With enemies like this, who needs friends?
Nate Silver on the new conservative tactic of hoping to sink health care reform by tying it to Medicare:
Medicare is one of the most popular “government intrusions” in the United States. About 60 percent of people participating in Medicare rate their coverage as a 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale (versus 36-40 percent for private insurance), and 84 percent rate it as a 7 out of 10 or higher (h/t Mark Blumenthal). In the most recent Kaiser Foundation tracking poll, moreover, 77 percent of Americans would like to see Medicare expanded to people aged 55 and older. Questions that refer to the public option as a “Medicare-like” program usually receive higher scores than those that don’t. Questions that refer to single-payer as “Medicare-for-all” usually receive plurality or majority support: 58 percent, for instance, in the Kaiser poll. Yes, people have concerns about the long-term fiscal stability of Medicare — but not about the care it provides.
