Mike Pence spoke to the far-right CPAC audience yesterday, and the vice president spoke with pride about his party's intentions to destroy the Affordable Care Act. "America's Obamacare nightmare is about to end," he declared. "Despite the best efforts of liberal activists around the country, the American people know better."Pence, who's often confused about key aspects of the health care debate, may want to take a closer look at what the American people know.
With congressional Republicans discussing proposals to replace the Affordable Care Act, public support for the 2010 health care law has reached its highest level on record.Currently, 54% approve of the health care law passed seven years ago by Barack Obama and Congress, while 43% disapprove, according to a national Pew Research Center survey.... The new survey finds that when those who disapprove of the law are asked about what should happen to it now, more want GOP congressional leaders to focus their efforts on modifying the law than on getting rid of it.
This data from the Pew Research Center coincides with new results from a Quinnipiac poll, which found a sharp shift in Americans' attitudes against repealing the ACA. Shortly before the president's inauguration, Quinnipiac found 48% of Americans supported Trump's efforts to repeal the reform law, while 47% opposed. Now, those numbers are largely reversed: 54% oppose repeal, while 43% support it.A brand new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation also shows the reform law with its strongest support since 2010.Of the 10 most recent surveys gauging public attitudes about the ACA, all 10 have shown a net favorable rating for "Obamacare."But to appreciate the shift in an even broader context, consider how much more popular the Affordable Care Act is than the president who's eager to tear it down.Quinnipiac's latest polling, for example, released earlier in this week, found Donald Trump's approval rating at just 38%. The same results found most Americans believe the president is not honest, is not intelligent, does not have good leadership skills, and does not care about average Americans.Yesterday, a CBS News poll pointed in a similar direction, putting the president's approval rating at 39%. Since last week, three major polls have shown Trump falling below the 40% threshold.Making matters just a little worse, the latest McClatchy-Marist poll found that a 58% majority of Americans say they're "embarrassed" by Trump.Republicans have generally convinced themselves that the public hates the Affordable Care Act, but the fact remains that the president, at least for now, can only dream of reaching ACA-like levels of public support.