Voters Say They Know Health Care Bill Better Than Congress

[toomuchtime_]

Most voters think they understand the health care reform legislation proposed by President Obama better than Congress does - and about as well as the president himself.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% of voters rate their understanding of the health care plan as good or excellent. Only 21% say their understanding of it is poor.

By contrast, just 22% say Congress has a good or excellent understanding of the plan. Thirty-five percent (35%) say Congress’ knowledge of the proposal is poor.

Voters give the president more credit than that. Forty-seven percent (47%) say Obama’s understanding of his own plan is good or excellent, while 27% rate his knowledge of it as poor.

Voters are divided on the president’s accusation that critics of the plan are “bearing false witness” against it. Thirty-six percent (36%) agree with the president, but 38% do not. Most Democrats agree, and most Republicans don't. Unaffiliateds, by a 46% to 33% margin, disagree with Obama on this point.

Voters Say They Know Health Care Bill Better Than Congress - Rasmussen Reports™

 

[theDoctorisIn]

I think this proves that people are susceptible to rhetoric. How do people know a bill better than the people who wrote it?

 

[KittenKoder]

Actually, this is feasible, not likely, but feasible. To know something doesn't just mean you know what it says, but also have a good idea of what it will do. Congress sees things from the angle of enacting, voters see it from the angle of effect.

 

[veritas]

If the average cross section in a poll is anything like the cross section we have here.......I say 67% are puffing.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Actually, this is feasible, not likely, but feasible. To know something doesn't just mean you know what it says, but also have a good idea of what it will do. Congress sees things from the angle of enacting, voters see it from the angle of effect.

But that would also imply that all the respondents to the poll would have to have read it. Which is far beyond feasible.

 

[toomuchtime_]

I think this proves that people are susceptible to rhetoric. How do people know a bill better than the people who wrote it?

So who wrote it? The handful of lawyers who work for the committees who wrote parts of the bills? The twenty or so members of the committee who voted on parts of it? In fact most members of Congress rely on what they read about the bill or are told about the bill just as members of the public do.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

I think this proves that people are susceptible to rhetoric. How do people know a bill better than the people who wrote it?

So who wrote it? The handful of lawyers who work for the committees who wrote parts of the bills? The twenty or so members of the committee who voted on parts of it? In fact most members of Congress rely on what they read about the bill or are told about the bill just as members of the public do.

Why do you assume that? I mean, unless you yourself are a member of congress, and you haven't read it, how do you know who has read it and who has not. Can you give an example of a congressm member who has not read it?

 

[toomuchtime_]

I think this proves that people are susceptible to rhetoric. How do people know a bill better than the people who wrote it?

So who wrote it? The handful of lawyers who work for the committees who wrote parts of the bills? The twenty or so members of the committee who voted on parts of it? In fact most members of Congress rely on what they read about the bill or are told about the bill just as members of the public do.

Why do you assume that? I mean, unless you yourself are a member of congress, and you haven't read it, how do you know who has read it and who has not. Can you give an example of a congressm member who has not read it?

Arlen Spector acknowledged he hadn't read it, and common sense should tell you that members of Congress cannot read all the bills they will vote on. Can you give me an example of a member of Congress you know read the bill?

 

[theDoctorisIn]

So who wrote it? The handful of lawyers who work for the committees who wrote parts of the bills? The twenty or so members of the committee who voted on parts of it? In fact most members of Congress rely on what they read about the bill or are told about the bill just as members of the public do.

Why do you assume that? I mean, unless you yourself are a member of congress, and you haven't read it, how do you know who has read it and who has not. Can you give an example of a congressm member who has not read it?

Arlen Spector acknowledged he hadn't read it, and common sense should tell you that members of Congress cannot read all the bills they will vote on. Can you give me an example of a member of Congress you know read the bill?

link to Spector saying that? It's their jobs to read the bill - and there's no reason to assume that they have not read it. The controversy around this bill is reason to assume that everyone has read it. Unless you can provide some evidence that they have not read it, its safe to assume that they have, even though that might conflict with your rhetoric on how useless the congress is.

