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This question is for those that support Obama *and* the current health insurance legislation that is potentially going to be forced upon us in the near future.
I saw the words "landslide" and "mandate" used a lot in reference to Obama's victory over McCain. Clearly, there was/is a lot of support behind the idea that 7% is a huge margin, and that a margin as wide as that indicates to some that people disagreeing with the clear intention of that 53% of the voting populace should just get out of the way. Don't believe me? Look back through the forum and read what was going on from November, 2008 through January, 2009.
Now, many of those same people are demanding that the people who are against the proposed health insurance legislation get out of the way, just as they did fifteen months ago. But this time, things are different. This time, the number of people that don't want it outnumber those that do by 8% - a wider margin than the President won the election by.
So my question to those people is: How do you rationalize that?
If the will of the majority is to be followed, then why are you demanding that the health insurance bill be passed? The message from the American people is more clear than it was on Election Day, 2008 - what's your justification for the double standard?
Well I'm no Obama supporter or supporter of this HC bill, but I think they support it by saying that elections have consequences and public will be damned. Never mind he ran as a centrist uniter which couldn't be further from the truth.
The bill will not be voted on as one would vote in a national election. We don't know exactly what the will of the people is. All we have are polls which can be wrong, either way.
Last edited by TENACIOUS1000; 03-17-2010 at 01:25 PM..
Reason: sp.
The only problem with your argument is that when you dig down into the polls you find two things. The majority of those polled support the measures contained in the bill which means that the much touted opposition is misinformed. The other thing we find in those polls is that there is serious opposition because most don't think the current legislation goes far enough! Know that, no responsible legislator would or should let a poll be the sole guide for making a decision. And by the way, polls are not elections.
We don't know exactly what the will of the people is. All we have are polls which can be wrong, either way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ovcatto
And by the way, polls are not elections.
But I read it here over and over - every time a "right winger" posted a poll about Obama's job approval sinking, the "left wingers" retorted that "the only poll that matters was in November." I'm only going by what others - on the left - have said here... Or is that going to be another double standard?
I would like to see a poll that proves that health care reform is unnecessary.
It is easy to throw numbers without a perspective. I'm a supporter of HCR, but not necessarily in complete agreement with the current versions of the bill. But, if everybody were to be in agreement, or even a substantial number of sore losers in any election, then nothing will ever get done.
The only problem with your argument is that when you dig down into the polls you find two things. The majority of those polled support the measures contained in the bill which means that the much touted opposition is misinformed. The other thing we find in those polls is that there is serious opposition because most don't think the current legislation goes far enough! Know that, no responsible legislator would or should let a poll be the sole guide for making a decision. And by the way, polls are not elections.
Even though the original post was obviously not a serious question, this was an excellent reply.
Even though the original post was obviously not a serious question
Actually, it was a very serious question.
Seven percent was a HUGE deal back in November, '08. So much so that many were touting a "mandate". The word "landslide" was heard all over the place.
But for some reason, eight percent is meaningless.
I want to know why, and so far, nobody's given me an answer other than "polls are not elections." Yet they were happy to proclaim that the "only poll that matters was in November" when Obama's approval began to tank.
It's a clear double standard, and one which the Obama supporters on this forum are apparently afraid to address.
^^^One issue is that a poll is very dependent on how a question is asked. That's why polls are fairly meaningless. I apply the same to polls that I agree and disagree with.
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