Rasmussen: Only 24% support Dems going alone on ObamaCare

Democrats like Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer talk about using parliamentary procedures to ram ObamaCare through the Senate, but the idea has a lot less popularity than the already-struggling legislation itself.  Only 24% of likely voters support the idea of a Democrat-only health-care reform bill, according to Rasmussen, while more than twice as many people believe that Democrats should change the bill to attract GOP support.  Even a significant number of Democrats question the wisdom of “reconciliation” as a device:

If Democrats agree on a health care reform bill that is opposed by all Republicans in Congress, 24% of voters nationwide say the Democrats should pass that bill.

But a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 58% believe the Democrats should change the bill to win support from “a reasonable number of Republicans.” Nineteen percent (19%) are not sure what congressional Democrats should do.

Republican voters overwhelmingly think the bill should be changed, and so do 62% of those not affiliated with either major political party.

However, Democrats are more conflicted. Forty-one percent (41%) of those in the president’s party believe their legislators should pass the bill without any GOP votes, while 34% disagree and think the legislation should be changed to attract Republican support.

Those aren’t the worst numbers on this survey, either.  While voters are split 47%-47% on whether Barack Obama understands the bill in Congress, there isn’t much debate on whether Congress itself understands it.  Only 22% of voters think that Congress has a good or excellent understanding of it, while a whopping 73% gives them fair or poor marks.  Even Democrats think Congress doesn’t comprehend it, 61%-31%, hardly a ringing vote of confidence.  Independents have an even harsher judgment: only 12% believe Congress understands its own bill, while 79% give them low marks.  That’s actually worse than Republicans, among whom 17% give Congress good marks.

Democrats lose just about everyone on the reconciliation question.  All age demographics oppose it, most by majorities, and by more than 3-1 among 30-39 and 40-49 voters.  Majorities of men and women oppose it. All income demographics oppose it, in all but the lowest income earners by a wide majority.  Only the “political class” gives it strong support, which should tell Democrats that they’re really barking up a wrong tree.

It will be interesting to see how these numbers change in the next week after the release of the deficit numbers by the White House.  Rasmussen will have an approval poll on ObamaCare by the end of the week.  Based on what we’re seeing here, it looks like there will be plenty of erosion in Obama’s support.  (h/t HA reader Geoff A)

Update: That should have been 24%, not 28%.

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