The teevee is citing some poll that says 52% of the country opposes the health ins bill

[Stinky The Clown]

At least CBS nooz is citing this number in reports about Obama going out to sell his health insurance bill.

Is that number true? Has anyone else heard it?

If it is true, why? What do they oppose? The bill? Or what the witch's brew of Obama's opposition made up of teabaggers, repubicans, birthers, malcontents, insurance companies, pharma, and all the rest, are telling them?

This whole thing is so fucked up.

[bluestateguy]

1. That would be an improvement actaully

nt

[MadHound]

2. Probably a bit of both

I oppose this bill because it is a mandated monopoly for the insurance industry, it will tax hard earned union health plans, and it limits a woman's right to choose. I think that we need to scrap the bill and start over again, and since we know we're not going to get 'Pug support, create a truly progressive bill and ram it down their throats.

Others however oppose the bill based on the RW hype. Whatever the case, this is not a popular bill and frankly it needs to be scrapped.

[Lesleymo]

3. I think everybody's just making numbers up

This poll says X, that poll says Y - and you never hear what the exact question was. ("Are you in favor of Obama's socialist fascist government-controlled health plan?")

Oh and one more thing ... good morning Stinky!

;)

[Stinky The Clown]

11. G'mornin', Lesleymo!

You seem cheery today. Nothing gray about you!

:)

[mwb970]

4. The people support every individual part of the plan.

By wide margins, including republicans. But when they are asked about "the plan" or "the bill", containing all those provisions they favor, they are against it. Why? You know why. Because the blowhards that conservatives put all their faith in say it's bad, so it's bad.

republican voters are not inclined to think for themselves. This is not something new. This is how they are.

[dkf]

14. Except the mandate and taxing high cost plans.

Those items are losers

[City Lights]

5. That percentage matches a recent Rasmussen poll:

Health Care Reform
44% Favor Health Care Plan, 52% Oppose
Monday, March 01, 2010

President Obama’s health care summit last week seems to have nudged up support, but 52% of U.S. voters continue to oppose the plan proposed by the president and congressional Democrats.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 44% favor the plan, up three points from last week just before the summit and the highest level of support recorded since mid-November.

But passion remains on the side of the opponents: just 22% Strongly Favor the plan while 43% Strongly Oppose it.

Since Thanksgiving, overall support for the president’s health care plan has ranged from 38 % to 44% while opposition has run from a low of 51% to a high of 58%.

Seventy-six percent (76%) of those with insurance now rate their own coverage as good or excellent. The fact that most Americans are comfortable with their own insurance coverage has proven to be a major obstacle for advocates of reform because 49% of insured Americans say it’s at least somewhat likely that the plan before Congress could force them to change their own coverage.

More at link... http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/september_2009/health_care_reform

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

6. Hmmmmm... maybe because the Senate bill doesn't have a public option and there are mandates?

I'm against it and I'm uninsured.

[newfie11]

7. There has been SO MUCH misinformation out there

about this plan so I am not surprised.

Yes I would love a public option or medicare for everyone but I don't think that will get passed through. This HC bill now is probably as close as we can get for now. It does have some very good things in it.
If this does not pass then things will stay as they are. God help us all.

[dkf]

15. The unions are saying it's not worth passing.

I don't think it is either.

[customerserviceguy]

8. You know that old saw about laws and sausages

Well, in this case, with three 24/7 news channels and the Internet, we've seen this sausage being made through a colonoscope. If Medicare had that kind of scrutiny, I doubt if it would have been passed, either.

The horse-trading done to get major programs passed before wasn't as blatantly done as it is with this legislation. That's why the Repukes knew the line of "let's start with a clean piece of paper" would resonate with a large segment of the public.

[babylonsister]

9. If you didn't see TDS's "Anchor Management" last night,

you should. Jon gets a great zinger in, RE: faux newz and misinformation, and also cites various polls showing faux to be the lying liars they are.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/

[gorfle]

10. Why people oppose health care.

This country was founded by people who struck out on their own to escape what they considered to be abysmal situations where they came from. There is thus a huge sentiment by large parts of the country that people are first-and-foremost responsible for providing for themselves. This means providing for your own place to live, providing for your own food, and providing for your own health care. For these people, to have to rely on other people for these things is to accept charity, which is extremely shameful. These people would be absolutely loathe to ask other people for these things, and they are highly resentful of people who ask them of them without their consent. Because of this, they are highly resentful of government-sponsored welfare in general, which is seen as taking money from them to spend on welfare without their consent.

The problem, of course, is that health care has become so expensive that any serious medical condition is now a major financial catastrophe that could happen to anyone. Many of the people against health care reform are in denial about this fact. But the simple fact is, most of us would spend ourselves into absolute destitution if it were discovered that our 2-year-old had cancer, as these people did (http://laylagrace.org/), in a desperate, if irrational bid to try and save their child. And it could happen to anyone. Too many people in this country live in denial about their mortality. This is a huge part of the problem.

The other part of the problem is simple mindset, which, unfortunately, is not simple to change. The same people who are against communal, social health care, have no problem with communal, social fire protection, police protection, and military protection, which is funny, since the spending on these three items would dwarf any health care project.

