July 20, 2011 05:35 PM UTC

Yet More Polling as Debt Ceiling Debate Nears Deadline

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

More polling results from ABC News/Washington Post show — once again — that House Republicans are in deep trouble in their positioning. From our friends at “The Fix“:

When asked for their opinions on a wide range of possible ways to bring down the national debt, raising taxes on the wealthy – in a variety of forms – is without question the clear winner.

The biggest loser? Touching entitlements like Medicare, Medicaid and SocialSecurity.

More than seven in 10 respondents in the Post/ABC poll – 72 percent – said they favored the idea of raising taxes on those making $250,000 or more to help shrink the debt.

While, not surprisingly, 87 percent of Democrats supported such a move, so did 54 percent of self-identified Republicans. And, nearly six in 10 people said they would support raising taxes on oil and gas companies, including 55 percent of Republicans who agreed with the idea.

Those numbers suggest that the notion that any tax increase is anathema to the party base – a belief that seems to be guiding much of House Republicans’ negotiating strategy to date – may be misguided or, at least, overstated.

We’ve been saying it over and over and over again — House Republicans are absolutely on the wrong side of this issue where the general public is concerned, but they remain so petrified of angering the Tea Party that many are following the blind lead of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor…right over a cliff.