And the news continues to be bad for Democrats
(USA Today) The Affordable Care Act looms as a powerful issue in this year’s congressional elections, a USA TODAY/Pew Research Center Poll finds, and one that is reverberating in ways likely to boost the GOP.
In the survey, taken after President Obama announced a surprising 7.1 million Americans had signed up for health care through the law’s exchanges, more than eight in 10 registered voters say a candidate’s stance on the law will be an important factor in determining their vote. A 54% majority call it very important.
By 2-1, those who rate the issue as very important disapprove of the law.
That means it is more likely to motivate opponents than supporters to vote — a critical element in midterm elections when turnout often is low.
The law is still negative, with 50% disapproving and 37% approving. Obviously, most Republicans disapprove and most Dems approve. The danger is that 54% of Independents disapprove, with only 34% approving.
So far, most Americans, 57%, say the law hasn’t had much of an impact on them or their families. In coming years, they predict by 35%-29% that it will have a mostly negative effect on them. In a survey that has mostly bad news for proponents, that 6-percentage-point gap may provide a glimmer of good news: It has narrowed from 12 points in December.
They’ve spent billions and billions of dollars on this boondoggle, damaged the economy, caused people to be shifted to part time work hours, and limited hiring, among others, all for a net gain in private insurance of about 1.4 million (after 6 million or so lost their plans). And let’s not forget the potential cancellations come fall 2014. Think about all the advertising for this, the free positive press, all the tweets and silly campaigns for ACA supports. Think about all that, and most think that the ACA will have either no effect or a negative effect. Even 58% of Democrats say that it has pretty much had little effect on their lives.
Asked about the effect on the country as a whole so far, 43% say it has been mostly negative, 30% mostly positive. That’s a bigger shift, to a 13-point gap from a 26-point gap in December. That may reflect some reassessments as the heart of the law goes into effect.
47% of Independents lean negative. Just 26% say mostly positive. Those are numbers that do not bode well for Dems for the midterms.
Just 17% overall state that Ocare has had a mostly positive effect on the country. Democrats are destroying the health care system for 17% positive.Think about that.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
