Poll: Montanans Favor Public Option, Unhappy With Baucus

By Kellyn Brown, 8-22-09

	Caption: Sen. Max Baucus, second from the left, discussing health care reform with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Charles Grassley earlier this year. - Photo courtesy of the White House

A poll conducted by the liberal blog Daily Kos is making rounds on the Web and being used to persuade Montana’s Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, to support a public option when crafting health care reform legislation. Kos hired Research 2000 to poll Montanans about their view of Baucus’ actions on health care reform thus far. I doubt our senior senator likes its findings:

Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Max Baucus’ actions on health care?

All: 42% Approve; 44% Disapprove; 14% Not Sure
Dem: 34% Approve; 55% Disapprove; 11% Not Sure
Rep: 49% Approve; 38% Disapprove; 13% Not Sure
Ind : 41% Approve; 42% Disapprove; 17% Not Sure

Do you favor or oppose creating a new public health insurance plan that anyone can purchase?

All: 47% Favor; 43% Oppose; 10% Not Sure
Dem: 78% Favor; 15% Oppose; 7% Not Sure
Rep: 23% Favor; 66% Oppose; 11% Not Sure
Ind : 48% Favor; 41% Oppose; 11% Not Sure

Read the entire poll results here, which certainly made Friday a bad news day for Baucus:

The Hill Poll: Montana Dems pan Baucus on healthcare
POLITICO Poll: Dems down on Max Baucus's health plan
Huffington Post Montanans Not Backing Baucus’ Work on Health Care [End of article]