Talk about backfiring. In a new poll by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, the majority of Americans blame the GOP for the federal closure, and in turn, the party's popularity is declining to a historically low level. It found 53 percent of respondents find the Republican Party at fault, and only 24 percent retain a favorable opinion of them. By eight percentage points and with only one year until midterm elections, Americans say they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress to one controlled by the GOP.
