It’s Official: Americans Hate the Ryan Budget

There has been alot of polling on the GOP plan to kill Medicare. The latest version is from CNN:

The poll indicates that 58 percent of the public opposes the Republican plan on Medicare, with 35 percent saying they support the proposal. The survey’s Wednesday release comes as the president met with House Republicans to discuss, among other things, Medicare reform. […]

“Half of those we questioned say that the country would be worse off under the GOP Medicare proposals and 56 percent think that GOP plan would be bad for the elderly,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “Opposition is highest among senior citizens, at 74 percent, suggesting that seniors are most worried about changes to Medicare even if those changes are presented as ones that would not affect existing Medicare recipients.”
“A majority of all demographic groups don’t favor the GOP Medicare proposals,” Holland adds. “That includes conservatives – 54 percent of them don’t like the plan. As a result, rank-and-file Republicans are split right down the middle, with 48 percent favoring the GOP plan and 50 percent opposed.”

We don’t like his plan to change Medicaid, either:

According to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 60 percent of those polled prefer the keep Medicaid — the federal heath insurance system for the poor — “as is,” as opposed to Ryan’s detrimental block grant program. Indeed, more than half want to see no reductions in Medicaid spending at all because of “a strong sense of the program’s importance.”

So for all of the bi-partisan handwringing about “reforming entitlements”, the thing to know is that Americans don’t want these kinds of “reforms”. And in this is a potential minefield for Democrats who sign on to “reforms” that cut benefits:

“But I still think [agreeing to benefits cuts] would be politicaly problematic for Democrats right now. They’re in a period where they’re building their advantage on health care issues. It’s an important component of the Democratic advantage on fighting for the middle class, which was central to Democratic victories in 2006 and 2008 and eroded in 2010.”

Said Liszt: “Benefits cuts could set that back.”

So Democrats, you have the advantage here and a deal to cut benefits throws the Republicans a lifeline at your own expense. Which isn’t to say that Medicare and Medicaid don’t need some shoring up. But not at the expense of the people who use these programs.

One interesting tidbit from the CNN summary:

“Overall, a plurality still says that GOP control of the House is good for the country, but the margin on that question has narrowed from a 52 to 39 percent margin in November to just a 48 to 44 percent margin now,” adds Holland.
And by roughly that same margin, Americans want Obama to have more influence over the direction the nation takes in the next few years, a view that has remained unchanged since the start of the year.
“The results of those two questions, taken together, suggest that in the 2010 election voters wanted to give the GOP enough power to act as a check on the Democrats, but did not vote to give the GOP a mandate to enact its entire agenda,” says Holland.
The poll also indicates that most Americans continue to believe that Obama is doing enough to cooperate with the Republicans in Congress. But fewer than three in ten say that congressional Republicans are doing enough to cooperate with the president.

So the GOP is busily undermining their own credibility to govern, while Barack Obama is still seen as more stable AND more cooperative than the GOP. As these polls go forward, I’d bet that this is one of the key metrics that the White House is paying attention to. This is where the “independents” live, and this is where the media is NOT paying attention. They are just interested in the food fight — not in how governing happens. The GOP is working hard at their own agenda and working hard at trying to demonize Obama, but right now he is still seen as the adult in the room.