And not only did the political benefits that Democrats thought the 2010 law would eventually bring them not materialize, opposition has only grown, according to an analysis of multiple polls taken between 2010 and last month.
“There have been backlashes, but never like this,” said Robert Blendon, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and co-author of the analysis released Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine.
That backlash doesn’t appear directed at the mechanics of the law but at its underlying core principle.
Only 47 percent of Americans agree that it’s the government’s job to make sure everyone has health coverage, down from 69 percent in 2006, the analysis found. That shift is particularly pronounced among likely voters. Of those who are most likely to show up at the polls on Nov. 4, one in four believe in this principle.
The study includes a new poll of likely voters by the Harvard School of Public Health showing that while only 31 percent want to see Obamacare repealed, 23 percent want it scaled back. This coalition of Republicans and independents could represent a mandate for congressional efforts to diminish the sweeping overhaul four years after it was enacted — and with millions of people now covered under its provisions.
The debate is now “about whether or not you believe you want to get everybody covered,” Blendon said. “Something happened on the way to the forum here that made that a much more controversial value.”’ - Obamacare brings Democrats backlash, not benefits, politico.com, 10/29/2014
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http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=E93E6E38-06EE-49CA-894A-7C42C716C143
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