GOP’s nightmare come true: Obamacare more popular than ever

The GOP-led federal government shutdown over Obamacare has dramatically backfired on Republicans. Nearly two-thirds of active voters, the largest share yet, support the health insurance reform law and want it to work, new nationwide polling has found.

“A new national survey conducted for Democracy Corps and the Women’s Voices Women’s Vote Action Fund shows an intense new majority for implementing and improving the Affordable Care Act,” the report begins. “A minority of voters want to repeal or replace ‘Obamacare,’ which has been the core demand of the Republicans in Congress who have shut down the government.”

Contrary to mainstream media, Obamacare is not unpopular, the survey by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner found. Instead, 62 percent of 2012 voters polled a week into the House’s shutdown strongly supported the law. That is an increase from late September, when a New York Times/CBS poll found that 56 percent of voters wanted it upheld and fixed. The share of people fervertly opposing the law is fixed at 38 percent, both surveys found, showing that support for the Affordable Care Act is growing.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Senate’s Republican and Democratic leaders announced a compromise plan that would reopen the government and raise the federal debt limit. The deal was slammed by Tea Partiers, who continued to rail against the healthcare law and accused their party of “surrendering.”

But that shrillness is mostly confined to the hard right’s echo chamber. As the law becomes better known, the Affordable Care Act’s public support is growing.

http://www.salon.com/2013/10/18/gops_nightmare_come_true_obamacare_more_popular_than_ever_partner/