Poll: Majority Oppose Cutting Off Funding To Stop Obamacare
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio's plan to either defund the government or risk the nation's credit to defund Obamacare isn't resonating with the American people, according to a new Kaiser Health poll.
According to the poll, 57 percent of Americans disapprove of "cutting off funding as a way to stop some or all of the law from being put into place." Conversely, only 36 percent support Senator Rubio's plan to defund the government or use the debt limit to try to derail Obamacare.
Out of the 57 percent who disapprove of cutting off funding, 69 percent said using the budget process to stop a law "is not the way our government should work."
The constant flow of GOP pushes to repeal the law have failed in Washington, but knowledge that the law is still on the books remains high. According to the poll, 13 percent believed that the law has been repealed by Congress or that the Supreme Court overturned the law, 31 percent didn't know.
Rubio's plan, which is also being pushed by Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, appears to be falling on deaf ears in GOP leadership. However, the fact that Rubio got in front of the defunding idea may give him cover after the conservative base turned on him due to the immigration bill.
While Rubio, Paul, and Cruz are joined by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation, GOP leaders like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House John Boehner have refused to endorse the idea.
All three of the Senators are being talked about as possible 2016 presidential candidates.
Looking deeper into the poll, 17 percent said being able to see the doctors they want to without paying more is the most important part of a health plan while 12 percent said having insurance cover a wide range of services.
When it came to what the most liked part of their insurance policy, 34 percent said low costs. Interestingly, 33 percent said high costs were the worst thing about their policies as well.
