The liberals at MSNBC continue their PR campaign on behalf of ObamaCare. On Wednesday’s PoliticsNation, the Rev. Al Sharpton cited one very convenient finding from a recent poll: only 6 percent of registered voters want Congress to delay and defund the Affordable Care Act. However, Sharpton ignored two other key findings from the same poll that were far less favorable to his pro-ObamaCare narrative, effectively bearing false witness about the poll's findings.
Speaking to MSNBC contributor Ryan Grim, Sharpton said, “[I]t’s complicated and there’s opposition but yet, Ryan, Americans are firmly opposed to defunding ObamaCare. A new poll out today shows just 6 percent – just 6 percent – of registered voters favored the defunding and delaying of the health care law.” [Video below. MP3 audio here.]
The reverend was referring to the Morning Consult National Healthcare Tracking Poll that was conducted from August 29-31. He did not mention the overall finding of the poll, and it’s not hard to guess why. The pollsters found that 49 percent of all registered voters disapproved of the health care law, while 44 percent approved of it.
What’s more, Sharpton failed to mention what voters did want Congress to do about the law. The poll found that 30 percent of registered voters would like Congress to repeal the law, while 31 percent believed Congress should make changes to improve it. That left only 33 percent who wanted Congress to either let the law take effect or expand it.
Sharpton and his guests seemed to realize that many Americans have not warmed up to ObamaCare. Margie Omero, a Democratic strategist, spoke of ObamaCare as a “need” rather than a want: “But really [House Republicans are] going to be hurting their own constituents who need this help. They need lower-cost affordable health care. They need it to survive. They need it so their children can go to the doctor.”
That looks like a new Democratic strategy: if Americans don’t want ObamaCare, we’ll just convince them that they need it. Nobody can resist something they need, right? With less than a month until the law is set to take effect, the propaganda campaign, with MSNBC’s help, is likely to ramp up from here.
Below is a transcript of the exchange:
AL SHARPTON: But, you know, Margie, Tea Party Senator Marco Rubio is calling for TV ads about Obamacare to be canceled. The ads will go up in 16 different metro areas and help explain the law to millions of people. But Senator Rubio says they're a blatant misuse of federal funds. At the same time 80 House Republicans are now urging Speaker Boehner to block funding for Obamacare. So the opposition is still there and still trying to stop this.
MARGIE OMERO, Democratic strategist: Yeah. It's terrible. I mean, really they're trying to make a political point. They want Obamacare to fail because that will hurt the president. But really it's going to be hurting their own constituents who need this help. They need lower-cost affordable health care. They need it to survive. They need it so their children can go to the doctor. And it's unconscionable that people would use children and families really as a pawn in a political game. It's really outrageous. And people should be outraged. And fortunately, there are a lot of different folks working on getting people to sign up. They’re going out in communities. They're going door-to-door. They’re going to neighborhood festivals and county fairs to get people to sign up. And Ryan's right. It's going to take some time for people to have some personal experiences. Health care is complicated. It's complicated for me navigating for my own family. And it's complicated for lots of people navigating for their own family. Of course it’s complicated to think about what reform is like nationally, and so it's just going to take some time for people to have personal experiences.
SHARPTON: No, it’s complicated and there’s opposition but yet, Ryan, Americans are firmly opposed to defunding Obamacare. A new poll out today shows just 6 percent – just 6 percent – of registered voters favored the defunding and delaying of the health care law.
