Republican unity can backfire on party

Jay Bookman is good today:

...it’s pretty clear that Republicans in Congress decided to approach the stimulus measure not on its merits but as a matter of party discipline; they voted not as individuals with minds of their own, but in lockstep, as a party following a herd instinct. Before the vote, the small number of GOP members who had expressed support for the stimulus or were waffling were pressured not to betray their fellow party members, and the pressure worked.

...In poll after poll, roughly 60 percent of Americans say they approve of how Obama is handling the economy. More tellingly, in a new CNN poll 60 percent of Americans say they approve of how congressional Democrats are handling it, while 55 percent disapprove of Republican congressional leadership.

In times of stress, people naturally seek comfort in unity. The Republicans, hurting politically, turned to each other for that comfort. But the American people, also under stress, also sought unity and instead saw the GOP act in boldly partisan fashion. They clearly don’t approve.