Dem Leaders To Rank And File: Public Was Closely Divided On Medicare, Too!
Democratic leaders have a message for nervous rank and file Dems: The public was also closely divided on whether to pass Medicare in the 1960s. And now look at how much the public loves it!
In an effort to stiffen Dem spines, senior Dem leadership aides are circulating among House Dems some polling numbers from the 1960s that underscore how controversial Medicare was in the months leading up to its historic passage.
Dem leadership staff is highlighting a series of numbers from 1962 on President John F. Kennedy’s proposal. In July of that year, a Gallup poll found 28% in favor, 24% viewing it unfavorably, and a sizable 33% with no opinion on it — showing an evenly divided public.
A month later, after JFK’s proposal went down, an Opinion Research Corporation poll found 44 percent said it should have been passed, while 37% supported its defeat — also showing an evenly divided public.
Also in that poll, a majority, 54%, said it was a serious problem that “government medical insurance for the aged would be a big step toward socialized medicine.”
After Lyndon Johnson was elected, a Harris poll found only a minority, 46%, supported a Federal plan to extend health care to the aged. Today, of course, Medicare is overwhelmingly popular.
To be clear, it’s not clear how reassured nervous House Dems will be by these numbers. A half century has passed since the passage of Medicare, while Democrats in Congress will face the voters in around nine months.
But perhaps some of them will take this blast from the past as a reminder that passing dramatic, history-making reform in the face of intense organized opposition has never been politically easy.
Posted by Greg Sargent | 03/16/2010-WhoRunsgov.com
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