 

[Darkwind]

I think this proves that people are susceptible to rhetoric. How do people know a bill better than the people who wrote it?

Because the congress didn't write it and fully 2/3's haven't read it.

I would say that the people DO understand the bill better then they do. Thats why we are winning the debate. Because if Mr. Obama took the time to read what it is being proposed, he would come to realize that the legislation comes no where near his rhetoric.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

I think this proves that people are susceptible to rhetoric. How do people know a bill better than the people who wrote it?

But congress didn't write the proposed bill. They haven't even read it. The Tide Center/Apollo Alliance is the author of the health care bill. This is exactly why Congress and, the President does not know whats in the health care bill

 

[theDoctorisIn]

I think this proves that people are susceptible to rhetoric. How do people know a bill better than the people who wrote it?

Because the congress didn't write it and fully 2/3's haven't read it.

I would say that the people DO understand the bill better then they do. Thats why we are winning the debate. Because if Mr. Obama took the time to read what it is being proposed, he would come to realize that the legislation comes no where near his rhetoric.

Where have you gotten this "2/3" number? Did you just pull it out of your ass, or do you have something to back it up?

 

[theDoctorisIn]

I think this proves that people are susceptible to rhetoric. How do people know a bill better than the people who wrote it?

But congress didn't write the proposed bill. They haven't even read it. The Tide Center/Apollo Alliance is the author of the health care bill. This is exactly why Congress and, the President does not know whats in the health care bill

Anything to back that up? Or did you just hear it on the radio, and accept it as truth?

 

[Xenophon]

If the average cross section in a poll is anything like the cross section we have here.......I say 67% are puffing.

72% of all satistics are made up.

 

[toomuchtime_]

Why do you assume that? I mean, unless you yourself are a member of congress, and you haven't read it, how do you know who has read it and who has not. Can you give an example of a congressm member who has not read it?

Arlen Spector acknowledged he hadn't read it, and common sense should tell you that members of Congress cannot read all the bills they will vote on. Can you give me an example of a member of Congress you know read the bill?

link to Spector saying that? It's their jobs to read the bill - and there's no reason to assume that they have not read it. The controversy around this bill is reason to assume that everyone has read it. Unless you can provide some evidence that they have not read it, its safe to assume that they have, even though that might conflict with your rhetoric on how useless the congress is.

What you are saying is that you want to believe members of Congress read the bill, but you have no reason to believe they have. Again, the size and volume of bills coming before Congress makes it impossible for them to read much more than parts of a few bills and means they have to rely on staff members and others to tell them what the bill says and what the implications of it are.

As for Spector,

Over and over, members of the audience asked questions and became agitated over aspects of the House bill, some of them brandishing copies and reading directly from it. One questioner pointed to a part which read the government would have access to the bank accounts of those electing the public option.

Specter seemed surprised by that.
“Read the bill!” the audience shouted.
“I repeat, this is not the Senate bill,” he said.
Specter later told reporters he did not read the 1,000-page House bill and wasn’t interested in doing so because it isn’t what he will be voting on.
But he told the crowd: “Government should not have access to the bank accounts of people electing the public option.”

Senator tells Valley crowd he hasn’t read House bill - The Tree Of Liberty

 

[MaggieMae]

Actually, this is feasible, not likely, but feasible. To know something doesn't just mean you know what it says, but also have a good idea of what it will do. Congress sees things from the angle of enacting, voters see it from the angle of effect.

But that would also imply that all the respondents to the poll would have to have read it. Which is far beyond feasible.

