The top lines of the WaPo/ABC Poll show a big problem for Republicans and their plan to gut Medicare. It's hugely unpopular. The vast majority want Medicare preserved as is, along with Medicaid, with (once again) tax increases on the wealthy the heavily preferred choice for addressing debt. Asked the basic question of what should be cut, 78% oppose cutting Medicare, 69% opposed cutting Medicaid, while 72% say tax the rich.
But drill down on the internals for the Medicare questions, and you find that when the Republican plan is spelled out, and respondents are told that beneficiaries would "receive a check or voucher from the government each year for a fixed amount they can use to shop for their own private health insurance policy," and that—as the CBO projects—the cost of private insurance will likely outpace the cost of Medicare, opposition to the plan soars to 84%. ...
It would really be hard to come up with a less popular policy idea than the Republican plan for Medicare.
So, 84% of Americans oppose the Republican plan. Do you think Democrats might be capable enough to take advantage of this?
No, probably not, huh?
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I don't know why Republicans have the support that they do. By economic status most Americans should be Democrats. There's not enough rich people to explain the Republicans insane attack on taxes and social spending. Most Republicans are as poor as Democrats.
And polls often show that voters agree with Democrats more about the issues. But they still vote Republican, because Republicans are very good at scaring the ignorant, the fearful, and the gullible.
Illegal immigration! Sharia law! Gay marriage! Terrorism! Crime! Black welfare queens! The war on Christmas! Mexicans! Abortion! Socialism! It's just one scare tactic after another, one distraction after another from the economic issues in America.
Republicans have one clear-cut goal: tax cuts for the wealthy. But they use all the rest of these issues to persuade the fearful, the bigoted, and the gullible to support the GOP.
The last thing they want to do is actually win any of these culture war issues. Through years of controlling all three branches of the federal government during the Bush administration, with the far-right's preferred candidate in the White House, they worked hard to cut taxes on the wealthy, but they never came close to ending abortion.
Well, ending abortion would be disastrous for the GOP, because all of these one-issue voters might start thinking about everything Republicans were actually doing.
Likewise - unfortunately - having a black man in the White House has been very good for them because they can more easily scare white bigots. Even people who don't think that they're racist have an easy time believing the most ridiculous things about a black man.
To survive, a democracy needs an intelligent, informed, active citizenry. What we've got is ignorant, timid, gullible people who vote their fears, and a great mass of uninterested, uninformed, apathetic folk who just can't be bothered. I fear for my country.
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