Many Health Care Naysayers Are Liberal

Polls show that the health care reform bill is pretty unpopular, but what they don't always show is how much of the opposition actually comes from the left. In a new Ipsos/McClatchy poll, 46% said they opposed “the health care reform proposals presently being discussed,” versus 34% in favor. But Ipsos also asked naysayers whether they opposed it because it went too far, or not far enough. A significant chunk—25%—said it was because it doesn't go far enough.

“The conventional wisdom—and certainly my assumption—has been that people oppose the plan because it’s too liberal,” says Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. But this poll shows that much of that opposition stems from left, explaining why the current plan gets failing grades even though sizable majorities consistently support the public option or reform in general. (More health care reform stories.)