Poll: GOP losing sequester blame game

Thanks to Republican unwillingness to compromise on deficit reduction legislation, the looming budget sequester has basically turned into a blame game. And according to a new poll from USA Today and Pew, they are losing:

(Courtesy of Steve Benen) The poll showed that while most Americans want to see deficit reduction legislation enacted this year, they do not want to move forward with the sequester, even if the deficit reduction legislation is not enacted. 49 percent said that they would support delaying the sequester in the absence of a deficit reduction deal. 40 percent said they wanted to move forward with the sequester.

Nonetheless, according to the poll, there is widespread support for deficit reduction legislation:

Seven of 10 Americans (including not only 81% of Republicans but also 65% of Democrats) say it is essential for the president and Congress to enact major deficit legislation this year.

And:

When asked which of four issues was most pressing ' the deficit, guns, immigration or climate change ' 51% chose the deficit, three times that of any other issue. However, there were some significant differences by race and ethnicity. Hispanics were inclined to choose immigration as the most critical issue; African Americans chose guns.

So there's broad support for deficit reduction legislation, but at the same time voters don't want to move forward with the sequester, even if deficit reduction legislation isn't passed. Yet by all appearances, they aren't going to get what they want, because there won't be deficit reduction legislation by March 1'and we will move forward with the sequester.