Republicans see a political upside to pushing a balanced budget, according to internal polling that shows most Americans, regardless of party affiliation, favor paying down the debt and bringing government spending under control.
According to
Politico, Republican leaders are going so far as to bet it will be the winning argument as they continue to face off with President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party colleagues over budget issues.
The confidence comes from a recent internal poll conducted by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in traditional Democratic areas and so-called swing states. It found that 64 percent of voters surveyed in Democratic-leaning districts think balancing the budget would create "a massive number of jobs."
Sixty-two percent in so-called election-year swing states targeted by the poll said the same thing, while 61 percent of independents and 76 percent of Republicans surveyed agree with that view.
In addition, survey respondents in the districts targeted by the NRCC also prefer balancing the budget by reforming entitlements and cutting spending.
Turning to Obamacare, however, the poll revealed that while repeal of the healthcare reform law remains a popular quest among Republicans, it doesn’t have broad Democratic or independent support.
In the swing districts targeted by the NRCC, the poll found that 51 percent of voters overall would like to see Obamacare repealed, but only 47 percent of voters in traditionally Democratic districts held by Republicans support the idea.
That may be one reason that Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan opted to leave a major part of Obamacare intact in his budget plan — the part that would maintain the $700 billion in Medicare savings that comes from healthcare reform law.
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