Is The Healthcare War Ending, Or Beginning?

Rasmussen Reports: 55% favor repeal of Obamacare.

Conventional wisdom holds that, now that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 is law, it will be politically, if not mathematically, impossible for Republicans to repeal it. Republicans will need a majority in the House, a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and the Presidency—which seems impossible. On top of that, as I write in my previous post, Democrats believe that the law's immediate benefits will outweigh any drawbacks.

But a surprising development over the past few days has been the coalescence in the conservative blogosphere of a movement to repeal Obamacare, and replace it with better reforms. This stance initially elicited resistance from elected Republicans, but is gaining consensus among them as well. For his part, the President says, "Go for it."

But now, there is data that suggests that the "Repeal and Replace" campaign is not as crazy as it sounds. Rasmussen Reports, a prominent Washington polling service, finds that 55% of Americans favor repeal (h/t The Weekly Standard):

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, conducted on the first two nights after the president signed the bill, shows that 55% favor repealing the legislation. Forty-two percent (42%) oppose repeal. Those figures include 46% who Strongly Favor repeal and 35% who Strongly Oppose it.

In terms of Election 2010, 52% say they’d vote for a candidate who favors repeal over one who does not. Forty-one percent (41%) would cast their vote for someone who opposes repeal.

Not surprisingly, Republicans overwhelmingly favor repeal while most Democrats are opposed. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 59% favor repeal, and 35% are against it.

Most senior citizens (59%) also favor repeal. Earlier, voters over 65 had been more opposed to the health care plan than younger adults. Seniors use the health care system more than anyone else.

A number of states are already challenging the constitutionality of that requirement in court, and polling data released earlier shows that 49% of voters nationwide would like their state to sue the federal government over the health care bill.

Rasmussen Reports will track support for the repeal effort on a weekly basis for as long as it remains a significant issue. The next update will be released Monday morning.

Stay tuned.