A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll revealed that Republicans are facing a big challenge if they want to repeal Obamacare. Namely, 20% of Americans think the law has already been repealed.
The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Health Tracking poll found that 42% of Americans don’t know that Obamacare is the law of the land. Most surprisingly, 7% of Americans think Obamacare was overturned by the Supreme Court, and another 12% think that Congress has repealed the law. 21% of people age 18-29 think that Obamacare has already been repealed. (The Kaiser Foundation rounded their numbers, so the percentages aren’t exact.)
It seems all of the Republican Party propaganda about Obamacare has seriously backfired. Is it any wonder that the Republican Party and Congress both have such low approval ratings? 19%-21% of the American people have absolutely no idea what Republicans are talking about when they start rattling on about the evils of Obamacare, and how the law must be repealed.
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The mainstream media and pundit class have been saying for years that Republicans had the better message on Obamacare, but it appears that many Americans are angry at congressional (House) Republicans for wasting time trying to repeal Obamacare, because they literally don’t see it as an issue. This same poll also delivered the ultimate mixed message to Republicans. Fifty three percent of respondents said that they should try to stop or change Obamacare, but 58% disagreed with the adopted Republican strategy of defunding the ACA.
President Obama has been criticized for not selling Obamacare with a simple message, but it seems that the Republican propaganda effort against Obamacare has wildly backfired with millions of Americans. Instead, of rallying people to support their efforts to repeal or defund the law, Republicans have confused the hell out of 1/5th of the country with propaganda.
Democrats should encourage Republicans to keep running on the anti-Obamacare platform, because every second they waste on Obamacare costs them votes with the 20% of America that has absolutely no idea why they are making such a big deal out of a law that they already think has been repealed.
Republicans have been desperate to repeal Obamacare before 2014, because they are afraid that people will like the new law once they see it in action. If those 20% who think the law has already been repealed end up liking Obamacare, Republicans will have ensured that Obamacare is here to stay.
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
