A new Kaiser Health Tracking poll finds that 56% polled want the health care law’s foes to move on:
This poll fielded following the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the heart of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) finds a majority of Americans (56 percent) now say they would like to see the law’s detractors stop their efforts to block its implementation and move on to other national problems.
Democrats overwhelmingly say opponents should move on to other issues (82 percent), as do half (51 percent) of independents and a quarter (26 percent) of Republicans. But, seven in ten Republicans (69 percent) say they want to see efforts to stop the law continue, a view shared by 41 percent of independents and 14 percent of Democrats.
The public is also divided in its emotional reaction to the decision, with similar shares reporting being angry (17 percent) and enthusiastic (18 percent). Negative emotions run highest among Republicans who support the Tea Party movement, with 49 percent of this group saying they are angry at the decision.
Solid majorities of voters of every political stripe say the decision won’t impact whether or not they vote this November – though Republicans are more likely than Democrats (31 percent compared to 18 percent) to say the result makes them more likely to turn out.
In other words: this is a red meat mobilization issue mostly for Republicans (turn on Sean or Rush and that’s confirmed). But to many American’s it isn’t.
The question is — if this is true — whether GOPers risk causing a backlash if they seem fixated on repealing the law or halting its implementation.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.