Opposition to health care reform
I was always puzzled when right-wing activists pointed out that a majority of the population was against the health care reform act, without noting that much of the opposition came from people who wanted HCR to go much further in a leftward way. When a poll shows that a majority is against something, you can’t simply assume that means they all agree with each other. And so it was with health care reform.
So I was not surprised to read this Salon report on a new AP poll that showed that, by a two to one margin, people wanted health care reform to go further.
The poll found that about four in 10 adults think the new law did not go far enough to change the health care system, regardless of whether they support the law, oppose it or remain neutral. On the other side, about one in five say they oppose the law because they think the federal government should not be involved in health care at all.
The AP poll was conducted by Stanford University with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Overall, 30 percent favored the legislation, while 40 percent opposed it, and another 30 percent remained neutral.
Note that: only 20% oppose because they don’t want the government involved in health care. I wonder how many of those people are on Social Security and use Medicare?
Edit to add: Kevin Drum disagrees that this poll argues for a more progressive bill, and runs some numbers to back up his case.