Wednesday, March 17, 2010

New Poll: 60% of Americans “Deem” Democrats’ Tricks a Parliamentary “Slaughter”

I wanted to alert you to a new poll released today by the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, which revealed that six in ten Americans believe that House Democrats’ “Slaughter Solution” to avoid a vote on the Senate-passed bill is “unfair.”  Given that Majority Leader Hoyer asserted yesterday that “real Americans” would not “make a distinction” between a vote on “deeming” the bill passed and a vote to pass the bill itself, House Democrats may wish to re-assess their strategy to avoid an up-or-down vote on passing the Senate bill.  Either that, or they can continue making statements implying that three out of five of their fellow citizens are not “real Americans…”

The poll also shows significant opposition to the substance of the Democrat bills, as well as the process.  Significant majorities oppose raising taxes and cutting Medicare benefits to pay for new insurance subsidies (76%), having government panels recommend medical procedures (87%), and government involvement in deciding the “acceptable” level of health coverage (81%).  Conversely, Republican solutions to allow individuals to buy insurance across state lines (84%), let people save for health needs through tax-free Health Savings Accounts (78%), and allow premium discounts for individuals who participate in healthy behaviors (85%) receive widespread support.