House Republicans are voting to repeal the health-care overhaul bill today, and the Democratic message machine has whirred into 4th gear or so, easing up just shy of the seizure-inducing pace of spin seen during campaign season.
People don't want the law repealed, Democrats say. The GOP posturing is unpopular and lame, they allege.
"Not only would repeal not pass, but according to a poll by AP over the weekend, three out of four people don't want it to," a Democratic leadership spokesman told the Las Vegas Sun.
Well, don't believe it -- at least not on its face. People do want to repeal health reform ... when given only two options: repeal it or leave it the same. At least that's what some major polls tell us:
- CNN/Opinion Research, Jan. 14-16: 50 percent want repeal; 42 percent want to leave the law in place
- Gallup, Jan. 4-5: 46 percent want repeal; 40 percent want the law to stay
Those polls are consistent with the public's overall opposition to the health-care law by an average margin of about five percent, and as high as 10 percent in some polls. President Obama's approval on the issue of health care is still low on average.
From whence do the Democratic claims spring, then?
When poll respondents are given a broader range of options, the picture is a little different.