Congressional Republicans and conservative media outlets didn't waste any time in declaring their special election victory on Tuesday night was the result of the public being angered over the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare). Many such talking heads have gone on to say, "This just shows you how badly the GOP will steamroll Democrats in November due to this awful law."
I hate to disappoint these giddy conservatives, but the numbers don't back up their claims. Among Independent voters in the FL-13 election, 57% sided with Democratic candidate Alex Sink with regard to her position on the healthcare law (maintaining the law and fixing any problematic components, but not repealing it), while just 31% sided with Republican candidate David Jolly on the issue (full repeal of the law). In other words, even the unaffiliated voters down the middle strongly sided with the Democrat in this election regarding the Affordable Care Act.
Among all voters in this special election, 43% said they had "very major doubts" regarding Alex Sink's stance on Obamacare, while 35% said they had no doubts (net -8%). Meanwhile, 50% said they held "very major doubts" with regard to David Jolly's stance on the issue, and 26% said they had no doubts (net -24%).
In other words, "Obamacare" didn't hinder Alex Sink in this election. If anything, it helped her. So, I'm sorry to tell Congressional Republicans, conservative media outlets, and even lazy talking heads on more neutral outlets this bit of news, but your talking points and headlines are all wrong. This special election had nothing to do with the Affordable Care Act and does nothing to predict the results in this coming November's elections.
Like the before-mentioned poll numbers showcased, I think if the Republican Party obsesses over the healthcare law like they've been doing since it was signed in 2010, it'll only hurt them come November. Do they really think the number one concern of a vast majority of people in this country is Obamacare? What about job creation? Raising wages? Income inequality? Education? Infrastructure? Improving the economy? Reducing crime? While Democratic candidates will likely run with a number of these issues, especially with regard to income inequality (overall, and between men and women) and raising the minimum wage, which most people tend to agree with, Republican candidates seem destined to run on the mantra of, "We want to take away millions of people's healthcare!" Let me condense that some:
Democrats: "We think everyone deserves to make a living wage, and women should be treated as equals at the workplace! More people need to make more money and we're going to see to it that that happens!"
Republicans: "We think millions of people should have their healthcare taken from them!"
While it's true that a solid majority of this country despises both political parties right now, I'll take that before-mentioned Democratic selling point over the Republican one any day of the week.
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/03/12/3396421/florida-special-election-obamacare/
I hate to disappoint these giddy conservatives, but the numbers don't back up their claims. Among Independent voters in the FL-13 election, 57% sided with Democratic candidate Alex Sink with regard to her position on the healthcare law (maintaining the law and fixing any problematic components, but not repealing it), while just 31% sided with Republican candidate David Jolly on the issue (full repeal of the law). In other words, even the unaffiliated voters down the middle strongly sided with the Democrat in this election regarding the Affordable Care Act.
Among all voters in this special election, 43% said they had "very major doubts" regarding Alex Sink's stance on Obamacare, while 35% said they had no doubts (net -8%). Meanwhile, 50% said they held "very major doubts" with regard to David Jolly's stance on the issue, and 26% said they had no doubts (net -24%).
In other words, "Obamacare" didn't hinder Alex Sink in this election. If anything, it helped her. So, I'm sorry to tell Congressional Republicans, conservative media outlets, and even lazy talking heads on more neutral outlets this bit of news, but your talking points and headlines are all wrong. This special election had nothing to do with the Affordable Care Act and does nothing to predict the results in this coming November's elections.
Like the before-mentioned poll numbers showcased, I think if the Republican Party obsesses over the healthcare law like they've been doing since it was signed in 2010, it'll only hurt them come November. Do they really think the number one concern of a vast majority of people in this country is Obamacare? What about job creation? Raising wages? Income inequality? Education? Infrastructure? Improving the economy? Reducing crime? While Democratic candidates will likely run with a number of these issues, especially with regard to income inequality (overall, and between men and women) and raising the minimum wage, which most people tend to agree with, Republican candidates seem destined to run on the mantra of, "We want to take away millions of people's healthcare!" Let me condense that some:
Democrats: "We think everyone deserves to make a living wage, and women should be treated as equals at the workplace! More people need to make more money and we're going to see to it that that happens!"
Republicans: "We think millions of people should have their healthcare taken from them!"
While it's true that a solid majority of this country despises both political parties right now, I'll take that before-mentioned Democratic selling point over the Republican one any day of the week.
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/03/12/3396421/florida-special-election-obamacare/
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