More than seven in 10 Americans said they would prefer a budget agreement to prevent the government from shutting down, compared to just 22 percent who said it is more important for Congress to eliminate all funding from Planned Parenthood, according to the results of a new CNN/ORC poll on domestic issues released Monday.
Lawmakers must agree on the terms of a temporary spending bill to prevent the government from shutting down on Oct. 1, as it did in 2013 over President Barack Obama’s health care law. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is running for president, has irked fellow Republicans over his strategy to defund Planned Parenthood after a series of undercover videos released earlier this summer showed employees discussing the donation of tissue from aborted fetuses.
On three issues likely to have a big impact in 2016–gun control, abortion and illegal immigration–Americans are divided.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.
