HCR: If GOP Can’t Divide and Conquer, They’ll Stage a Work Slowdown
The Moderate Voice — ... identical to the strategy of the last several months. As long as the majority appreciates the tactics for what they are, the process will proceed nicely. (In late July, Harry Reid told reporters, “Working with the Republicans, one of the things that they asked for was to have more time. I don’t think it’s unreasonable.” We probably won’t hear that one again.) Mistakes are the way we learn, right? Here is some more good news: As Democratic congressional ...

Americans Care More About Having Public Option than Gaining Snowe’s Vote
Firedoglake — ... A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that Americans dramatically prefer a Democratic-votes-only bill with a public option compared to bipartisan bill without one: ...

FDL Action Health Care Update: Monday (10/19/09)
Blue Virginia — ... on a new Washington Post-ABC News poll which finds that "Americans dramatically prefer a Democratic-votes-only bill with a public option compared to bipartisan bill without one." In sum, "[p]eople care about results, not process." What a concept; I mean seriously, who knew?!? :) ...

FDL Action Health Care Update: Monday (10/19/09)
Blue Commonwealth - Front Page — ... on a new Washington Post-ABC News poll which finds that "Americans dramatically prefer a Democratic-votes-only bill with a public option compared to bipartisan bill without one." In sum, "[p]eople care about results, not process."  What a concept; I mean seriously, who knew?!? :) ...

No More Mister Nice Blog — ... I'm looking at the results of the new Washington Post/ABC poll in light of some of the results of that Greenberg Quinlan Rosner (GQR) focus-group report on the right-wing base ( ...

No Lie, People Want the Public Option
Taylor Marsh — ... Another poll proving people want the public option, but now it’s a clear majority. Some just won’t believe it, which includes some of Obama’s top aides, who so far simply will not fight for what the majority of Americans and their own party want. The emails coming in making the case that people actually don’t want the public option have been numerous and righteously sure since Sunday’s Washington Journal. All of the rhetoric saying that what I told their audience was wrong. One today: ...

The Note's Must-Reads for Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Note — ... HEALTH CARE: ABC News’ Gary Langer: “POLL: Obama Holds Steady on Health Reform” LINK ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos: “New Poll: Public Option Up… GOP Down” LINK Politico’s Glenn Thrush: “Tensions rise among Senate Dem leaders” LINK Politico’s Staff: “Finance Committee bill has been filed” LINK The Washington Post’s Dan Balz and Jon Cohen: “Public option gains support” LINK The Washington Post’s Michael Shear: “Rift between Obama and Chamber of Commerce widening” ...

The Early Word: New York Bound
The Caucus — ... . The legislation can be viewed at the committee’s Web site. Elsewhere, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that a government-run insurance option “ wins clear majority support from the public.” And as The Wall Street Journal reports, the idea of a public option ...

Quagmire!
Jules Crittenden — ... Sudden interest in health-care polling, now that one shows support for the public option. Cherry-picking Washington Post  buries the fact that overall, Americans still don’t like the health care bill, and they think Obama is bollixing it.  A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and wins clear majority support from the public.… But in a sign of the fragile coalition politics that influence the negotiations in Congress, Obama’s approval ratings on ...

Trails Mixed: Lessons for governance, from campaigner-in-chief
The Note — ... Key constituencies: "Independents and senior citizens, two groups crucial to the debate, have warmed to the idea of a public option, and are particularly supportive if it would be administered by the states and limited to those without access to affordable private coverage," Dan Balz and Jon Cohen write for the Post. "Overall, 45 percent of Americans favor the broad outlines of the proposals now moving in Congress, while 48 percent are opposed, about the same division that existed in August, at the height of angry town hall meetings over health-care reform." ...

Support for public option keeps growing
Political Animal — ... , above-the-fold headline in the Washington Post that reads, " Public option gains support; Clear majority now backs plan ." A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and wins clear majority support from the public. Americans remain sharply divided about the overall packages moving closer to votes in Congress and President Obama's leadership on the issue, reflecting the partisan battle that has raged for months over the administration's top legislative ...

