A Research 2000 Indiana poll was conducted on behalf of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America from Oct. 24 – Oct. 25, 2009. While there is strong opposition to a public options from those Hoosiers who identify as Republicans, independents and Democrats very much want Sen. Bayh to vote for and not filibuster a public insurance option to compete with private insurers.
Only 33% of independents oppose a government administered health insurance plan. (Along with 10% of Democrats, 75% of Republicans, and 44% of Hoosiers overall.) 59% of Independents, 85% of Democrats, and 20% of Republicans favor such a health insurance plan.
The sample size of the poll was 41% Republican, 36% Democrat and, by extension I suppose, 23% independent.
There’s a poll for every point of view.It’s become meaningless .Polls come out daily.Everyone can cite or ignore at will. So everyone has empirical proof he is right and that’s one reason legislation is bogged down.
‘No’ is a too- easy point of view. We need more antecdotal examples attached to each polling..
Polls these days can be very accurate, depending on the construct of the questions asked, and the population polled. I think the population looks representative of IN in this particular poll.
As for the questions, #1 and #3 could have problems. #1 assumes citizen understanding of all the trade-offs associated with a public health care program. #3 should have been asked in 2 different groups, one phrased with the “help” operator, as in the poll, and one phrased with the “harm” operator. Many times the positive/negative wording of a poll question can influence the outcome.
All that aside, I do think that as a representative democracy that we place trust in our leaders to legislate what is best for the constituency and not just what is polled. Public sentiment is certainly part of that equation. But we are supposed to elect exceptional people to represent us that can make sound decisions on our behalf. Sometimes that means ignoring the polls.
Unfortunately, the pollsters (driven by the parties, I am sure), have wandered off the issue itself, and make too much of the polls’ focus on re-electability and not the issues themselves.
Wait a minute, did you see the questions at the bottom?
They may want him to vote for it, but they’ll reward him with 9% fewer votes for doing it.
They’re saying “Yes” but voting “No”.