Exactly. They read what somebody else wrote in an analysis, which may or may not be highly embellished or outright fabrications. But hey, that's Rasmussen for ya. He sure knows how to ask just the right ridiculous questions to further his own rightwing promotional agenda.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Arlen Spector acknowledged he hadn't read it, and common sense should tell you that members of Congress cannot read all the bills they will vote on. Can you give me an example of a member of Congress you know read the bill?

link to Spector saying that? It's their jobs to read the bill - and there's no reason to assume that they have not read it. The controversy around this bill is reason to assume that everyone has read it. Unless you can provide some evidence that they have not read it, its safe to assume that they have, even though that might conflict with your rhetoric on how useless the congress is.

What you are saying is that you want to believe members of Congress read the bill, but you have no reason to believe they have. Again, the size and volume of bills coming before Congress makes it impossible for them to read much more than parts of a few bills and means they have to rely on staff members and others to tell them what the bill says and what the implications of it are.

As for Spector,

Over and over, members of the audience asked questions and became agitated over aspects of the House bill, some of them brandishing copies and reading directly from it. One questioner pointed to a part which read the government would have access to the bank accounts of those electing the public option.

Specter seemed surprised by that.
“Read the bill!” the audience shouted.
“I repeat, this is not the Senate bill,” he said.
Specter later told reporters he did not read the 1,000-page House bill and wasn’t interested in doing so because it isn’t what he will be voting on.
But he told the crowd: “Government should not have access to the bank accounts of people electing the public option.”

Senator tells Valley crowd he hasn’t read House bill - The Tree Of Liberty

What you are saying is that you want to believe members of Congress have not read the bill, but you have no reason to believe they have not. As for Specter, he's not a member of the house - why should he read the house bill? He'll read the Senate version, just like he said.

 

[MaggieMae]

I think this proves that people are susceptible to rhetoric. How do people know a bill better than the people who wrote it?

So who wrote it? The handful of lawyers who work for the committees who wrote parts of the bills? The twenty or so members of the committee who voted on parts of it? In fact most members of Congress rely on what they read about the bill or are told about the bill just as members of the public do.

Why do you assume that? I mean, unless you yourself are a member of congress, and you haven't read it, how do you know who has read it and who has not. Can you give an example of a congressm member who has not read it?

The people who sat down and wrote the bills are the committee membership. Once a draft bill is distributed, before floor debate, typically all the other lawmakers will have their staffers read the bills (any bills) and highlight the pertinent parts along with marginal notations of what could conceivably be controversial.

For all the complaints about the page length of this particular House bill, people seem to forget that this represents the biggest domestic policy issue to be brought before Congress and the American people in 40 years. It obviously isn't going to read like cliffnotes.

 

[MaggieMae]

Why do you assume that? I mean, unless you yourself are a member of congress, and you haven't read it, how do you know who has read it and who has not. Can you give an example of a congressm member who has not read it?

Arlen Spector acknowledged he hadn't read it, and common sense should tell you that members of Congress cannot read all the bills they will vote on. Can you give me an example of a member of Congress you know read the bill?

link to Spector saying that? It's their jobs to read the bill - and there's no reason to assume that they have not read it. The controversy around this bill is reason to assume that everyone has read it. Unless you can provide some evidence that they have not read it, its safe to assume that they have, even though that might conflict with your rhetoric on how useless the congress is.

This argument as to who read it or not is at least two months old. Hey, I've got an idea! Let's return to arguing over campaign issues between Obama/Clinton/McCain!!

Good gawd, must be a slow news day.

 

[MaggieMae]

I think this proves that people are susceptible to rhetoric. How do people know a bill better than the people who wrote it?

Because the congress didn't write it and fully 2/3's haven't read it.
Congress (the House) DID write it, and where do you get that two-thirds haven't read it?

I would say that the people DO understand the bill better then they do. Thats why we are winning the debate. Because if Mr. Obama took the time to read what it is being proposed, he would come to realize that the legislation comes no where near his rhetoric.

Lies, lies, lies, and more lies. Do you fringers EVER tell the truth? Or even just shut the fuck up when you don't have a clue?