GOP Wrong About Public Opinion Of A.C.A.

After watching hours of the current congressional debate on C-SPAN, I have to say I'm getting a little irritated about one thing -- the Republican claim (lie?) that most Americans oppose the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and support their efforts to repeal, defund, or delay it. That simply is not true, and it has been exposed as false by numerous polls. And now two more polls verify this once again.

The first is the newest CNN/ORC Poll (taken between September 27th and 29th of 803 nationwide adults, with a 3.5 point margin of error). This survey (top chart) shows that only 39% of Americans oppose Obamacare because they think it's too liberal, and want it repealed. An equal amount of Americans (38%) approve of Obamacare as it is, and another 11% don't like it because it isn't liberal enough and doesn't make enough changes to the present system. That makes 49% who don't want it repealed or defunded, 39% who do want that, and 13% who don't know what to think. That's certainly not overwhelming support for the GOP obstructionism.

The second is the new survey by The Morning Consult Healthcare Poll (taken between September 25th and 28th of 1,976 registered voters nationwide, with a 2 point margin of error). This poll shows only 26% of Americans want Obamacare repealed, and another 7% would like to see it defunded or delayed. That's only 33% who support the position staked out by the congressional Republicans. The other 67% do not want Obamacare repealed, defunded, or delayed -- but would like to see it accepted (26%), improved (29%), or expanded (12%). As with the other poll, the GOP position enjoys only minority support.

In fact, most Americans don't understand why Obamacare is still be fought over in Congress. Most of them believe this was an issue that was laid to rest in the last national election. Note in the chart below that Americans think the 2012 election was a referendum on Obamacare -- and that the majority in this country voted for the law. And when you look at the demographic breakdown, you can see that belief crosses all gender, race, and age groups. Only Republicans believe otherwise.