Barrage Obushwa thinks him getting elected was winning on a populist issue. In a way that is true. However, he seems to lack much grasp of how to manipulate populist issues that are in play, unless the objective is to look like he is doing something while actually quashing the issue. Iraq war--continue the occupation. Afghan war--expand the occupation. Reappoint Bernanke??--Reappoint Bernanke. Reestablish Glass-Steagall-- So we don't have to reestablish Glass-Steagall.
And then there is the example, the public option in health care coverage. Make it so awfully done, everyone rejects health care reform. The only agreement they got was how to use federal subsidies to expand the profits of HMOs and pharmaceuticals for a few more years. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101902451.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/20/new-poll-77-percent-suppo_n_264375.html http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/august_2009/without_public_option_enthusiasm_for_health_care_reform_especially_among_democrats_collapses The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 57% oppose the plan if it doesn't include a government-run health insurance plan to compete with private insurers. http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009062515/new-poll-shows-tremendous-support-public-health-care-option New Poll Shows Tremendous Support for Public Health Care Option Bernie Horn's picture By Bernie Horn June 15, 2009 - 11:24am ET Facebook249 E-mail Popular This Week The New Democratic Nonsense by Robert Borosage January 20, 2010 Poll Shouts The Message Massachusetts Voters Were Sending by Isaiah J. Poole January 20, 2010 more» Eighty-three percent of Americans favor and only 14 percent oppose “creating a new public health insurance plan that anyone can purchase” according to EBRI, a conservative business research organization. This flatly contradicts conservatives’ loudest attack against President Obama’s plan to provide quality, affordable health care for all. The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) calls itself “the most authoritative and objective source of information” on the issues of employee retirement and health benefits. Founded in 1978, EBRI says it “is the gold standard for private analysts and decision makers, government policymakers, the media, and the public.” And EBRI is funded by many of the largest corporations in America. EBRI’s biggest donors include: AT&T, Bank of America, Boeing, General Dynamics, General Mills, IBM, JBMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Northop Grumman, Schering-Plough, Schwab, T.Rowe Price, UBS Financial, and Wal-Mart. EBRI also receives large contributions from the insurance industry, including: Blue Cross Blue Shield, CIGNA, Hartford, Kaiser Permanente, Massachusetts Mutual, Metropolitan Life, Union Labor Life, and UnitedHealth. Here’s who paid for the poll, as stated by EBRI: This survey was made possible with support from AARP, American Express, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Buck Consultants, Chevron, Deere & Company, IBM, Mercer, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Principal Financial Group, Schering-Plough Corp., Shell Oil Company, The Commonwealth Fund, and Towers Perrin. So clearly, no one can accuse this organization of being “liberal” on health care issues. These findings are from EBRI’s 2009 Health Confidence Survey, their 12th annual poll: Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose the following: Creating a new public health insurance plan that anyone can purchase: • Strongly support—53 percent • Somewhat support—30 percent • Somewhat oppose—5 percent • Strongly oppose—9 percent Having national rules requiring insurance companies to cover all people, regardless of their health problems: • Strongly support—55 percent • Somewhat support—25 percent • Somewhat oppose—9 percent • Strongly oppose—9 percent Expanding government programs, such as Medicare or Medicaid: • Strongly support—45 percent • Somewhat support—30 percent • Somewhat oppose—9 percent • Strongly oppose—12 percent Requiring all employers to pay toward subsidized health insurance for employees: • Strongly support—42 percent • Somewhat support—33 percent • Somewhat oppose—10 percent • Strongly oppose—12 percent Requiring everyone to participate in some kind of health insurance plan: • Strongly support—38 percent • Somewhat support—30 percent • Somewhat oppose—13 percent • Strongly oppose—16 percent Despite clear public support for these provisions—all of which are likely to be in the Democrats’ health care reform legislation—conservatives won’t go along. The biggest battle right now is over the public plan option. As commentator Al Hunt points out: Although almost half of Americans are already covered by a public health plan, inclusion of a government option is a deal-killer for most Republicans and [some] Democrats… The Congressional Progressive Caucus says it is a deal-killer if the public option is left out of the health care reform legislation. Get ready for a titanic tug of war. There was another new health care poll in the news today, this one by Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg. Although the specifics aren’t yet released, he talks about his polling in the New Republic. I point it out because it echoes two important points I made last week in a somewhat controversial post called “Why Not Single-Payer?” I said “About 3/4ths of insured Americans are satisfied with their health insurance.” Greenberg says: “Yet three-quarters are satisfied with their own health insurance.” I said “When Americans hear about a health care proposal, they immediately think “how is it going to affect me and my family.” That’s their overarching, overwhelming concern.” Greenberg says when Clinton proposed his plan, “people responded personally, working to figure out what it all meant for them—the impact on their family, access to their doctors, dollars and cents, and on everything they’d done to become satisfied with their health care.” Some readers commented that they simply didn't believe the polling I cited in "Why Not Single-Payer?" It is natural for all of us—myself included—to seek out polls that support our side and disregard contrary polling results. But please understand that President Obama and progressive health care advocates have access to so much polling on this issue; they are not picking-and-choosing the polls they like. They are making clear-headed decisions in an effort to get the very best health care plan that can possibly be enacted by Congress this year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_health_insurance_option Public opinion Further information: Public opinion on health care reform in the United States A poll from November 10 and 11 by Angus Reid Public Opinion found that 52% of Americans supported a public plan. Their research had a 3.1% margin of error.[32] Between October 28 and November 13, 2009, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin's campaign organization polled Americans to rank their support for various forms of the "public option" currently under consideration by Congress for inclusion in the final health care reform bill. The 83,954 respondents assigned rankings of 0 to 10. A full national option had the most support, with a 8.56 average, while no public option was least favored, with a 1.10 average.[33] On October 27th, journalist Ray Suarez of The News Hour with Jim Lehrer stated that "Public opinion researchers say the tide has been shifting over the last several weeks, and now is not spectacularly, but solidly in favor of a public option."[34] A Pew Research Center report published in October 8 stated that 55% of Americans favor a government health insurance plan to compete with private plans. The results were very similar to their polling from July, which found 52% support.[35] A USA Today/Gallup survey described by a USA Today article on October 27 found that 50% of Americans supported a government plan proposal and 46% do not.[36] In a poll in which the data were gathered on August 19, 2009 Survey USA estimated that the majority of Americans (77%) feel that it is either "Quite Important" or "Extremely Important" to "give people a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance." When asked to choose between three statements about a "public health plan administered by the federal government", a 46% plurality chose "... patients might not always have access to their choice of doctors and the government would lower costs by limiting medical treatment options and decisions that should be made instead by patients and doctors."[37] A Rasmussen Reports poll taken on August 17-18 stated that 57% of Americans support a public option.[38] A NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, conducted August 15-17, found that 47% of Americans opposed the idea of a public option and 43% expressed support.[39] A July survey by Quinnipiac University found that 28% of Americans would like to purchase a public plan while 53% would prefer to have a private plan. It also stated that 69% would support its creation in the first place.[40] A survey published on July 17, 2009 by Rasmussen Reports found that 50% of Americans opposed and 35% supported the creation of a government health insurance company. The survey presented the option as “the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats.” [41] _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
