Poll: Majority Prefers Dem-Only Bill With Public Option To Bipartisan Bill Without One

[babylonsister]

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/bipartisanship/poll-majority-supports-bill-with-public-option-even-if-it-has-no-gop-support/

Poll: Majority Prefers Dem-Only Bill With Public Option To Bipartisan Bill Without One


This finding, from the nonpartisan Research 2000 poll for DailyKos, really challenges the conventional wisdom that the public is adamantly opposed to Democrats passing their own health care bill without any GOP support.

I haven’t seen the question framed this way before, and done this way, it sheds new light on the public’s attitude towards bipartisanship for its own sake:

Which of the following scenarios do you prefer/ do you prefer?

Getting a health care bill with the choice of a strong public health insurance option to compete with private insurance plans that’s supported only by Democrats in Congress, OR Getting a health care bill with no public option that has the support of Democrats and a handful of Republicans?

Public option: 52%
No public option: 39%

A majority prefers getting a Dem-only bill with a public option rather than a bill without one that has the support of a few Republicans. And more independents, too, favor the partisan public-option bill, 47%-42%.

It’s true that other polls have found that majorities prefer that the final bill be bipartisan. But here’s the rub: The previous polls asked the question in isolation — do you want a bipartisan bill, or a partisan one — without explaining to respondents that winning over Republicans could result in actual policy consequences that they might not like. The above is a more accurate framing of the choice the public — and lawmakers — face right now.

When Americans are asked whether they’re prepared to sacrifice the public option for the sake of having a bipartisan bill, a majority says No and opts for the partisan bill. That suggests people may care far more about getting a public option than they do about getting bipartisanship for its own sake.

[saracat]

1. The time for Obama to speak out is NOW!

What the heck is everyone waiting for/ Seriously. Apparently the public doesn't think a public option is "just one of the tools' to HCR. We can get this!

[derby378]

2. Pull up a chair, President Obama - we need to talk

You had a good run with this bipartisanship talk. But it's over. Ditch the dead weight. Insist on a public option. Secure a second term for yourself. More importantly, secure Democratic victory for the 2010 midterms.

[BlooInBloo]

3. The yearning for "bipartisanship" (aka republican date rape) is a story spun of whole cloth...

by the Villagers.

[babylonsister]

4. Sure it is. They frame their questions to get 'the right' answers. nt

[BlooInBloo]

5. It's kind of surreal - the whole political game is hanging from the tree, for Democrats to pluck...

But in a bizzaro-world Tanatlusian way, they struggle sooooo hard to avoid the low-hanging fruit that would be their political salvation.