A new Pew poll finds that a majority of Republicans voters, and an even larger majority of Tea Party supporters, simply don’t think failing to raise the debt ceiling will lead to a crisis:
By a 53% to 30% margin, most Republicans say that it will not be a major problem if the debt ceiling is not raised by Aug. 2. The balance of opinion is the reverse among Democrats: 56% say it is absolutely essential to meet that deadline to avoid an economic crisis, 28% say it is not. Independents are more divided, though a slim 43% plurality say the country can go past Aug. 2 without major economic problems, while 32% say it is essential to raise the debt limit by this date...
Tea Party Republicans are by far the most unconvinced about the potential fallout from going past the Aug. 2 deadline. Fully 65% of Republicans and Republican leaning independents who agree with the Tea Party see no major problems if this occurs, compared with 45% of Republicans and Republican leaners who do not agree with the Tea Party.
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/publics-cynical-assumption.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/bachmann-nation-for-republicans-and-tea-partyers-there-is-no-imminent-crisis/2011/03/03/gIQAAZ4LMI_blog.htmlhttp://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20080250-503544.html