Quinnipiac has released a new poll with a lot of focus on health care. As to be expected, the public still isn’t that thrilled with the reform:
21. From what you’ve heard or read, do you mostly approve or mostly disapprove of the proposed changes to the health care system under consideration in Congress?
| Tot | Rep | Dem | Ind | Men | Wom | Wht | Blk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mostly approve | 36% | 10% | 64% | 30% | 34% | 38% | 28% | 70% |
| Mostly disapprove | 53 | 83 | 22 | 58 | 56 | 50 | 61 | 17 |
| DK/NA | 11 | 7 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 13 |
On thing that really sticks out at me is the amount of Democrats who “don’t know” yet rather they support the bill or not. I believe a lot of people are in the same position I am – waiting to see what happens in conference.
Interesting also is how much people disapprove the way President Obama has handled health care:
7. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling – health care?
| Tot | Rep | Dem | Ind | Men | Wom | Wht | Blk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approve | 38% | 9% | 69% | 32% | 36% | 40% | 31% | 74% |
| Disapprove | 56 | 88 | 26 | 61 | 59 | 54 | 64 | 21 |
| DK/NA | 6 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
But the most troubling for Democrats comes from the next set of questions
23. Do you support or oppose giving people the option of being covered by a government health insurance plan that would compete with private plans?
| Tot | Rep | Dem | Ind | Men | Wom | Wht | Blk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | 56% | 24% | 83% | 54% | 53% | 58% | 51% | 80% |
| Oppose | 38 | 70 | 12 | 41 | 44 | 33 | 43 | 13 |
| DK/NA | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 7 |
24. Do you support or oppose allowing Americans ages 55 to 64 to purchase Medicare coverage?
| Tot | Rep | Dem | Ind | Men | Wom | Wht | Blk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | 64% | 50% | 81% | 57% | 64% | 63% | 60% | 72% |
| Oppose | 30 | 44 | 14 | 36 | 32 | 29 | 34 | 20 |
| DK/NA | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
The things that have been dropped and have upset a bunch of progressives are really wanted by the American people. We even see 50% of Republicans supporting Medicare for 55+. It’s obvious that the Democrats in Senate don’t give a damn what you or me think though. I believe a lot are going to find out that we do care though when it comes election time.
The final question is certain to cause some emotions to run high.
25. Do you support or oppose allowing abortions to be paid for by public funds under a health care reform bill?
| Tot | Rep | Dem | Ind | Men | Wom | Wht | Blk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | 23% | 5% | 38% | 23% | 21% | 25% | 23% | 20% |
| Oppose | 72 | 91 | 54 | 74 | 73 | 70 | 72 | 67 |
| DK/NA | 5 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 13 |
I really hate when polling companies do a generic abortion question. Not all abortions are equal. I’m positive a lot more would support abortion in the case where the mother’s life depended on it, as would for someone who is using it as a form of birth control.
Overall though we are seeing people aren’t that supportive of this bill, and a lot of that is most likely due to what the Senate has stripped away to appease the very few. Hopefully the House will prevail in conference and we can pull this bill back to something more Americans will accept – even if that means just bringing back Medicare for 55+.