PLURALITY OF TEA PARTIERS, MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY NOT RAISING DEBT CEILING WOULD BE A SERIOUS PROBLEM

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll finds that a clear majority of Americans — 55 percent –”believes a failure by Congress to raise the nation’s statutory debt ceiling would be a real and serious problem, dismissing arguments by some Republicans that the coming debt ceiling deadline is no big deal.” Republican leaders like John Boehner (R-OH) have frequently citedtheir Tea Party base as the reason they can’t compromise to strike a deal to increase the debt limit. But according to this poll, 47 percent of self-identified Tea Party supporters say it would be a serious issue. Only one-third say failing to lift the ceiling would present no significant problems.