Connecticut not backing Democrat health care legislation

From a poll released yesterday by the Yankee Institute in Hartford, we find Connecticut likely registered voters oppose current legislation in the House and Senate to reform health care by a margin of 51 percent to 34 percent. I thought Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) was telling us Connecticut voters wanted this legislation?

The poll does not ask the “should the federal government do something” question, but my guess is Connecticut voters may still want Congress to “do something” to solve a problem I do not think should be solved by the federal government in the fist place.

Maybe Dodd is convinced Connecticut residents want the federal government to do something, but that is not reflected in this poll when we get down to what Congress is planning to do. The full poll results are here [PDF, 32 kb].

I’m a bit embarrassed that Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air picked this up faster than we did. It was posted yesterday and I missed it last night. The first set of bullet points from the Yankee Institute…

  • Connecticut residents oppose the current bills in Congress by a margin of 51-34 percent
  • By a margin of 62-29 percent, Connecticut residents believe Congress has rushed the process and should take more time to get it right
  • More than three-quarters of voters, 77 percent, say they are very concerned or somewhat concerned that changes in health care will result in more government spending, higher taxes, and a bigger budget deficit.  61% described theselves as “very concerned” about these possibilities
  • Half of state residents say the changes to health care being considered will do more harm than good
  • By a nearly 2:1 margin, Connecticut residents say Congress in being too ambitious.  They favor smaller, more incremental reforms to a major overhaul
  • Residents are also concerned about proposed expansions to Medicaid to be paid for by state taxpayers.  Residents oppose expanding Medicaid by a margin of 49-26%.

Back in November, a Quinnipiac poll asked Connecticut residents if they approved or disapproved of President Obama’s handling of the health care issue. Of registered voters, 48 percent disapproved and 45 percent approved. In September, results were the opposite with 47 percent approving and 45 percent disapproving.

The questions are not worded the same, but can you see a trend here during the fall and winter with 51 percent not liking what Congress is coming up with?

Exit question. Are Connecticut registered voters disapproving of the current plan because they want a public option and/or universal health care and are not getting what they want? Or maybe they don’t like the idea since they have read the legislation, and are better informed concerning possible results?

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Steve McGough

Steve's a part-time conservative blogger. Steve grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Washington, D.C. and the Bahamas. He resides in Connecticut, where he’s comfortable six months of the year.

5 Comments

  1. Anne-EH on January 22, 2010 at 1:34 pm

    Senator Dodd is simply CLUELESS as to the reality that Connecticut voters reject government run healthcare outright.



  2. donh on January 23, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    Pray for Senator Dodd. Perhaps in his personal life he is going through a genuine religeous converstion out of worry for his soul. Maybe just maybe he read the letter I emailed him in the days before christmas. Pray especially to Saint Francis of Paola. He is the spiritual antidote to Barak Obamanitis.



  3. Dimsdale on January 23, 2010 at 6:59 pm

    "I thought Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) was telling us Connecticut voters wanted this legislation?"     Dodd was also telling us that we wanted him!  LOL!

     

    "Are Connecticut registered voters disapproving of the current plan because they want a public option and/or universal health care and are not getting what they want?"

     

    More like they were getting a big dose of what they didn't want, served with a slimy dollop of politician's "trust me" sauce.   All the Dems did was prove to us that they cannot be trusted with the reins of government (at least without some counterbalancing Republican votes), and pulled the rug out from under "cap and trade" and all the other overtly socialist programs they were trying to ram down our throats before Republican Senator Brown was elected (you are welcome!).



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