Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Voters choose Public Option: Tell Kirk and Kerry that you do too

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Senators must be warned. They must know what’s at stake.

The Senate is going to be intensely debating this bill through the weekend and votes could come at any time.

We must deliver our message to them as quickly as possible to make sure they don’t miss the news.

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  1. and in particular, if you dislike the individual mandate without a public option, tell Kirk and Kerry.  Its easy, here:

    <

    p>Only 1 in 3 voters approve of the Senate’s current plan to pass a bill without a public option but with a mandate forcing Americans to buy insurance.

    <

    p>Almost 2 in 3 voters still support a healthcare reform bill with a public option.

  2. Originally published at AlterPolitics by Stan (AKA TheCallUp)

    New results from a national poll, conducted by Research 2000 between December 16 and 17, reveal that a majority of American voters are now AGAINST each and every aspect of the Senate’s ‘Obama-Lieberman’ health care bill – which President Obama is now urging for a quick passage.

    The questions asked follow:

    1. PUBLIC OPTION: Would you favor or oppose creating a public health insurance option administered by the federal government that would compete with plans offered by private health insurance companies?

    All Americans: 59% FAVOR, 31% OPPOSE, 10% NOT SURE
    Democrats: 88% FAVOR, 9% OPPOSE, 3% NOT SURE
    Independents: 57% FAVOR, 29% OPPOSE, 14% NOT SURE
    Republicans: 24% FAVOR, 64% OPPOSE, 12% NOT SURE

    So naturally, the Obama-Lieberman health care bill offers: NO Public Option.

    2. PUBLIC OPTION + MEDICARE BUY-IN: If Congress proposed passing a strong public health insurance option PLUS allowing people age 55 to 64 to buy into Medicare, would you favor or oppose this idea?

    All Americans: 58% FAVOR, 31% OPPOSE, 11% NOT SURE
    Democrats: 88% FAVOR, 8% OPPOSE, 4% NOT SURE
    Independents: 57% FAVOR, 27% OPPOSE, 16% NOT SURE
    Republicans: 22% FAVOR, 69% OPPOSE, 9% NOT SURE

    So naturally, the Obama-Lieberman health care bill offers: NO Public Option + NO Medicare Buy-In.

    3. MANDATE – NO PUBLIC OPTION, NO MEDICARE BUY-IN: Would you favor or oppose a health care bill that does NOT include a public health insurance option and does NOT expand Medicare, but DOES require all Americans to get health insurance?

    All Americans: 33% FAVOR, 56% OPPOSE, 11% NOT SURE
    Democrats: 37% FAVOR, 51% OPPOSE, 12% NOT SURE
    Independents: 31% FAVOR, 57% OPPOSE, 12% NOT SURE
    Republicans: 30% FAVOR, 61% OPPOSE, 9% NOT SURE

    So naturally, the Obama-Lieberman health care bill includes: A Mandate with penalty, but with NO Public Option + NO Medicare Buy-In.

    4. OBAMA vs LIEBERMAN: President Obama has said he favors a public health insurance option. Senator Joe Lieberman is widely credited with forcing Senate Democrats to take the public option off the table in order to win his vote. Do you think President Obama should have done more to pressure Lieberman to allow the public option to move forward?

    All Americans: 63% FAVOR, 29% OPPOSE, 8% NOT SURE
    Democrats: 87% FAVOR, 10% OPPOSE, 3% NOT SURE
    Independents: 72% FAVOR, 18% OPPOSE, 10% NOT SURE
    Republicans: 13% FAVOR, 76% OPPOSE, 11% NOT SURE

    So naturally, President Obama – who was awarded a clear mandate for meaningful CHANGE from the people of the United States – pressures his party to defy the will of the people and bend over for a single politician, Joe Lieberman, who takes a staggering amount of money from the health insurance industry.

    What this poll reveals is that our government is no longer functioning as the democracy it was intended to be. When the will of a clear majority of the people, including a staggering overwhelming majority of the President’s own party, are being undermined so brazenly – as shown above – it tells you that special interests have successfully hijacked our government.

    UPDATE:

    Please sign the MoveOn.org petition:

    “America needs real health care reform-not a massive giveaway to the insurance companies. Senator Bernie Sanders and other progressives should block this bill until it’s fixed.”

    Click HERE to sign.

    The MoveOn petition gets 1 million signatures in 2 days story.

    • The liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org on Thursday announced that it had raised more than $1 million in a campaign drive to target Joe Lieberman for “single-handedly gutting health reform,” as they accused him of doing in their first e-mail to members Tuesday.

      “First, we’re going to launch a huge ad campaign,” Tuesday’s e-mail read, “to make sure every last Connecticut voter knows that Senator Lieberman is blocking strong reforms. Then, we’ll push Senate leaders to strip him of his chairmanship and seniority. Finally, we’ll work to defeat him in his next election.”

      <

      p> read the whole thing (w/video)

    • Perhaps more significantly, 46% now Strongly Oppose the plan, compared to 19% who Strongly Favor it.

      Overall support for the health care plan fell to 38%, its lowest point ever, just before Thanksgiving. This is the fourth straight week with support at 41% or less. With the exception of a few days following nationally televised presidential appeals for the legislation, the number of voters opposed to the plan has always exceeded the number who favor it.

      “The most significant detail in the data is that 63% of senior citizens oppose the plan, including 52% who strongly oppose it,” says Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports. “Seniors are significant in this debate both because they use the health care system more than anyone else and because they vote more than younger voters.”

        • …as indicated by the quote from it’s eponymous president above.  However, we’ve noted previously that his polls have tended to be outliers, especially on this topic.

          • It’s clearly a summary.  What I’m asking is: is all the data from Rasmussen and when is the data from? Please note the “just before Thanksgiving” …

            <

            p>No argument on his polls being outliers.  My point is more that, given JohnD’s tendency to cherry pick and distort, there’s no guarantee that the source really says what he claims it does.

      • CNN

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        p>

        The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Monday, also indicates that President Barack Obama’s approval rating has experienced a similar six-point rise.

        According to the poll, 42 percent of Americans, based on what they’ve read or heard about the bill, support Senate Democrat’s legislation. That’s up from 36 percent in a poll conducted December 2-3. Nonetheless, a majority of people questioned in the survey, 56 percent, oppose the bill.

  3. Hi,

    <

    p>The latest Senate health care bill has no public option. No expansion of Medicare. And it does too little to guarantee that uninsured Americans will actually be able afford the coverage they’ll be required to purchase.

    <

    p>But it’s not too late to fix the bill. And as Joe Lieberman has shown, just one senator willing to stand in the way can force legislation to be changed dramatically.

    <

    p>Senator Bernie Sanders has already made clear that he’s opposed to the legislation in its current form. I just signed a petition urging him and other progressives to block it until it’s fixed. Will you join me?

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    p>http://pol.moveon.org/block/?r…

    <

    p>Thanks!  

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