Despite the bad website roll-out, despite the controversy over the small percentage of the population getting a huge proportion of media attention for losing their current policies, despite the hyperactive media equating all this to Katrina, the American people
are not abandoning support for Obamacare in any significant numbers.
Forty-one percent of Americans expressed support for the 2010 law popularly known as Obamacare in a survey conducted from Thursday to Monday. That was down 3 percentage points from a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken from September 27 to October 1.
Opposition to the healthcare law stood at 59 percent in the latest poll, versus 56 percent in the earlier survey.
There has been some shift ... but the shift has been small," said Ipsos pollster Chris Jackson.
That's pretty much where numbers have been for years. People have made up their minds about the law and are sticking with their opinions. Reuters/Ipsos didn't directly ask about repeal, but 65 percent of respondents said they'd support some changes to the law. They also found that some "elements of the law, such as requiring insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions, remain popular," making repeal—still—politically problematic for Republicans.
Another poll released today, from United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll, finds that most Americans do oppose repeal, essentially the same numbers as they polled during the summer.
Thirty-eight percent of those polled said Congress should "repeal the law so it is not implemented at all," while 35 percent said lawmakers should "wait and see how things go before making any changes." Another 23 percent said Congress should "provide more money to ensure it is implemented effectively" (the remaining 5 percent had no opinion).
That's 58 percent of the public wanting Obamacare to have a chance to work. Back in July, the same poll found that 36 percent supported repeal, 30 percent wanted to give it time, and 27 percent said it should have more funding for implementation. That's where the public is, no matter how much the Republicans and the traditional media want to make them panic.