What happens when you ask people, Is Obamacare “too liberal” or “not liberal enough”?

In their new, post-shutdown poll, CNN found answers to this question.

Pollsters asked people if they favor or oppose Obamacare and then asked a follow-up question to those who oppose it about why they oppose it.

Here’s the precise wording:

  • As you may know, a bill that makes major changes to the country’s health care system became law in 2010. Based on what you have read or heard about that legislation, do you generally favor or generally oppose it?
  • (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?

The first question found just 41% favoring but 56% opposing.

However, 38% oppose because it’s “too liberal” and 12% because it’s “not liberal enough.”

Like the results in many other polls, most people — in this case, 53% — support the Affordable Care Act or something that goes further. The 53% includes the 41% who support the law and the 12% who thinks it’s “not liberal enough,”

By the way, 38% — the percentage of people who think the ACA is “too liberal” — pops up again in this poll.

That’s the percentage of people who say it’s “good for the country” when asked “Do you think it is good for the country or bad for the country that the Republican Party is in control of the U.S. House of Representatives?”

Amy Fried

About Amy Fried

Amy Fried loves Maine's sense of community and the wonderful mix of culture and outdoor recreation. She loves politics in three ways: as an analytical political scientist, a devoted political junkie and a citizen who believes politics matters for people's lives. Fried is Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine. Her views do not reflect those of her employer or any group to which she belongs.