We have two different posts written this morning about the debate on health care repeal that will take place in Washington today.
As we mention in our Connie Mack post, he and his GOP colleagues consistently trot out the reason that they must repeal health care is that the American people don't want it, when most polls, especially the latest, show that's really not the case.
But let's say it still is - that oh, 5% more Americans in most surveys dislike the legislation than support it. Should that be enough of a mandate to go ahead and repeal a bill (which probably won't happen anyway, considering the likelihood of the Senate repealing is considered to be nil)?
Most legislators like to boast that they aren't controlled (solely) by public opinion, and that's true in many cases. And it's also true that if a politician is too out of step with his or her constituents, they'll pay for that disconnect at the polls with their jobs.
If that is all true, then can somebody tell me why we should just ignore the results regarding gun control in the wake of the Arizona massacre coming from a new Washington Post/ABC News poll?
From the story written today by Dan Balz and Jon Cohen:
Like similar violent events in the past, the Arizona shootings did not generate greater support for tougher gun-control measures in general. But a majority - 57 percent - said they support a nationwide ban on high-capacity magazine clips such as the one the shooter in Tucson used.
Overall, 52 percent favor stricter gun-control laws, a number little changed in recent years and down from where it was after the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech. Support for new restrictions on the sale of semiautomatic handguns is also down from what it was after the Virginia Tech incident.
About a third - 31 percent - favor a blanket prohibition on the sale of all handguns, except to law enforcement officers, which is comparable to public opinion after the Columbine school shootings in 1999 in Littleton, Colo., and lower than what it was after Virginia Tech.
