Underneath the numbers in the new CNN Obamacare poll is a looming disaster for Republicans. Fifty-seven percent of those polled support the ACA or an even more liberal health care reform.
What is interesting about the CNN poll is that the opposition to Obamacare isn’t all about opposing health care reform. In the poll, 59% oppose Obamacare, but 17% of the opposition is because the law is not liberal enough. The margin of opposition isn’t 40%-59%, but 40%-42%. People age 18-34 (42%) and over age 65 (44%) registered the highest levels of support for the ACA. The 18-34 age bracket also was the group most likely to believe that the law isn’t liberal enough (22%). Fifty-seven percent of those age 18-34 think that the law has helped themselves or other people. The characteristics of those who are most likely to claim that the ACA isn’t helping anyone are white (53%) male (45%) rural (53%) conservatives (64%) age 35-49 (50%).
The majority of Americans still claim that they oppose the ACA, but the reason for their opposition is not as cut and dry as Republicans would like to believe. when the percentage that wants more a more liberal health care reform is combined with the ACA supporters, fifty-seven percent of those polled support healthcare reform.
This is why Republican effort to repeal the healthcare law is destined to harm them in the end. People like healthcare reform. In fact, a sizable percentage of them want even more reform. Those people age 18-34 who think that the ACA doesn’t go far enough are a looming storm cloud on the horizon for the GOP. Those young people are the ones who are going to be pushing for Obamacare to become more liberal in the future.
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Republicans are flooding the courts with lawsuits because for many Americans Obamacare is just the first step towards what they want to see. The fact that Obamacare is working and is helping people is only adding momentum to the movement to do more. If the people who support health care reform vote in November, Republicans are going to have a big problem on their hands. The vast majority of Americans support more health care, not less.
The GOP is setting itself up for future political disaster with their endless campaign to deny affordable health care to millions of Americans. Republicans are misreading the polls. A majority want the health care system fixed. They support expanding access to health care. If Republicans continue to insist that Obamacare must go, the health care law will stay, but they will be out of a job.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
