Just heard the chattering on MSNBC between Chris Matthews and Patrick Buchanan. They misrepresented the recent CNN/Opinion Research poll. They focused on the top line:
As you may know, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are trying to pass final
legislation that would make major changes in the country’s health care system. Based on what you
have read or heard about that legislation, do you generally favor it or generally oppose it?
Favor 39%
Oppose 59%
No opinion 2%
But the next question tells the real story:
(IF OPPOSE) Do you oppose that legislation because you think its approach toward health care is
too liberal, or because you think it is not liberal enough?
QUESTIONS 20 AND 21 COMBINEDFavor (from Question 20) 39%
Oppose, too liberal 43%
Oppose, not liberal enough 13%
No opinion 5%
So what you get is this:
52% support the bill or wish it went further in the direction the Democrats wanted, while 43% oppose it.
You can make an argument that the term “not liberal enough” leaves much to the imagination. But I’ll bet most folks would include a public option or a single payer system within the “not liberal enough” definition.
Cross posted on Commonwealth Commonsense.