The difference is, I think, that these people feel that they benefit from the fire, police, and military services that they pay for, but feel that they would see no benefit to a health system the would pay for.

The reason for this is simple. "Health Care Reform" is seen (and, sadly, will probably be implemented) as a welfare project. It will be useful for the people too poor to get health care for themselves, but it will not be usable by the people actually paying for it. All this does is breed resentment.

And that's why they are against it.

P.S.
For those of you wondering how I know all this so intimately, it's because my entire family is this way. I broke away from the faith in 2006.

[surrealAmerican]

12. It's meaningless.

Far less than 52% could actually tell you what's in the bill. They don't know what they are opposing.

[kctim]

21. Which is also true

of supporters of the bill.

[dkf]

13. Actually that sounds low to me.

I thought it was worse. It's always been a loser of a bill in terms of public opinion

[Romulox]

16. Simple: they oppose MANDATES without a PUBLIC OPTION. nt

[kctim]

22. True of some

but the majority simply oppose govt mandates, which a PO would be, in general.

[Romulox]

24. Either way, arguing that the people are confused and *really* want mandates is a dead end. nt

[karynnj]

17. It has a lot to do with the billions spent in advertisement against it- but the tide is in our favor

As someone else mentioned, it is often in how you ask the question. One good source that you can go to whenever there is a poll is pollingreport.com. It compiles most of the polls and they give the full results with the questions asked.

On healthcare, I saw two interesting things. One is the Ipsos/Mclatchey poll that is the top (most recent) poll under healthcare. http://pollingreport.com/health.htm Look first at the favor oppose numbers. The series on favor is fascinating. The middle of November was the low point and the most recent data point 41% is as high as it has been. Now, 41% is nothing to brag about, but look at the next chart. This chart takes the "oppose" people only - and among them, there is 37% that favor healthcare reform, but feel that the bill does not do enough. From posts here, it is clear that some significant percent of that group will not be won over. However, there many be a significant part that could be won over. (The other side is that only (.47)(.54) - slightly over 25% want to do less, which is where the Republicans are.)

You can also see which features are favored and which aren't. On some you can see, that they lost the PR war.

The other interesting thing is the last question - 36% of the population believe the Republicans are trying to compromise, 57% believe they are obstructing. The poll was on taken between 2/26 and 2/28 - before Bunnings idiotic filibuster. (I know that was on the a non-health care bill, but it should shift more of the independents. ) Remember that part of the anger is against gridlock. It sure looks like they are the ones causing it. (I wish their were a parallel question on the Democrats - we all know that the Democrats worked hard to pull in the Republicans, but it would be interesting to see if that came through.)

Overall, it shows that support is growing. To me it suggests that through the President and others, we need to get our message out. We likely also need to counter the ads out there with clear, concise and positive ads that reassure Americans. Another interesting thing is that after over a year, 40% answer that they don't know much. (Maybe because our media prefers to spend all its time on Palin/Brown/Edwards and whatever celebrity has a problem.)

Looking at other earlier ones, you can see that the Republicans had succeeded to some real degree in casting reconciliation as something not normal - hopefully the last week when Democrats have been speaking of how it has been used for nearly everything, this may have changed. It does show that even with a Democratic President, their echo chamber is better.

[WI_DEM]

18. Depends on how the questions were worded. That is how the MSM get the results they want.

[NNN0LHI]

19. My 80 something year old mother is turning into a militia member right before my eyes

She wouldn't get a swine flu shot because she was sure it was an Obama plan to kill off old and/or white people or some other nonsense she heard on Fox news.

Now she is telling me she thinks the census is some kind of a government conspiracy.

What a mess.

Don

[Corgigal]

20. that's fine

because 3 years after it's passed and put into effect they will love it. Couldn't imagine how they lived without it. No one likes the unknown or change at first. Do it anyway. In a few years Republicans will try to take credit for it using some wicked twisted logic.

[Stinky The Clown]

26. I agree with you

Here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7837503

[PufPuf23]

23. I am uninsured, older but not old enough for Medicare, and

oppose the bill because of mandates. The bill is a social transfer of wealth and entitlement to medical insurance and pharma.

I was also self-employed until cashing out business in 2007 and now under employed.

The mandates are an incremental step towards privatization and the phase out of Medicare (refer to Zeke Emmanuel's ideas).

I made several scenarios for myself using the Kaiser health care calculator and my cashflow until Medicare age is better paying as I go with the same primary physician of 20 years (when we first engaged I had what corporate health/dental plan). If I have a major event, I am financially ruined because my relatively modest (tho better than most) assets are free and clear real estate.

I have two pre-existing conditions; one of which I was hospitalized for three days for this winter and once previously in 1993. I have negotiated the hospital stay and associated doctors etc. to less than I would have paid in premiums for one year ($2000/day for private hospital room to $700; I negotiated all fees down to between 35% and 50% of "retail" with help of counselor at the hospital).

Obama shopwed little leadership nor support for the public option. Zeke on his team as a health advisor is a BIG clue. Obama and the Democratic Congress screwed the pooch. We have a Republican and corporatist bill without their overt support.

[grahamhgreen]

25. MOST of the country opposes a bill WITHOUT a public option or Medicare expansion. nt