On Christmas Eve, as the Senate health care debate drew to a close, Harry Reid proclaimed that the public would greet his craptastic health care bill with “wonderment and happiness.” Perhaps he was right about the wonderment: people are wondering how on earth the United States Senate could pass such a horrid health care bill. As far as the happiness part, Rasmussen has the answer to that.
Many have questioned whether those who favor or oppose the health care plan in Congress really know what’s in it. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey suggests that they have a decent understanding of the bill and that voter attitudes towards the legislation have hardened.
While several individual components of the plan are popular, reminding voters of what’s included in the plan has virtually no impact on support for the overall legislation. This suggests that there are not major surprises in the legislation that will cause people to change their opinion of it.
Thirty-nine percent (39%) of voters nationwide support the plan, and 58% are opposed. That’s consistent with our weekly tracking of the issue which has found support between 38% and 41% every week from just before Thanksgiving to the end of 2009.
The new figures include 19% who Strongly Favor the plan and 46% who Strongly Oppose it.
The only people who like this bill only like it for ideological reasons. The poor in America already have Medicaid and SCHIP, so if they’re paying attention, they know their benefits will likely be reduced. Middle class Americans who choose to remain uninsured surely can’t be happy about a mandate forcing them to purchase health insurance. There could be a small slice of Americans who actually like the bill on its merits, but I believe it’s a very small percentage. The rest are the usual suspects – statists and collectivists and democrats who believe their party can do no wrong. Mainstream Americans are solidly against this bill. And the more they know of it, the less they like. Not that public opinion will stop the Democrats from ramming their agenda down our throats against our will.
