More proof Republicans shouldn't hinge their election hopes on ObamaCare
For the first time ever, a plurality of adults support ObamaCare, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll released Monday. In the survey, 49 percent of Americans said they supported the law, a hair more than the 48 percent who said the opposite.
The finding comes one week after the latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll — the gold standard for health care polling — also found support for ObamaCare rising. Combined, those results should give the GOP some pause as they gear up for the 2014 elections. Since ObamaCare debuted in disastrous fashion last year, Republicans have pinned their election odds to the law, hoping that public anger would translate into big electoral gains for their party. In other words, they hoped the 2014 elections would be a sweeping referendum on ObamaCare, something that now seems less likely.
Republicans still have a sizable edge heading toward November because of the bum economy, Obama's terrible approval rating, and the fact that Democrats simply have more territory to defend. But they'll have to campaign on more than just opposition to ObamaCare if they want to fully cash in on those built-in advantages.
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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