The Logic Of The Public Option
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — I've ended back where many Americans are: in support of a public option, administered by the states,  as a means to ensure that the working poor can afford insurance, while also restraining costs. And I see no reason why this couldn't come back into the final health insurance bill, especially if the option is left for the states to decide on. Baucus appears to be open to that federalist twist. The Post poll finds the following: On the issue that has been perhaps the most pronounced flash point in the national debate, 57 percent of all ...

GOP's public standing deteriorates
Political Animal — ... ." It's hard to overstate how wrong this is. The Post /ABC poll points to a party moving quickly in the wrong direction . Overall, 57 percent approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president and 40 percent disapprove.... Despite those mixed reviews on domestic priorities, Obama continues to hold a big political advantage over Republicans. Poll respondents are evenly divided when asked whether they have confidence in Obama to make the right decisions for the country's future, but just 19 percent express confidence in the Republicans in Congress to do so. Even among ...

Washington Post Poll Finds Strong Support for Public Option
Matthew Yglesias — Washington Post poll finds that people like the public option but insists on nonetheless dubbing it “controversial”: A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and wins clear majority support from the public. Americans remain sharply divided about the overall packages moving closer to votes in Congress and President Obama’s leadership on the issue, reflecting the partisan battle ...

WaPo Tries To Spin Poll On Health Care
QandO — ... The Washington Post has a new poll out in which they declare that two of the most controversial aspects of the health care reform legislation working its way through Congress now enjoy majority approval. Those are the public option and the insurance mandate that requires everyone get insurance. ...

WaPo: The Public Still Loves the Public Option
The Atlantic Politics Channel — Another opinion poll of the public option is out. And guess what? The public still loves it. This is surprising to nobody except, it seems, the Washington Post. Dan Balz writes: ...

Public Option Politics
Obsidian Wings — ... The latest Post/ABC poll shows that the public continues to favor a public option.  Indeed, the public option is getting more popular -- the poll shows that support has rebounded since the summer, thanks in no small part to committed liberal activists. ...

Today in Healthcare
Shakesville — Public option gains support: Clear Majority Now Backs Plan. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and wins clear majority support from the public. Americans remain sharply divided about the overall packages moving closer to votes in Congress and President Obama's leadership on the issue, reflecting the partisan battle that has raged for months over the administration's top legislative priority. But sizable majorities back two key ...

Michael Tanner: Cognitive Dissonance on Health Care Reform
TownHall Latest columns — Cognitive dissonance is defined as holding two completely contradictory ideas at the same time. That seems to be the case with the American public, with a new poll showing rising support for a so-called public option in health care, even as the public continues to ...

No Surprises Here: WaPo/ABC Skews Poll for Public Option
Confederate Yankee — ... the last poll. His 48% tie on health care should be a significant disapproval instead, and the 45%/51% slide on the deficit has probably expanded at the same rate as the deficit in a survey with a realistic sample. The purposeful skewing of the polling data is an old political trick, and one increasingly popular among the media, especially when they are more interesting in influencing the news than reporting it. That Dan Balz and Jon Cohen of the Washington Post would use such obviously flawed data suggests they are more interested in advocacy than journalism. ...

New Poll Reveals 56% of Republicans Support a Form of Public Option: Clearly, Congressional Republicans Are in Denial
BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash — BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS by Meg White If anything demonstrates the mainstream media's capability to ignore pertinent information and instead regurgitate conventional political wisdom, it's the reporting on opinion polls. A Washington Post/ABC News poll released yesterday was widely reported as evidence that support for the public option has returned. Though it's only 5 percent higher than it was at what the Post calls its "summertime lows" of 52 percent this summer, the Post declared that support has "rebounded." Ah, what a difference a few percentage points make. But what I ...

WaPo Poll: Americans Support Public Option, Oppose Health Care Reform
Below The Beltway — ... Despite the headline that the paper gives it, the latest Washington Post poll does nothing more but reinforce the idea that the American public remains divided on health care reform: ...

