Republican attachments have been floated in order to get the necessary amount of GOP votes in the House without needing Democratic support. 

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said no one wants to default on the U.S. debt, but he would look for some sort of debt reduction to go along with the increase. 

The administration has continued to press for a clean debt-ceiling bill. 

The poll surveyed 1,010 people from Jan. 31 through Feb. 2 and holds a three-percent margin of error.