Republican leaders on Capitol Hill don’t support the effort to defund Obamacare and, according to a new poll released Wednesday, neither do the American people.
The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll showed that 57 percent of Americans disapprove of “cutting off funding as a way to stop some or all of the law from being put into place.” Only 36 perent said they approve the idea. Kaiser has found consistent opposition to the proposal since 2011.
The effort to block any continuing resolution that funds Obamacare — and risk a government shutdown — has been pushed by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT), along with various conservative advocacy groups.
Cruz and Heritage Foundation Jim DeMint both signaled last week that President Barack Obama might actually sign a bill to defund the new health care law and paradoxically gut his signature piece of legislation. Paul and Cruz are expected to headline a rally next month to promote the defunding efforts.
But Republican leaders have publicly shot down the idea. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) correctly pointed out that a government shutdown will not halt Obamacare, while House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) simply highlighted the fact that Republicans don’t have the votes to make the defunding dream a reality.
