The way that many politicians and most of the media talks about "the public option" you would think that it's favored by only a small portion of the populace. In reality that's not even close to true. Most Americans (of all political stripes) support the inclusion of the public option as a part of health care reform.
The latest poll shows deep and wide support for the public option with nearly 2 in 3 Americans in support of it (65%) while only about 1 in 4 (26%) are against it.
The depth of the support for the public option is clear from that 65% number but the width of the support becomes obvious as well when you look at the polling numbers broken down by political affiliation.
It's no surprise that support for the public option is strongest among Democrats. 81% of those in the Democratic party support it's inclusion as a part of health care reform. What's surprising is how many Democratic Senators are willing to vote against their own constituents in favor of the health insurance industry. Democratic Senators Baucus, Conrad, Lincoln, Nelson, & Carper all voted against the public option amendment on 9/29/09 and should all be voted out of office next time they are up for re-election in favor of a real Democrat (obviously Republicans shouldn't even be considered, their party is so insanely out of touch as to not be relevant.)
It's obvious that any politician who is against the public option is not doing so for any reasons other than political and/or monetary reasons. It's clear as day that the public option is good policy and is a necessary part of health care reform.
Among those with no party affiliation 61% support the public option while only 30% are opposed. These are the all important "swing voters" that politicians usually bend over backwards to please. Why not this time?
The most impressive thing about the support for the public option is not the large support it enjoys from Democrats and Independents but the fact that even a plurality of Republicans support it! 47% of Republicans are for it, while just 42% are against it.
It's clear that we need a public option as a part of health care reform in order to control costs and to give Americans real choice. It's also clear that it has both deep and wide support. So how come the politicians aren't doing the right thing? It's obvious to me that anyone who votes against the public option should be voted out of office because they're not working for the people, they're working for the insurance industry!
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