Work it out: Main Street fed up over Beltway shutdown battle

Washington (CNN) -- As the country spirals toward a possible government shutdown in less than a week, most Americans, according to polls, are frustrated by the partisan stubbornness and don't want that shutdown to happen.

"Our country was founded on a great compromise," Casey Fos, a lawyer from New Orleans suburb of Covington, Louisiana, tells CNN.

In this showdown toward the shutdown, public opinion is a crucial factor, and the latest national surveys also suggest that Democrats and Republicans have numbers to bolster their arguments.

Shutdown showdown moves to Senate

A shutdown of the government would kick in if Congress doesn't hammer out a new spending plan by Tuesday, the start of the new federal budget year. Republicans in the House have tied any deal to defunding the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

Americans want compromise

Two polls released Monday indicate that a majority of Americans want their lawmakers to compromise rather than stick to their principles. Fifty-seven percent of those questioned in a Pew Research Center poll say they want lawmakers to compromise with one in three saying members of Congress should stand by their principles even if the government shuts down.

And the public, by a 53%-25% margin, say it is more important for political leaders in Washington to compromise rather than sticking to their beliefs, according to a Gallup poll.
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