The Republicans' dubious claims to be carrying out the public's popular mandate by deeply slashing a narrow range of Federal Programs bears little resemblance to what most Americans really want the congress to be focusing on, Jobs. The GOP's doctrinaire focus on cutting the size of government on both the federal and state levels is likely to set off a wave of buyers remorse and resentment among independents as they figure out that the Republican Party has punked them yet again.

But in the view of officials from both major political parties, Republicans may be risking the same kind of electoral backlash Democrats suffered after they were perceived as overreaching.

Public surveys suggest that most voters do not share the Republicans’ fervor for the deep cuts adopted by the House, or for drastically slashing the power of public-sector unions. And independent voters have historically been averse to displays of political partisanship that have been played out over the last week.

“If Republicans push too far and overreach their mandate, they will be punished by independent voters, just as they were in 1996,” said Mark McKinnon, a Republican strategist who was a senior adviser to President George W. Bush. “Voters said they wanted bold action. They are getting bold action. But Republicans need to be constantly reminded that the last election was a referendum for change, not a referendum for the G.O.P.”