Poll shows growing popularity for health reform law, politicians sound off

Jul 1 2010

The Washington Post: "The health-care overhaul gained popularity from May to June, according to a new tracking poll." The poll, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation "found that 48 percent of the public had a favorable view of the law in June while 41 percent had an unfavorable opinion." (Kaiser Health News is a program of the foundation.) In May, the tracking poll had found "41 percent favorable to 44 percent unfavorable."

These new results "were not much different from those in March, shortly before the law was enacted. ... The administration has been spotlighting potentially crowd-pleasing elements as they are phased in, including a provision that will allow many parents to keep young adult children on their insurance policies until age 26, and another provision that is helping some Medicare beneficiaries narrow a gap in their prescription drug coverage. 'Overall, roughly a third of voters say that a candidate who voted for the health reform law will be more likely to get their vote, a third say less likely, and a third say it doesn't really matter,' said the foundation (Hilzenrath, 6/30).

In the meantime, Politico Pulse reports that the "top two House Republicans," Minority Leader John Boehner and Whip Eric Cantor "will back efforts to force votes on the House floor to repeal the health care overhaul. They'll announce today their support for two discharge petitions - one from Rep. Steve King to repeal a portion of the law and a forthcoming petition from Rep. Wally Herger to repeal the entire law - and encourage other Republicans to follow suit" (Kliff and Haberkorn, 6/30).

In California, GOP Senate candidate Carly Fiorina called for repeal, "citing it as an example of out-of-control regulation that's preventing businesses from creating more jobs," McClatchy reports. "'I would like to see it all repealed,' Fiorina told reporters in Washington. ... Fiorina said she intends to run her campaign against Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer by focusing on issues involving jobs, taxes, spending and federal regulations" (Hotakainen, 6/29). 

A congressional candidate in Alabama, Rick Barber, a self-described tea party adherent, claims in a new advertisement that the health law amounts to "slavery," Politico reports, in a separate story. "In his latest ad, the tea party candidate is speaking with a revived Abraham Lincoln. 'Hey Abe,' Barber says, 'if someone is forced to work for months to pay taxes so that a total stranger can get a free meal, a medical procedure or a bailout, what's that called?' Before Lincoln answers, Barber cuts in to ask: 'What's it called when one man is forced to work for another?' 'Slavery,' Lincoln says" (Barr, 6/29).

MSNBC: "Barber will face Martha Roby in a runoff on July 13 for the GOP nomination to oppose incumbent Alabama Rep. Bobby Bright (D) in November." Barber defended his ad, which also included Nazi imagery, saying "Somebody has to say this. When Hitler took power, no one wanted to think that the Holocaust, the murder of 6 million Jewish people, was possible. I'm saying that you have to recognize and name tyranny when you see it, according to MSNBC (Hall, 6/29).

In the meantime, former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin told a suburban Atlanta crowd Tuesday at a fundraiser for developmentally disabled children that the health law will "insurance costs for people including those with special needs," The Associated Press reports. "She warned that new rules aiming to raise $13 billion by limiting contributions to flexible spending accounts amount to a 'hefty tax hike' for families of special needs children struggling with health care costs. And she said families will wind up with fewer care options. ... Supporters of the health care overhaul say it will ultimately lower costs while expanding coverage to millions of uninsured Americans"  (Bluestein, 6/30).