The fight over the government shutdown and the debt ceiling, carried out in the media with maximum intensity, barrages of sound bites, folksy sounding talking heads, and a good portion of twisted logic, has cost both parties dearly. But it has hammered the GOP.

The percentage of Americans who are now viewing the Democratic Party favorably dropped from 50% in late 2012 to 43% now. That’s bad enough. But they demolished the GOP, whose favorable rating plunged to 28%, the lowest in history, well, history as Gallup sees it with its data series going back to 1992.

Here is the ugly plunge:

On the left of the chart, the plunge to the previous low of 31% happened in 1998/1999, as the GOP was trying to oust President Clinton by impeaching him. Luckily for the GOP, the dive turned out to be just a blip. The current plunge in favorable ratings could also be just a blip without long-term consequences. On the theory that “this too shall pass.”

Independents don’t care for either party, with only 32% viewing the Democratic Party favorably and 27% the GOP (they’ve been holding their nose for years when it comes to partisan politics). The survey was conducted on October 3-6, so the reactions to the most recent Washington gyrations aren’t included yet.

In parallel, the unfavorable rating for the Republican Party soared to 62%, an all-time high in the history of the data series going back to 1992. Even self-identified Republicans slam their own party: 28% view it unfavorably. That’s over double the unfavorable rating self-identified Democrats needle their own party with (13%). Clearly, all around, even among their own ranks, Republicans are losing the publicity war.

Enjoy reading WOLF STREET and want to support it? You can donate. I appreciate it immensely. Click on the beer and iced-tea mug to find out how:

Would you like to be notified via email when WOLF STREET publishes a new article? Sign up here.