Voters settle on a public plan

[ProSense]

Voters settle on a public plan

<...>

Despite the sturm und drang among politicians, a public plan generates barely a ripple of controversy among voters. In the last two months, no fewer than eight polls have found strong majorities favoring a public plan. When different pollsters, using different methods and different wording, all converge on the same answer, you can bet the public really does support a public option.

The highest level of support came in a survey sponsored by a bevy of corporations and conducted for the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which found 83 percent in favor of “creating a new public health insurance plan that anyone can purchase.” Just 14 percent opposed a public plan.

Quinnipiac also asked a simple question, unburdened by arguments on either side, which found supporters of a public plan outnumbering opponents by a 43-point margin.

In fact, only one poll asking a straight favor/oppose question has recorded majority opposition — but generating that opposition required Rasmussen to misstate the facts. They asked about creating “a government health insurance company to compete with private insurance companies.” The only surprise is that just 50 percent thought a government-run health corporation was a bad idea. Of course, no legislation under consideration in the House or the Senate even contemplates creation of a “government health insurance company.” So if some day someone were to actually propose such an animal, Rasmussen can responsibly say the public is opposed — until then their poll is meaningless.

<...>

In The News: Americans Want Health Insurance Reform Now

[redqueen]

1. K&R

[mvd]

2. Thanks for this

We should make sure Keith, Rachel, Malloy, etc. see it.

[ProSense]

3. You have to wonder why no one in the media is

voluntarily reporting that Americans strongly support a public option?

What have they got to lose by keeping Americans informed?

(Rhetorical)

[mvd]

4. True. I will send your thread to the above

and hope the message in your OP isn't lost.

[ProSense]

7. Thanks. n/t

[mvd]

8. You're welcome

I sent it to Ed, Rachel, and Mike, but Keith's address returned a delivery failure. The address I used was [e-mail] .

[Beetwasher]

5. Any More Evidence Needed About Rasmussen's Bias?

No? Didn't think so.

[Soylent Brice]

6. Dear M$M/House/Senate:

The highest level of support came in a survey sponsored by a bevy of corporations and conducted for the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which found 83 percent in favor of “creating a new public health insurance plan that anyone can purchase.” Just 14 percent opposed a public plan.

Yours Truly,

Citizens of the U.S.A.

[HopeOverFear]

9. UPped and recced

[ProSense]

10. Evidently, Chuck Todd didn't get the news that Americans support a public option.

TODD: What I would advise you Ed is get to know what this co-op is gonna' do. I've talked to some who are big advocates of the public insurance option who believe they can do things within the framework of this co-op that will make folks who are supporters of the overall big public option feel better about this.

But the fact of the matter is you're not going to get Grassley, you might not get Ben Nelson, you might not get Kent Conrad for anything that's called a public insurance option, and that "co-op" may be just better language to use, and easier to sell in some of these places.

So, as somebody said, it can walk like a duck, it can quack like a duck, you just can't call it a duck, so co-op may be the language of choice here.

Huh? What kind of idiots do these people think we are? Do they really, honestly believe that this whole fight is simply about a name? Seriously, whoever told Chuck Todd this whole fight is simply about a f***ing name is either lying or stupid or both.

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