Townhall meeting reaction to healthcare reform as seen on TV newscasts appears to be grounded in grass roots feelings that people have lost their voice in Washington. According to the latest American Pulse™ Townhall of over 4,000 people 18+ (conducted 8/14-8/17/09), many people appear to feel disappointed, disgusted or bad towards Congress.
Overall, a general sense of being left out is how respondents feel when it comes to the economic stimulus and healthcare reform. 83.4% of respondents think Congress and the President should fix the economy before doing healthcare reform. 74.4% say they feel they’ve lost their voice in Washington. 87.1% say Congress is not spending tax dollars wisely and 70.2% agree/strongly agree that, “Congress is only interested in their own ideas rather than those of the people.”
Interestingly, 74.6% agree that returning the remaining stimulus money directly to taxpayers would stimulate the economy. When asked if the President has done enough to stimulate job growth, 55.2% disagree/strongly disagree.
60% feel healthcare is too personal to be developed without reflecting the will of the people and 48.2% think the healthcare legislation is being developed too fast. 59.7% say even if healthcare reform isn’t accomplished during the current year, healthcare will not be jeopardized.
Other findings:
* 70.7% say how their Congressperson votes on healthcare reform will influence how they vote for them in the future.
* 59.7% say protests at townhall meetings on proposed healthcare reform are citizens making concerns known, 20.8% say its manufactured protests.
* 60.7% say “Cash for Clunkers” won’t help the economy recover, 39.3% say it will.
* 28.8% think Cap-and-Trade won’t help the economy grow, 15.2% disagree.
* 43.8% say Cap-and-Trade won’t impact jobs, 30.8% say it will eliminate jobs and 25.4% say it will create new jobs.
* 41.3% are somewhat/very concerned about the H1N1 virus; 34.7% are not very/not at all concerned.
* 39.3% will get an H1N1 vaccine if it’s available; 36.2% won’t.
* 41.9% think that the U.S. government is doing enough to protect against the virus, 20.7% say its not.
* Top 5 one word descriptions of feelings towards Congress: bad, disappointed, sucks, neutral and disgusted.
RBR/TVBR observation: For your news departments, talk radio, these findings are excellent to develop local content for programming as these issues facing broadcasters locally must take a lead to discuss the views of their communities. It is call localism. Also the true value is in the completed sample size of 4,000 people 18+, neither Aribtron or Nielsen have samples of this size and completed size does make a difference.
RBR/TVBR recommendation: Build local programming around the issues make a difference in your community – be local. For the full complimentary report (segments include age, income, gender and political party): http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.
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Recommendation – Order your personal copy of Media Generations at a special RBR/TVBR discount of 20% off the cover price of $18.95, click https://www.createspace.com/3372271 and enter the following discount code: FH2T4Q5J.
About American Pulse™ Townhall Survey
The American Pulse™ Townhall Survey is the largest and most accurate online “townhall meeting survey” with a margin of error of +/-1.6%. The survey is collected by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International’s (SSI) U.S. panel. Over 4,000 respondents participate, providing greater insights into how Americans really feel about public affairs, such as the economy, healthcare and government. http://www.bigresearch.com
About Survey Sampling International (SSI)
Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients, including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices worldwide. http://www.surveysampling.com
