Half of the public says that Republican control of Congress will be bad for the country and cause more gridlock, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.
{mosads}The poll finds that 50 percent of adults says Republican control of the House and Senate will be bad for the country, compared to 44 percent who says it will be good.
Fifty-two percent says there will be more gridlock with a Republican Congress, while just 9 percent says there will be less. Thirty-seven percent says there will be no difference.
The public has a more negative view of Republican gains this November than it did of other recent midterm elections. A majority, 52 percent, thought it was good for the country when Republicans took over the House in 2010. An even larger percentage, 67 percent, thought it was good for the country when Democrats took over Congress in 2006 amid the unpopularity of President George W. Bush.
The country appears frustrated with both congressional Republicans and President Obama when it comes to gridlock, but more so with Republicans.
Fifty-seven percent says Obama is not doing enough to work with Republicans, while 68 percent says Republicans are not doing enough to work with him.
As Republicans consider attaching measures fighting Obama’s immigration executive actions to spending bills, the possibility of a government shutdown looms again. Republicans appear set to take the blame, as some in the party have warned. Fifty percent says they would blame Republicans for a shutdown, and 33 percent says they would blame Obama.
The threat of another shutdown comes, as Republicans have dug out of the hole from last year’s. The Republican Party’s favorability is up to 41 percent, from 30 percent last October, and is just 3 percentage points lower than Democrats’ rating.