Two Poll Numbers that Made Me Cough Up Fur Ball

[DemocracyInaction]

..and I'm not a cat, nor have one:

Last night one of the MSNBC shows put up a graphic (because of the Akin story) which said that 61% (or 64%???) believe abortion should be illegal but not go as far as the inclusion of rape/incest.

Second, the WSJ/NBC new poll shows that 15% think a medicare voucher system would be great; 30% say NO; and 51% HAVE NO OPINION...you're shittin' me.

I post these because I was rock solid sure that these two issues are poison to the Repukes. But now I see a great big door open for them to walk right through. The people are prime and ready for the Kock picking......their dumb, disinterested, and have their nose stuck in that thar teeeeveeee. They are ready to yawn away the country and their own survival. Huge money plus dumb is the nail in the coffin. I feel sorry for you young people.

[Voice for Peace]

1. I think the reason so many have no opinion is that they simply haven't a clue what the

GOP plan for medicare is, how it will work, whether it will affect them or not.

[TeamPooka]

2. which means they are open to accepting the GOP lies too.

[Voice for Peace]

8. yes, and why the facts need to be shared

again and again and again, and again and again,
and again and again, and then some. Facebook is
good for this.

[WI_DEM]

3. never underestimate the stupid in this country

[JaneQPublic]

4. This on pollingreport.com RE: Medicare

[DemocracyInaction]

5. Jane

Those are the type of stats I have been seeing all along. I, for the life of me, cannot understand in what form they asked that question??? The 51% just does not square with everything that's been published in polls.

[JaneQPublic]

6. 51 percent is VERY high

...especially on an issue that affects everyone.

You're right: the wording of the questions must have totally flummoxed the respondents.

[EC]

10. The trouble with this poll

is it doesn't point out which is which. So people still don't know which is the repub plan.

[madashelltoo]

7. No one has an opinion until . . .

they find their teenage daughter/granddaughter/niece/sister/sister-in-law crumpled on the bathroom floor in a pool of blood from an illegal abortion. Going back to those horrors will give us no satisfaction. The purpose? I have no idea. What are they trying to prove by even suggesting all of this? Does this put America back to work? Does this alleviate poverty, homelessness and hunger in America? Excuse me, but this has to be the dumbest shit going. We send our young to other countries to fight for their rights while we take our own away one at a time. Ridiculous.

[Spike89]

9. Simple, the choice isn't spelled out (medicare)

Polls are like anecdotal medical "studies" they may be interesting, but they aren't informative without all the data that needs to be accounted for. We don't know who was polled and how the question was asked for the abortion poll (did they call only land lines? what was the "turn-down" rate? etc.,)
For the medicare question, it is obvious that the choice is skewed...presumably, respondents know what current Medicare does for people, but even if you know the particulars of Ryan's medicare voucher plan, that is not what was asked. To be honest, I might even support a voucher plan (well, not likely) but if it actually provided more money for every senior and truly was more efficient for the people who use/need it, well, then I'd at least have to consider it. Of course the Repugs are NOT proposing a better version of Medicare based on vouchers, but the question did not mention a specific voucher plan at all.
People may seem apathetic and ill-informed, but give them real choices and even moderate faith that the choices are likely to matter and then people will inform themselves. Many just tune out the noise and go about their lives when the debate is still theoretical, and even when the plans become concrete, most know that having any radical (or even moderately radical) legislation pass and become law is remote.