USA Today Poll: 56% think Dems will make a sincere effort at the summit, 54% think GOP wont.

[Clio the Leo]

Good news considering this is being posted in USA Today....

The survey ahead of the six-hour meeting, open to live TV coverage, underscores the challenges for the White House and Democrats after a year of debate over health care. Their options: Watch the signature domestic initiative of Obama's presidency fall in defeat, or pass a bill that commands more opposition than support.

There also are disquieting findings for Republicans, however. A 54% majority of Americans, including more than a third of Republicans, say GOP leaders won't make a sincere effort to find bipartisan solutions on health care.

Obama and congressional Democrats fare better on that front: 56% predict that they will make sincere efforts.

And that includes a large chunk of the coveted indepent voters that "Obama is losing." That's the GOOD news. Here's the not so good news....

On Monday, the White House unveiled a $950 billion, 10-year proposal that would require most Americans to have health insurance and move to curtail rising health care costs. Press secretary Robert Gibbs indicated the administration was open to using a parliamentary maneuver known as reconciliation to bypass a potential Senate filibuster.

In the survey, Americans by 52%-39% oppose Senate Democrats using the procedure, which allows a bill to pass with a 51-vote majority rather than the 60 votes needed to end debate.

This underscores the importance of doing the summit to begin with. If we're going to "ram it though" (as I believe has been the plan since just after Brown's election) then we have to demonstrate WHY we are "ramming it through." The numbers show there are a fair number of folks who aren't sure about the matter at all. Enough to sway the bulk of the opinion our way if we handle this right.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-02-24-healthcare-poll-results_N.htm

[Captain Hilts]

1. Those are very bad numbers considering all the reach out efforts the Prez has made. nt

[Clio the Leo]

3. They are GOOD numbers considering the BS the GOP has spewed. NT

[Jennicut]

2. You are right. Show the Rethugs for what they are at the summit

and then pass the bill, with more of the public on your side. I think they will start to understand that the Dems really have no choice. Most people have no idea what a filibuster is and how many votes you need as the majority party to overcome it. My non political husband had no idea about it when I explained it to him the other night.

[old mark]

4. Rec. It's great that after the money spent by the insurance rackett

on anti-reform publicity there are still so many people who do want it, and who realise tha GOP actually does not have our interest at heart. Remember bach in the '90's when Gingrich and his thugs loudly claimed the GOP would forever have a majority in Congress? Didn't quite work out like that.
Thay are their own worst enemies - they believe their own bullshit, and they can't stop themselves from going overboard with it to where even their supporters don't believe them.


mark

[progressoid]

5. I've found that mentioning Newt and

the (broken) "Contract with America" to a Republican always takes the wind out of their sails. :evilgrin:

[old mark]

9. Yet they keep bringing him back....or maybe he just keeps coming back

all on his own, kind of like Palin.....


mark

[karynnj]

6. Democrats need to get people to understand that reconciliation is NORMAL

The Republicans have spent hours describing it as cheating, un Democratic etc. but the bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 both passed that way - in 2003 Cheney even had to break the tie. COBRA was passed that way - as was SCHIP.

Great Daily Kos article - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/2/24/840251/-Majority-rule-is-the-nuclear-option, the link within it http://preview.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124009985&live=1 is an NPR article listing all the healthcare bills that passed that way. (The point is - it is the norm - and here we already have a bill that passed with 60, that could be amended.)

[Peacetrain]

7. Those are excellent numbers considering the 24/7 BS that is spewed

on talk media, and regurgitated by traditional medias..

[uponit7771]

8. This si good, now tell people the consequences of republicans actions