Tuesday October 5, 2010
Pro-Abortion Obama Sinks to New Low in Public Opinion Survey
By Peter J. Smith
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – With November’s general election just a month away, a new survey shows public satisfaction with pro-abortion U.S. President Barack Obama at a new low. Many voters are upset with the direction his policies have taken the country, especially the new health care reform law and its backdoor abortion provisions.
Rasmussen reports that for the month of September, 44 percent of voters said they “strongly disapprove” of Obama’s performance – a record high for this president – while 54 percent said they disapprove overall. The overall low represents a one percent increase in public dissatisfaction in Obama from August.
Those who approved overall of the president were less passionate: only 27 percent said they “strongly approved.” For Rasmussen, this places Obama’s approval index at -17 (“strongly approve” minus “strongly disapprove”), where it has been hovering for the past 4 months.
The strength of public disapproval of Obama is stronger than during the health care debate between December 2009 and March 2010, when Rasmussen recorded Obama’s approval index between -14 and -15. Only in April, did Obama see a brief rise in his approval index, when it registered at -11.
However those numbers have fallen as the following month exposed unknown aspects of the health care law, the president’s seeming indecisiveness over the BP oil spill, and a perceived lack of leadership in the debate over the Ground Zero mosque, “Park51.” The mosque is opposed by a majority of Americans because the site is just a few blocks away from where over 2,000 New Yorkers lost their lives in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
One health care surprise involved public funding of abortion, a policy that over 70 percent of U.S. citizens oppose. In July the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) exposed a serious weakness in Obama’s executive order obtained by pro-life Democrat Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan to prevent abortion funding in the health care law. NRLC discovered that Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services had approved applications for federal subsidies of high-risk pools from at least three states (New Mexico, Maryland, Pennsylvania) that included elective abortion as a covered benefit. The Obama order did not technically cover Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plans (PCIPs), a $5 billion HHS stopgap program to help those with pre-existing medical conditions unable to afford health insurance, until the health care reform law takes full effect in 2014.
After the matter blew up in the press, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that it would make Hyde amendment restrictions apply to these programs in the spirit of President Obama’s executive order.
Another of the major surprises for the public in the 2,409-page “Affordable Care Act” was a small section requiring freelance individuals, small businesses, and corporations to fill out 1099 tax forms to every company or individual for purchases exceeding $600 worth of goods and services within the tax year beginning on January 1, 2012.
The measure has been criticized as a costly, if not crippling, accounting nightmare for small businesses, and one that is likely to strain the accounting resources of big businesses as well. The 1099 expansion of the Internal Revenue Service was built into the health care law to offset the costs of the program – the IRS estimates the federal government misses $300 billion in potential tax revenue from unreported income – but could adversely impact working families in a U.S. economy still stuck in recession.
The sinking ratings of Obama pose bad news for congressional Democrats, who despite having made gains in the generic ballot, still trail behind Republicans.
A new ABC News-Washington Post poll shows Republicans leading Democrats 49 percent to 43 percent in the poll of likely voters. A Rasmussen survey shows a much tighter difference, but with Republicans still leading Democrats, 45 percent to 42 percent.
The ratings are definitely having an impact in races where pro-life Democrats and Republicans are running against each other. In West Virginia, a traditionally Democrat state with strong social conservative values, pro-life GOP candidate John Raese is just leading popular, pro-life Democrat Gov. Joe Manchin III in a special election for U.S. Senate. The reason for Manchin’s disadvantage is largely attributed to state voters’ dissatisfaction with Obama’s policies and the health care law. (See story here)
See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:
Abortion, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Feature in Lame-Duck Bill
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/oct/10100107.html
GOP Leads Democrat in Pro-Life Senate Race for West Virginia
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/sep/10092802.html
HHS Moves to Block Abortion Funding in High-Risk Pools Following Controversy
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jul/10071511.html
Maryland Plan Indicates HHS Approved High Risk Pools With No Abortion Requirements
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jul/10071909.html
ObamaCare Lowdown: What Exactly Will the Health Reform Bill Do?
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/apr/10040115.html