Hours after the government officially lurched to a partial shutdown, a new poll released Tuesday showed Americans really aren’t crazy about Obamacare — but hate the Republican approach of closing the government in an effort to repeal it.
The Quinnipiac University national survey found that the public is split on the Affordable Care Act, with 47 percent opposed to it and 45 percent in favor. But Americans, by a lopsided 72-22 percent margin, say shutting down the government is not the answer.
Would the GOP fare better by refusing to raise the country’s debt ceiling to stop Obamacare? Not much: Americans oppose that approach 64-27 percent.
That’s likely to cheer the White House, which warns that failing to pay for programs Congress already has approved — the purpose of raising the debt limit — would trigger a default that would send shock waves through the fragile world economy.
How about cutting off funding needed to implement the law, President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement? Americans oppose that 58–34 percent.
The survey confirmed what many Republicans have worried about for weeks: Shutting down the government may harm the GOP brand with independents and damage the party’s very real prospects for holding the House and retaking the Senate in the 2014 mid-term elections.
The poll found Republicans favor the shutdown by a 49-percent to 44-percent margin. But independents oppose it 74-19 percent, and Democrats reject it 90-6 percent.
It’s a national poll, and mid-term elections are decided district-by-district and state-by-state. There are still 13 months before voters cast their ballots.
But Quinnipiac found Democrats enjoy their largest edge yet over Republicans in a so-called “generic” ballot, 43 percent to 34 percent.
The West Wing might want to hold off on popping the champagne corks just yet. Only 45 percent of respondents said they approved of the job Obama’s doing, against 49 percent who disapprove.
How do congressional Republicans fare? Seventy-four percent disapprove of the job they are doing, their lowest score ever in the Quinnipiac poll. Democrats? Sixty percent disapproval, 32 percent approval.
And Obama isn’t popular — but he’s apparently blessed by his enemies. Here’s how he does against Republicans in Congress on several core issues:
- He’s up 47 percent-42 percent on handling the economy.
- He’s up 51 percent-38 percent on helping the middle class
- He’s up 63 percent-26 percent on helping low-income families.
- He’s up 47 percent-38 percent on handling health care.
- He’s statistically tied on the deficit, 43-percent-42 percent.
- Republicans have a slight edge on guns, 45 percent to 42 percent.
“On almost all questions, voters see President Obama as more reasonable, and better able to handle the issues,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “But it is not because the president is beloved.”
The poll had an error margin of plus or minus two percentage points.
Basically... The only issue the GOP has a leg up on is guns and even then by a hair. This is getting silly.
Given how a significant fraction of the pro gun population votes to the right, that means Obama is likely to "up" with regard to guns with independents.
It's not that I'm unforgiving, it's that most of the people who wrong me are unrepentant assholes.
I don't like Obama's embrace of the stupid aspects of gun control (AWB, etc.)
But there's no pressing threat on the issue, in spite of what NRA money-seeking mailers will claim twice a month, so other matters are more important at the moment.
Gun control is a nest of squirming snakes in part because of lies and fear mongering. Realistically, it's a complicated issue and that interferes with broad ideological answers. Reasonable rural ownership isn't the same thing as self defence in Detroit which isn't the same thing as self defence in San Francisco which isn't the same as target shooting which isn't the same thing as straw purchases and illegal street sales which isn't the same as self defence in Vancouver which isn't the same thing as hunting in Northeast.
It's not that I'm unforgiving, it's that most of the people who wrong me are unrepentant assholes.
Yup, it's always been an issue of emotional manipulation on both sides. Now back in the '90s the NRA had a bit more right on its side because the gun control crowd had been open about seeking an incrementalist approach toward DiFi's whole 'Turn them in, Mr. and Mrs. America' approach (slippery slope's not a fallacy if you have people pouring grease down the ridge.)
But as a serious threat gun control died in '94, even if it took the rest of the Clinton misadministration to see that fact realized. Heller was another massive nail in the coffin, and nowaways it's just a money- and headline-maker on the Fed level. The Colorado recall was the capper on the most recent push and put lie to the notion they were floating that it's not potential career suicide in red/purple states. I see Obama (and his present/past senior personnel such as Biden and Hillary) as the residue of the earlier era when the issue was still in play, and once they (and DiFi) are out, the next generation won't have anything like the same push on the topic.
One of our main problems has been crazy people getting guns and going on mass murder sprees. The reason these people are nuts is because for whatever reason they aren't getting treatment. The overtaxed, underfunded system loses track of these people or they can't afford to stay in the system. If preserving your 2nd amendment rights were all consuming, you would back reforms (like say a UHS) which would keep people in the system and get them the help they need. Instead... Well, you know.
You want to address gang violence which is another driver of illegal gun use? Then it may be time to look at our drug laws and ask some hard questions. Like, how well is this shit really working? What are the side effects? Is this taking us places we want to go? At what point do we simply admit that some people want to destroy themselves and there's nothing we can do about it? Instead... Well, you know.
But those who have to gain from these policies dig in deep and hard and fight them every step of the way, usually while clutching their firearms in white knuckled grips.
Addressing these two problems won't make gun deaths go away. Gun deaths are like car deaths. If you have guns in your society, some people are gonna die of them (if people have cars, some are gonna die in traffic accidents).
Another thing that drives me crazy is the sheer amount of fear on both sides. On another forum I had a guy literally screaming about how the relaxing of Chicago laws meant he was doomed to die from a armed mugger any day now. Never you mind that the heyday of gun violence in Chicago was during it's strictest gun laws. Or that violent crime in general has been dropping for decades. Gun laws don't seem to effect it either way. I did some research once trying to prove that relaxing gun laws reduced violence. Nothing. So I looked to see if increasing them had any effect... Nothing! It was enough to make me flip out for a day or two in frustration. On the other side there's the NRA membership screaming over any gun law being the beginning of a dark age of oppression and unchecked tyrants. It's getting silly.
"it takes two sides to end a war but only one to start one. And those who do not have swords may still die upon them." Tolken
You're pretty much spot on. Personally I prefer the ability to protect my self and my home as necessary, but I certainly don't claim it's a magical panacea.
The best way not to get harmed in Vancouver is not be part of the drug trade. The gang war has cooled down, but for a while they were killing each other at about once every month or two. Yeah, not exactly Detroit, but a lot for this city. These guys did pack heat, but there weren't any gun battles because what would happen is that some dude would be ambushed by a couple of guys who would shoot at him a couple times and then flee the scene. Sometimes the guy lived, but returning fire never happened because ambush-hail of gunfire-fleeing. Being armed simply didn't matter.
It's not that I'm unforgiving, it's that most of the people who wrong me are unrepentant assholes.