Reform to Ruin Our Eyes and Make Us Crazy
The Moderate Voice — ... and mental health professionals as a new poll shows a national mood swing from August rage against a public option to 57 percent of Americans in favor of it. ...

Wash Post poll: Clear majority now backs public option
Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News — Source: Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20... A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and wins clear majority support from the public. Americans remain sharply divided about the overall packages moving closer to votes in Congress and President Obama's leadership on the issue, reflecting the partisan battle that has raged for months over the administration's top legislative priority. But sizable majorities back two key ...

Pelosi leads — chooses better policy
Firedoglake — ... Golly, it’s good policy, it covers far more people, it’s popular with the public, it saves money in the budget. Surely, this is the policy choice of tyrants and slave holders! We must choose the more expensive, less efficient, crappier policy that saves the real harbingers of freedom and liberty, the health insurance company executive.  

Pelosi ready to fight
Rising Hegemon — ... a strong hand in selling insurance in competition with the private market. Obama has sought to spend no more than $900 billion over a 10-year period. The initial cost of the House bill was more than $1 trillion. On Tuesday, House Democratic leaders received a new cost estimate of $871 billion from congressional budget umpires who measured a robust version of a so-called public option for health insurance Golly, it's good policy, it covers far more people, it's popular with the public, it saves money in the budget. Surely, this is the policy ...

No More Mister Nice Blog — ... The Washington Post poll is the latest example of a "public poll" in the past 2–3 weeks that curiously shows a growing number of Americans supportive of the "public option." AP and Gallup were others. This is agenda-driven polling. ...

Americans About Evenly Split on Public Option
Politics Daily — ... While a Washington Post/ABC News poll earlier this week said that support had rebounded for the so-called "public option" as part of health care reform, a ...

One in five
Political Animal — ... in the Washington Post /ABC News poll released yesterday had to do with the relative size of the parties : "Only 20 percent of adults identify themselves as Republicans, little changed in recent months, but still the lowest single number in Post-ABC polls since 1983." Newt Gingrich was asked about the number, and blasted the poll. ABC News polling director Gary Langer had ...

Heather Graham Runs For The Public Option
The Atlantic Politics Channel — ... The latest ad comes as most Americans support a public option according to recent polling data: a Washington Post/ABC poll released yesterday found that 57 percent support the public option, while 40 percent oppose it. Current plans in Congress (where, most observers speculate, a public option won't be endorsed) are narrowly opposed by most Americans, according to ...

Thursday Morning Dept of Repetitious Corruption
Page One — ... A Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that 57% of Americans support a public health insurance option. Compared to just 40% who oppose it. [Washington Post] ...

Snowe Suggests Health Care Can Wait
The Atlantic Politics Channel — ... And, just in case public-option supporters thought things might have changed as more polling shows the public in favor of a government-run insurance plan, Snowe says she won't support it--meaning it'll be up to Democrats to pass a public option without GOP support, if such a provision is in the cards.

Your Abbreviated Pundit Round-up
Daily Kos — ... of the respondents was "rigged." It also included a furious push-back over the wording of the "public option" question, no doubt fueled by the Post's decision to make that particular result the lede of their front page story (something even Nate Silver ...

Where Did All The Republicans Go?
Daily Kos — ... Republicans, to be sure, seem to have an endless reservoir of outrage these days. Among the latest smallish things to get the right wing's underpants into a collective twist was a poll released several days ago by ABC and the Washington Post. ...

President Barack Obama's cover-up
Attytood — ... the newspaper -- with its nearly 100 percent readership among the political elites -- picking up this issue is an important development. It's part of a broader lesson about the Obama presidency that's should have been obvious since last November, but's taken too long to sink in. For everyday people who wanted to change America, electing a new president wasn't the end but the beginning. There must be constant pressure to get people in Washington to do the right thing, even when that's the popular choice, like a public option for health insurance . Regular people are winning ...

