Poll: Republicans get more of the blame than Democrats for a potential shutdowntoggle caption Rahul Mukherjee/NPRIf the federal government were to shutdown, Republicans would get more of the blame than Democrats, according to a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, but a significant percentage would blame both parties equally. By a 38%-27% margin, respondents said they would blame Republicans for a shutdown with 3 in 10 saying both parties would be to blame. "It's just that Republicans want to do everything they can to antagonize the Democrats, and Democrats want to do everything they can to go against the Republicans. Strikingly, just 19% of independents approve of Democrats and only 26% approve of Republicans. Only 48% of Democrats approve of the job those in their own party are doing in Congress, while 77% of Republicans approve of their members of Congress.