Does Public Want Obamacare Repealed ?

The congressional Republicans in the House of Representatives have now voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (commonly called Obamacare) at least 37 times. They believe the American public doesn't want the law, and voting against it will win them favor with the majority of voters. And a superficial look at a recent poll might make a person think that was true, and that a majority of Americans would like to see Obamacare repealed.

The chart above shows the result of a recent CNN/ORC Poll (conducted on May 17th and 18th of 923 nationwide adults -- with a 3 point margin of error). The poll determined that 43% of the public approved of Obamacare, while 54% disapproved. So that means 54% of Americans would like to see Obamacare repealed, right? WRONG!

When you delve a bit deeper into the poll, you find out that around 25% of those who said they disapproved of Obamacare said that because they didn't think the law went far enough. These people, around 16% of the entire poll number, wanted more change than Obamacare offered (with many of them, like me, wanting to see a government-run single-payer health insurance system). But they do NOT want Obamacare repealed -- just improved. They recognize that Obamacare represents a positive change from what we had before.

So what are the real numbers? Here they are:

43% -- like Obamacare as it is.
16% -- would like to see it made stronger.
35% -- would like to see it repealed

So, while slightly more than half of Americans do not approve of Obamacare as it is, only about a third of Americans want to see it repealed. When you add those who want it made stronger to those who like it as it is, you find that 59% of Americans would oppose its repeal. The Republicans are not winning any new friends with their repeated attempts to repeal Obamacare. They are just playing to their teabagger base. Their position will play well in the GOP primary, but it won't help them in the general election.