Jason Rosenbaum: ACTION: Senator Reid does the American thing, puts a public option in the Senate bill. Support him.
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... When the Washington Post - harbingers of cautious beltway conventional wisdom - has their polls showing 57% of Americans support a public health insurance option, you can be sure that this is a mainstream position. ...

Hehindeedy!
INSTAPUTZ — Outsourcing whambulance duty to Mr. McArdle is just sad. PETER SUDERMAN: Why Won’t The Public Option Die? The short answer is: People seem to like it, you flaming asshole. Anyone dumb enough to click through (like me) is treated to wisdom like this: "This may simply be a way for Democratic leaders to appease the liberal base. But it also might be a serious attempt at passing a bill with a public option." No. Shit? ...

The Public Option: Five Reasons Harry Reid Went For It
Swampland — ... more crucial vote of cloture--that is, cutting off a promised filibuster by Republicans. So why did he go for it? Some subtle shifts in the politics around public option on Capitol Hill that have given it a new--though still fragile--lease on life. Among them are these five: 1. The poll numbers. As Swampland readers know, the public option has enjoyed strong public support all year. But what surprised some on Capitol Hill was that it continued to do well in a more recent round of polls, even after the craziness of the August town hall meetings. What ...

Rep. Diana DeGette: Tearing Down the Barriers to Competition
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... poll found that 72 percent of Americans think it is "extremely or quite important to give Americans the choice" of health care plans, while a Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that a majority of Americans - by a margin of 57 percent to 40 percent - support a public option. Offered within a health insurance Exchange, a public option would compete on a level playing field against private insurance companies in order to reduce costs. It would not come close to replacing private industry; rather it would simply provide Americans with another choice that will likely ...

Tearing down the barriers to competition (Rep. Diana DeGette)
Congress Blog — ... found that 72 percent of Americans think it is "extremely or quite important to give Americans the choice" of health care plans, while a Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that a majority of Americans - by a margin of 57 percent to 40 percent - support a public option. Offered within a health insurance exchange, a public option would compete on a level playing field against private insurance companies in order to reduce costs. It would not come close to replacing private industry; rather it would simply provide Americans with another choice that will likely be more ...

The Akin Doctrine
Fired Up! Missouri — ... Furthermore, I am completely dumbfounded as to why Todd Akin thinks that this is a persuasive argument for why the majority of Americans who support a public insurance option should stop supporting this decidedly American idea.  ...

MO GOP: Please Define "Unpopular"
Fired Up! Missouri — ... What are they talking about?  While support for specific proposals in Congress is somewhat lower -- the idea of a public option to compete with private insurance companies is undeniably popular.  In fact, it's actually growing more popular with time. Here's a chart of data from ...

Michele Bachmann and The Superbowl of Freedom
News Hounds — ... So what Bachmann was saying was that the Republican minority doesn’t “have the votes to stop this.” But to block the will of the majority, the Tea Partier, Town Hall set, the (“real freedom loving”) American people do. This sounds very much like encouraging a rabid and frightened minority to strong arm the House to vote against the will of the majority of their constituents. ...

Townhall.com Staff: Van Hollen: Health Care Bill Is Key To Electoral Success
Townhall.com Blog's TownHall Blog — ... puts Americans' support of health care reform at 45 in favor of and 52 opposed; the Washington Post has those numbers at 45 and 48, respectively. Van Hollen essentially confirmed that health care is such a hot-button issue with so many Democratic constituents that the DCCC believes it is their achilles heel. The question is whether that belief is shared by a majority of the American people.

Is Glenn Beck Trivializing Rape In Comparing Government Run Health Care To Rapist Polanski?
News Hounds — ... the role of rapist. Surely there were other metaphors that Beck could have used; but he didn’t. His hatred of Obama is so great that he actually used the brutal act against a child to describe attempts to secure a “public option” for those Americans who cannot afford health care. Under our present system, there are many victims of sexual violence whose hospital and counseling costs aren’t covered. Obviously, Beck doesn’t care about that in his attempt to further slime those Americans (57%) who support a public option. But to compare “government run health care” to rape? Beyond ...