Republicans are infuriated by Democrats’ claims that they are threatening a government shutdown, calling it a hyperbolic scare tactic that ignores repeated GOP leaders’ assertions that they weren’t seeking a shutdown. “Boehner has been very clear—publicly and in private with the Republican conference —that the goal is to get the [budget] passed, not to shut down the government,” said David Winston, a GOP pollster who advises congressional leaders.

Read the full story at marketwatch.com

But, Winston said, Americans have largely viewed the debate over cutting the budget as typical ideological responses from both political parties.

“They are saying to both political parties, ‘go back to the drawing board,’ ” Winston said.

To read the full article, turn to statesmanjournal.com

The Right Idea, Episode 33: Health Care Reform from The Winston Group on Vimeo.

With Olympia Snowe giving the latest healthcare reform bill the thumbs up, can we really call it bi-partisan? Kristen chats with the Washington Times’ Andrea Carpenter and the Independent Women’s Forum’s Allison Kasic about the lastest in healthcare reform developments, as well as the bigger issue of the U.S. economy.

The first episode of The Winston Group’s new podcast is up! “The Right Idea” is a video podcast that comes out twice a week featuring discussion of both current events and long-term strategy with some of Washington’s brightest young minds in politics and policy.

This week, Kristen Soltis talks to Matt Moon from The Tax Foundation and Nicole Kurokawa from the Cato Institute, about Obama’s budget proposals.