Public opinion and Obamacare

This opinion poll by Pew Research indicates that more than half of the opponents of the Affordable Care Act think that elected officials should try to make it work as well as possible rather than sabotaging it and making it worse.

Some time back I saw a public opinion poll that indicated that some of the opponents of Obamacare oppose it because (like me) they would prefer a single-payer system (Medicare for everybody) or a public option as a voluntary alternative to private insurance.  I wasn’t able to find the poll in a Google search. 

[Update: In the latest CNN poll, 54 percent of respondents opposed Obamacare, but of that group, 16 percent opposed it because they thought the bill was not liberal enough.]

What I’d be interested in seeing is a current poll of the opponents of Obamacare giving a breakdown as to (1) those who oppose it because they think it won’t provide affordable health insurance to the currently uninsured and (2) those who oppose it because they are opposed in principle to the government spending money to give people medical care.  I’d also like to see a breakdown of opponents who would like the government to (a) do more or (b) do less.

But whatever Americans think of the Affordable Care Act, a majority disagree with shutting down the government or risking a default on government in order to prevent it from being implemented.

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The Pew Research poll shows extreme polarization between Democrats (strongly for) and Republicans (strongly against), and between blacks (strongly for) and whites (somewhat against).   Poor people are more in favor than rich people, and, surprisingly, young people more in favor than older people.  For details, click on As Health Care Law Proceeds, Opposition and Uncertainty Persist by Pew Research Center.

Whatever Americans thinks of the Affordable Care Act, a majority of Americans disagree with shutting down the government or risking a default on government bond payments in order to de-fund it.  For details, click on New Polls Deflate the Push to Defund Obamacare or Have a Shutdown by Robert Schlesinger for U.S. News.

Tags: Affordable Care Act, Defunding Obamacare, Government Shutdown, Obamacare, Pew Research, Public opinion