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The budget confrontation that led to a partial government shutdown dealt a major blow to the GOP’s image and has exposed significant divisions between tea party supporters and other Republicans, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey highlights just how badly the GOP hard-liners and the leaders who went along with them misjudged the public mood. In the aftermath, eight in 10 Americans say they disapprove of the shutdown. Two in three Republicans or independents who lean Republican share a negative view of the impasse. And even a majority of those who support the tea party movement disapprove.

An overwhelming majority of Americans say the budget dispute damaged the U.S. economy and the nation’s image in the world. A sizable majority lacks confidence that another crisis can be averted when the current agreement runs out early next year.

President Obama’s overall ratings have held steady. Almost half of all Americans approve of the way he has handled his job, and an almost identical number disapprove.

There was little in the findings for the GOP to feel good about. The party’s image has sunk to an all-time low in Post-ABC surveys, with 32 percent of the public saying they have a favorable opinion and 63 percent saying they have an unfavorable view. Almost four in 10 Americans have a strongly unfavorable view of the GOP.

The tea party fares just as badly. Barely a quarter of the public has a favorable image of the movement, the lowest rating in Post-ABC polling.

Perceptions of the way Republicans handled the budget negotiations grew steadily worse through the weeks of confrontation, rising from 63 percent disapproval on the eve of the 16-day shutdown, which began Oct. 1, to 77 percent disapproval by the time it ended. Nearly three in five Republicans disapprove of their party’s handling of the negotiations.

Republican divisions also were evident when people were asked whether they approved of the way GOP lawmakers affiliated with the tea party handled the negotiations. Seventy-three percent of non-tea-party Republicans and GOP-leaning independents say they disapprove, while 55 percent of tea party supporters say they approve.

The findings foreshadow continued strife within the Republican coalition, as establishment and tea party wings vie for superiority.

The confrontation has had a corrosive effect on attitudes about the direction of the country, the workings of government and the image of elected officials. The percentage of Americans who say the United States is seriously off track rose from 60 percent in July to 68 percent today — the highest in more than a year.

Overall approval of Congress stands at 12 percent in the new survey, with 85 percent disapproving — 70 percent strongly. That represents the most negative expression toward Congress in almost a quarter-century of Post-ABC polling. Congressional approval at the time of the last government shutdown, in 1996, was 31 percent.

Congress and the president could be back at an impasse early next year if budget negotiators cannot find a long-term resolution. Just over a quarter of all Americans expressed confidence that the two sides will be able to agree, with most of them saying they are just “somewhat” confident. The rest are more pessimistic, and four in 10 say they are not at all confident that another crisis can be avoided. Details of poll at http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-major-damage-to-gop-after-
shutdown-and-broad-dissatisfaction-with-government/2013/10/21/dae5c062-3a84-11e3-b7ba-503fb5822c3e_story.html

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