Well, health care reform is now law, and the new socialist hellscape is our home, at least until the brave Republicans and their vast majority of the American people sweep Democrats from office. Which they’ll certainly do, because if there’s one thing we all know, it’s that Americans hate getting health care. Every poll shows it, you know….
Knock knock
Who’s there? Why, it’s USA Today/Gallup! And they’ve got a new poll! Well, let’s see how badly the Democrats fare in this one.
Americans by 9 percentage points have a favorable view of the health care overhaul that President Obama signed into law Tuesday, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, a notable turnaround from surveys before the vote that showed a plurality against it.
By 49%-40% those surveyed say it was “a good thing” rather than a bad one that Congress passed the bill. Half describe their reaction in positive terms, as “enthusiastic” or “pleased,” while about four in 10 describe it in negative ways, as “disappointed” or “angry.”
Wait a second.
That’s impossible. The Republicans have been very clear that this bill is being rammed down the collective throats of America by Barack Obama.
Well, at least 49% is still just a plurality. Most Americans probably still somehow can be said to oppose health care reform, right?
The largest single group, 48%, calls the bill “a good first step” that should be followed by more action on health care. An additional 4% also have a favorable view, saying the bill makes the most important changes needed in the nation’s health care system.
Sure, “math” says that 48% + 4% = 52%, which in elite media circles is a “majority.” But that’s only true outside of Texas. In Texas, they would have made sure only to ask white men who were Republicans, and I’m sure lots of them oppose any reform at all.
Well, at least Americans are outraged by the process, and angry at the Democrats for demon pass and Slaughter and stuff. I mean, right?
No one gets overwhelmingly positive ratings on the issue, but Obama fares the best: 46% say his work has been excellent or good; 31% call it poor. Congressional Democrats get an even split: 32% call their efforts good or excellent; 33% poor.
The standing of congressional Republicans is more negative. While 26% rate their work on health care as good or excellent, a larger group, 34%, say it has been poor.
This is not at all what Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and John Boehner said would happen. Not at all.
Oh, sure. Like we’re going to believe what a liberal rag like USA Today and a liberal media polling firm as little respected as Gallup has to say.
This is nothing to worry about. We can rest assured that the vast majority of Americans are about to rise up in order to reverse this bill.
We can also rest assured that we’re gonna find WMD in Iraq with little “Saddam” name tags sewn on to them.
I still think that talking point is going to work on people who have no strong opinion on health care reform, even if what opinion they have is favorable.
I don’t know that that’s enough for Republicans to win more than a handful of House seats on a platform of repeal (I don’t mean that only a handful of Republicans will win in November, but I think only a handful will do so because they promise to take up repeal, rather than despite it or without mentioning it).
But this bolsters my argument that the Democratic meme should be “we offered to take them on board, but they refused; that was their decision.”