Gallup: Plurality, Some Democrats, Support ObamaCare Repeal

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jan 7, 2011   |   11:52AM   |   Washington, DC

As House Republicans take the first step today towards voting on a bill that would repeal the abortion-funding ObamaCare bill pro-life groups oppose, a new Gallup poll finds a plurality of Americans support that effort.

Approximately 46 percent of U.S. voters support the repeal effort, some 40 percent oppose it, and 14 percent say they do not have an opinion yet on repealing the government takeover of the health care industry.

“Americans’ broadly divided opinions on repealing the healthcare legislation are in line with Gallup polling from much of the past two years that showed the bill struggling to gain majority public support both before and shortly after its passage. Polls conducted more recently have shown Americans generally more opposed to than in favor of the healthcare law,” Gallup noted.

Gallup conducted the January 4-5 poll as the House casts its first vote today on adopting the rules for debate on the repeal bill that is expected to come up for consideration next week. Leading pro-life groups like the National Right to Life Committee have already endorsed the repeal effort because the Obamacare law allows for taxpayer funding of abortions and promotes health care rationing.

The current poll finds the vast majority of Republicans, 78%, in favor of repealing the law, underscoring the degree to which the new Republican leadership is attempting to represent their views. Independents support repeal as well on a 43-39 percent margin, while Democrats oppose it 64-24 percent.

That one-quarter of Democrats support the repeal effort, along with a plurality of Republicans, is evidence the repeal effort could pay dividends for Republican presidential candidates as they race for the nomination to take on pro-abortion President Barack Obama.

Gallup finds it noteworthy that Americans’ opposition to Obamacare and support for repeal has not changed much over time.

“The consistency of opinion indicates that Americans’ views on healthcare reform have been fairly fixed, and little that has occurred legislatively or politically in the past year has affected their views,” its analysis said. “While the chances that the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives will successfully repeal the healthcare law are slim, the party is nevertheless taking action that its core supporters favor.”

But Jim Geraghty of National Review suggests the numbers are even better than Gallup makes them seem, in part because it surveyed adults and not registered or likely voters.

“First, the idea that 14 percent of Americans have no opinion whether or not Obamacare goes into effect is pretty surprising and interesting,” he said. “Note that Obama and the Democrats need this to be a driving issue for voters in 2012; put another way, only 40 percent of adults (not registered voters, not likely voters) say they want to keep Obamacare as it is.”

“After Obamacare’s passage, if you had told Republicans that by January 2011 only 64 percent of Democrats would want to keep it, they would have danced jigs. The notion that nearly a quarter of Democrats support repeal of Obamacare is a big deal,” the conservative writer adds.

“Note that Obama and the Democrats need this to be a driving issue for voters in 2012; put another way, only 40 percent of adults (not registered voters, not likely voters) say they want to keep Obamacare as it is,” he says.