Recent Polls on Obamacare Suggestive of Media Manipulation
Now that Trump is president and Republicans are firmly in control of both houses of Congress, the mainstream media is in panic mode over much of the new administration���s agenda, including its plans for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. As you surely know, Trump���s mantra ever since he hit the campaign trail has been ���repeal and replace,��� and now that his presidency is in full effect, everyone, on both sides of the political dividing line, is expecting big changes to the current health care law relatively soon.
It is no secret that the ACA is perhaps the cornerstone of President Obama���s legacy as the nation���s chief executive, and so neither he nor his enablers throughout much of the media want to see any major changes exerted against it by Trump and the Republican congress.
Given this, a curious narrative on the ACA has taken over in recent weeks. Despite what most understand to be the distinct unpopularity of Obamacare throughout the electorate, there is increasing discussion coming to pass in public forums about how people would actually prefer to see the health law remain intact.
About a week ago, NBC was touting the results of a survey it conducted with the Wall Street Journal that said 45 percent of those polled think that Obamacare is a ���good idea,��� with 41 percent of respondents saying it is a ���bad idea.��� A couple of days after that, CNN published the results of its joint poll with ORC International that revealed 49 percent of those surveyed favor Obamacare, while 47 percent oppose it.
The problem with that information, however, is that data, and how it���s reported, can be a funny thing.
Sifting through the CNN/ORC numbers, Townhall found separately that 55 percent of respondents were in favor of the Trump plan to ���repeal and replace,��� 21 percent supported outright repeal even if a replacement plan is not ready, and just 22 percent of respondents said that they want Obamacare to remain as is.
The Townhall article summarized its findings by saying, in part, ���Approximately four out of five respondents favor ending the law, with just 22 percent outright opposing repeal. CNN���s headline? ���Poll shows last minute love for Obamacare.��� Even cherry-picking the most positive finding in the survey produces a roughly even split on the law's favorability.���
Clearly, the effort at ���spin��� is a significant one, but, as Townhall illustrates, even just a modestly-closer look at what���s really going on reveals that most see the current health care law as the train wreck it has unfortunately become, and that Republican efforts at righting the ship clearly have the support of all but a (very) vocal minority.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
