Posted on 10/23/2013 7:27:53 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Our new Townhall cousin Conn Carroll tracked the trends. Oof:
In fact, since the government shutdown began, every poll that has been taken shows Obamacare gaining in popularity, not declining.
The Washington Post/ABC News poll shows support for Obamacare rising from 42% approve/52% disapprove to 46% approve/49% disapprove.
CBS shows support for Obamacare rising from 39% approve/51% disapprove to 43% approve/51% disapprove.
CNN shows support for Obamacare rising from 38% approve/57% disapprove to 41% approve/56% disapprove.
Rasmussen shows support for Obamacare rising from 43 approve/53% disapprove to 46% approve/48% disapprove.
None of those gains are dramatic but they’re all in the wrong direction. Here’s what this looks like on RCP’s graph tracking average approval of ObamaCare (black line) and disapproval (red line). As October begins, the red line droops.
Conn draws two conclusions. One: The “defund” strategy failed. Hard to argue, no matter what you think the “real” goal of the defund effort was. If it was about building a grassroots groundswell of opposition that would frighten Obama and Reid into caving to GOP demands and agreeing to defund the law, then … support for the law should not have gone up. If, more modestly, it was all about raising awareness of O-Care’s many problems, then … support for the law should not have gone up. The numbers shouldn’t even have been flat. They should, at the barest minimum, have showed a small decline reflecting that the public was responding to GOP messaging on ObamaCare. Instead, this.
Two: Conn thinks public disdain for the GOP’s “defund” tactics (“making Republicans look like tone-deaf extremists unfit to govern”) might be contributing to the uptick in support for ObamaCare. I don’t know about that. I doubt, in fact, that the sunnier polling on O-Care has as much to do with the shutdown as it does with the launch of the exchanges on October 1, the same day that the shutdown began. It seems … insane that the public might support the law more after three weeks of enduring the Healthcare.gov apocalypse than it did before, but never forget that (a) a lot of voters are badly, badly informed on current events and (b) even the ones who are well informed are apt to let partisan loyalties dictate their view of policy. Here’s a table from Pew’s new poll, conducted between Oct. 9th and 13th, illustrating both points:
Young adults, who tilt liberal, are evenly split on whether the site’s working well or not. Democrats generally and black voters specifically, both core parts of O’s base, think the sites are working well on balance even though The One himself acknowledged yesterday in his presser that they aren’t. This is what happens when voters get in a defensive crouch about a major failure by their party. And this is where Conn is partly right, I think, about Republican tactics backfiring: To the extent that the standoff between Dems and the GOP during the shutdown got both bases’ backs up, it solidified some liberal support for ObamaCare that was weak until recently. Some lefties, remember, oppose O-Care because they want a more socialist model for health care. But when Ted Cruz is on the Senate floor railing against Democrats for ruining America with the new exchanges, those lefties will firm up and say they support the law in the name of defending their party and the broader dream of universal health care. It’s not the particular “defund” tactics themselves that drove the higher support for ObamaCare, in other words, but rather the spectacle of bitter partisan deadlock for two weeks on television every night. The boost for O-Care is a function of partisans digging in. Mostly, at least: Amid all the stories about the website melting down, there’s also been coverage lately about the uninsured being excited to enroll. That’s probably worth something at the margins in shoring up Democratic support.
Anyway. Now that the partisan warfare on the Hill is over and Healthcare.gov trainwreck stories are bubbling up in all sorts of media, the October bounce for ObamaCare should start to fade. If, per Pew, perceptions of the website were at 29/45 nine days ago, imagine what they look like now. Disillusionment with the online exchanges is bound to cause some disillusionment with the law generally. And then who knows what happens if/when next month Obama announces that he has no choice but to delay part or all of it.
ROTFL! Those wacky “polls” just get wackier by the day.
When people figure out it will cost them money, they will revolt.
Low information polling sample pools.
It’s because the Republicans gave in.
Black people and Obamabots realized their champion was in trouble, and they are rallying to his defense. As for the website, none of them have bothered to try it—and won’t unless and until they are forced to do so.
Same time they are enforcing under a death penalty that the sun rises in the west.
History repeats itself, Hitler had his own version of propaganda corps.
*IF* this poll has a SHRED of reality to it, then we have gone completely down the rabbit hole.
I would like to then follow up with another poll:
Q1: Are you a Eastern Bloc Robot Unicorn ridden by a Soviet Leprechaun Made Out of Gummy Bears?
A1: results YES 67.7%, NO, 17.3%, UNSURE 15.0%
Well Duh, the shutdown main theme for weeks went :
“When will the GOP pass clean a CR to open the government?”
“Why does the GOP want to stop Americans from getting health care?”
It was NOT what it is now :
“Why is Obamacare so ... f....ed up?”
That is the liberal Media asking that question folks.
Getting the message outside of the choir now.
Yeah, we can only hope the American people will finally wake up. I still picture the media finding some low information dolt who hates paying for an insurance plan with higher monthly costs and a higher deductible but says it’s the GOP’s fault and that the president is doing everything he can to fix the mess they created along with their “big business” medical insurance company buddies. Class warfare 101 in session folks.
Yeah, but remember, they asked the question in Spanish.
ROTFL.
Obamacare All Pain, No Gain
that is not a bad idea, its up to you Rubio, tell your buddies its all f....ed up in Spanish.
ROTFLMAO. Phony, phony and phony.
Okay, America gets the death panels they deserve.
The increase in support is from the squishy center that is terrified of having to run their own lives. Wait until they see their new premiums.
We say that but we may just be providing ourselves false comfort. We wish the polls were phony. Amerika is changing. People are more ignorant and uncaring than ever. They are too comfortable. So long as they have a smart phone and some kind of computer entertainment all is well.
Bad things happen to others and consequences are not even considered. The conditioning to insensitivity is just about complete. The 20 and 30 somethings are mostly ignorant and completely soaked in today’s mindless and pointless pop culture. Most have been taught nothing in school about society, how it is supposed to function or the same of an efficient republic. They think their employer is to serve them and not the other way around.
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