Against Health Care Reform

health20care20reformDemocrats in Congress are vowing to pass their national health care plan with a vote in the House possible by the end of this week. But most voters still oppose the plan the same way they have for months.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 43% favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats, while 53% oppose it. Those findings include 23% who Strongly Favor the plan and 46% who Strongly Oppose it.

The numbers are virtually unchanged from last week and are consistent with findings in regularly tracking going back to just after Thanksgiving.

Democrats continue to overwhelmingly support the plan, while Republicans and voters not affiliated with either party strongly oppose it.

Opposition continues to stem in part from unchanging views that the plan will drive up the cost and worsen the quality of health care in America. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters also believe the health care reform plan now working its way through Congress will hurt the U.S. economy.

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Despite the plan’s stated goal of reducing health care costs, 55% of voters believe the cost of health care will go up if the Democrats’ plan becomes law. Just 18% say it will make costs go down. Twenty percent (20%) predict costs will stay about the same.

Similarly, just 24% of voters think the quality of health care will be better if the plan is passed. Fifty-two percent (52%) say quality will get worse, and another 19% say it will stay the same.

Marzo 31, 2010 · Filed Under INTERNATIONAL

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Three Way Ballot… Tea Party Key

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Both Republican and Tea Party candidates have gained a little ground in a potential three-way congressional contest, but Democrats remain on top.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of likely voters finds the Democratic candidate earning 34% support, while the Republican gets 27% of the vote with the Tea Party hopeful in third at 21%. Nineteen percent (19%) of voters are undecided.

In December, the Tea Party candidate came in second with 23% of the vote, while the Republican finished in third with 18%. The Democratic candidate attracted 36% of the vote in that contest. By early February, however, the GOP candidate came in second with 25% of the vote, while the Tea Party candidate picked up just 17%. The Democrat again had 36%, and 23% were undecided.

Many speculate that Tea Party candidates will take votes away from Republicans, so Rasmussen Reports decided to try to measure that impact.

When voters are asked how they would vote if only the Democratic candidate or the Republican had a chance to win the election, the majority of Tea Party voters switch to the GOP column. Given that scenario, the Republican candidate gets 41% of the vote to the Democrat’s 38%. Nine percent (9%) still vote for the Tea Party candidate, but just 12% remain undecided.

Marzo 30, 2010 · Filed Under GENERAL

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US Economy… RIP

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Marzo 26, 2010 · Filed Under INTERNATIONAL

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Israeli Settlements: More than a Problem

israeli-settlements-more-than-a-problemIsrael’s insistence on building new settlements in disputed Palestinian territory has heightened tensions with the United States. Forty-nine percent (49%) of U.S. voters think Israel should be required to stop those settlements as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 22% of voters disagree and believe Israel should not be required to stop building those settlements. Another 29% are not sure.

Seventy-five percent (75%) agree, however, that the Palestinians should be required to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as part of a peace deal, although that’s down six points from last June. Only six percent (6%) disagree with that. Twenty percent (20%) are undecided.

But 73% also think it is unlikely that there will be lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis in the next decade, consistent with findings in previous surveys. This includes 19% who say it is not at all likely.

Fourteen percent (14%) say a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians is at least somewhat likely, with just two percent (2%) who believe it’s very likely.

When President Obama challenged Israel’s settlement policy last June, 48% of voters said the president’s Middle Eastern policy was about right, but 35% say he was not supportive enough of Israel.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters now say Israel is an ally of the United States, while two percent (2%) view the Jewish state as an enemy. For 32%, the country is somewhere in between the two.

In a separate survey in August of last year, 70% of Americans rated Israel as a U.S. ally.

In September, 59% said America should provide military assistance to Israel if it is attacked. It’s one of only five countries that most Americans feel that way about.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of male voters say Israel should be required to stop new settlements in the disputed territory as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians, but just 42% of female voters agree.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of Democrats and a plurality (48%) of voters not affiliated with either party favor an end to the Israeli settlements as part of a deal. Republicans are almost evenly divided on the question.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of GOP voters and 61% of unaffiliateds view Israel as a U.S. ally, a view shared by just 46% of Democrats. Forty-three percent (43%) of Democratic voters see Israel as somewhere between an ally and an enemy.

Israel’s announcement of new settlements last week while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting caused the latest flare-up between the two longtime allies. Fifty-five percent (55%) of voters say they have followed news stories about Biden’s trip to Israel at least somewhat closely. Forty-three percent (43%) didn’t follow that news closely, if at all.

Marzo 25, 2010 · Filed Under INTERNATIONAL

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Iraq: War is Over?

iraq-warObama administration and U.S. military officials insist that Iraq’s recent elections were a success and that the plan for removing all troops from the country by the end of next year is on schedule. But most U.S. voters remain skeptical about the situation in Iraq.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 15% of voters believe the war in Iraq is now over. Sixty-two percent (62%) say the seven-year-old war is not over, and 23% are not sure.

These findings are virtually unchanged from last July just after American combat troops were pulled out of all cities in Iraq.

Only 40% of voters are even somewhat confident that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011 as planned. Fifty-six percent (56%) don’t share that confidence.

Those figures include just 10% who are very confident that the troops will be withdrawn and 19% who are not at all confident. In July 2009, voters were almost evenly divided over whether the troop withdrawal would take place by the end of 2011.

Marzo 24, 2010 · Filed Under GENERAL

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