IDIOTS WE DON'T RESPECT WANT TO BE OBSTRUCTIONIST? WE'RE COOL WITH THAT

According to a new Quinnipiac poll, President Obama's approval rating is relatively low: 44% However:

Obama's ratings are far superior to Congress, which gets a 71 - 20 percent disapproval.

So only one out of five Americans approves of Congress. Surely that means that if one house of this highly unpopular legislative body wants to be intransigent and obstructionist in response to a Supreme Court pick by a much more popular president, the public would deem the move inappropriate. Right?

Wrong:

Voters trust the President rather than Senate Republicans 46 - 43 percent to make the right choice for the Supreme Court, but say 48 - 41 percent that Senators who do not agree with the nominee on key issues should filibuster the choice.

(The specific question is "If Senators did not agree with President Obama's Supreme Court nominee on controversial issues like abortion and gay marriage, do you think they would be justified, or not justified in using the filibuster to prevent the nomination from coming to a vote?" That's what gets a 48%-41% plurality. Well, so much for abortion rights defender Diane Wood, or an openly or possibly semi-openly gay nominee.)

So roughly half the public doesn't think a filibuster, even based on mere political disagreement, is extreme -- a finding that I'm sure brings a smile to the lips of Republicans looking to fire up their base.

And the public feels that way even while also believing that the people who'd be conducting the filibuster are idiots.