Who's getting the blame for the government shutdown?

The GOP has been feverishly trying to place the blame for the government shutdown on President Obama and the Democrats. But the polling numbers show that their attempt isn't working very well. Multiple (in fact, all the polls) polls show that the public blames the Republicans for the shutdown more, and in some cases much more, than it blames President Obama and the Democrats.

NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll (October 7-9, 2013): "By a 22-point margin (53 percent to 31 percent), the public blames the Republican Party more for the shutdown than President Barack Obama – a wider margin of blame for the GOP than the party received during the poll during the last shutdown in 1995-96."

AP/GfK Survey (October 9, 2013): "62 percent mainly blamed Republicans for the shutdown. About half said Obama or the Democrats in Congress bear much responsibility."

CNN/ORC International survey (October 5-6, 2013): "63% of those questioned say they are angry at the Republicans for the way they have handled the shutdown."

Meanwhile, public support for the GOP in general seems to be dropping in a corresponding manner.

Gallup's October 3-6 poll showed that Republican favorability has dropped to an all-time low. "With the Republican-controlled House of Representatives engaged in a tense, government-shuttering budgetary standoff against a Democratic president and Senate, the Republican Party is now viewed favorably by 28% of Americans, down from 38% in September. This is the lowest favorable rating measured for either party since Gallup began asking this question in 1992." Take a look at the chart on the Gallup website, and you can see that the last time the government shut down, GOP favorability also took a huge dive. The twin 1995-1996 shutdowns ended up costing the Republicans several seats in Congress.

There appears to be some real anger. A late-September CNN poll revealed that 69% of the public think the GOP are acting like "spoiled children" over the budget negotiations.

The GOP proceeds with this shutdown at their own peril, because the public clearly places the majority of the blame on them.