The new House Republican majority is set to hold a repeal vote on President Obama and the Democrats’ federal health reform legislation on Jan. 12. The Republican Party and conservative activists claim that Americans are largely opposed to the law and prefer free-market solutions to health care. But according to a new CNN/Opinion Research poll, the numbers tell a different story. From the ThinkProgress blog:

The poll found that Americans opposed the new law 50 to 43 percent (with 7 percent undecided). Yet as U.S. News & World Report’s Robert Schlesinger finds, the details of the poll results show that most Americans either support the law or oppose it because it is “not liberal enough“:

Do you oppose that legislation because you think its approach toward health care is too liberal, or because you think it is not liberal enough?”

Favor 43%

Oppose, too liberal 37%

Oppose, not liberal enough 13%

No opinion 7%

These poll results clearly fly in the face of conservative dogma that Americans fear big government and want to roll back the health care law because it involves too much government intrusion into the lives of the public. In fact, polling has consistently shown that wide majorities of Americans favor access to a public plan like Medicare at the very least, if not a Medicare-for-all health insurance system.

When are Republicans and so-called “tea party” leaders opposed to an equitable and humane healthcare system going to quit the charade and stop telling Americans what they think they want? Those of us who aren’t fooled by the anti-reformers’ rhetoric know that they are stooges for the greedy health insurance and drug industries. The American people deserve better than the constant lies these charlatans spew all over the media.

Sylvia@californiaonecare.org