By fitsnews – July 5, 2012
WHY AMERICA DESERVES THE GOVERNMENT IT GETS
Pollsters across American have been burning the midnight oil in recent weeks trying to assess public opinion in the wake of last week’s seismic U.S. Supreme Court ruling on “Obamacare.”
That’s understandable. The Court’s unfortunate decision to uphold the constitutionality of this abomination represents one of the most significant judicial decisions of our lifetime – as well as a potent issue in the 2012 presidential race (err, wait a minute … never mind). But whether you support or oppose U.S. President Barack Obama’s socialized medicine monstrosity (or whether you’re like GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and supported it before you opposed it), chances are if you’re reading this article you have some conception of how the Supreme Court ruled.
You might be surprised to find out how many people don’t …
According to the results of a Pew Center poll released earlier this week, 15 percent of Americans are operating under the assumption that the court struck down most of the law’s provisions (thank you, CNN and FOX) while twice as many people (30 percent of all Americans) are unaware of how the court ruled. Among younger citizens (i.e. those aged 18-29), the confusion regarding the decision is particularly pronounced – with 2o percent believing the court struck down most of the law’s provisions while 43 percent indicating they are unaware of what happened.
In other words, 45 percent of American adults – and 63 percent of young adults – either don’t know how the court ruled or are operating under a mistaken assumption.
Wow, right?
The takeaway?
“Assuming that the electorate is paying close attention to the political goings-on – even when they are so seemingly high profile as the court ruling on health care — is a mistake,” writes Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post.
That’s accurate … and tragic. But it’s also precisely the sort of ignorance/ indifference that our elected officials are counting on.
If nearly half of our citizens (not to mention nearly two-thirds of the young people who are going to have to pick up Obamacare’s massive tab) are this in the dark about such a critical ruling, then it should be incredibly easy for politicians in Washington, D.C. to indiscriminately exercise the new taxing authority the ruling grants to the federal government.
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