Rep. Bachmann Makes Up Poll Numbers

Since the Affordable Care Act passed, Republican lawmakers have split into competing camps over the way forward for health care reform.  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Rep. Steve King (R-IA) are leading a contingent of far-right officials promising to repeal the entire bill, including popular restrictions on insurance company abuses.  Meanwhile, a growing number of conservative leaders appear to have recognized that repealing the whole thing is a losing proposition and are now considering other options.   

But there is one talking point the whole party agrees on: the American people, they insist, overwhelmingly oppose the new law.  For example, on Fox News Sunday last weekend, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) declared that "every poll" shows "significant opposition" to the bill.  Today on CNN, Bachmann echoed Kyl, saying, "Two-thirds of Americans are opposed to Obamacare, and it doesn't seem to be shifting in the other direction." Watch:

Of course, several recent polls show that the public supports the Affordable Care Act, and the bill's popularity appears to be on the rise.    

The Kaiser Family Foundation's March survey, taken before the bill passed, found that the public supported the bill by a 46-42 percent margin. According to Gallup, 49 percent of Americans believe passage of the bill is "a good thing," while 40 percent disagree.  And then there's that CNN poll, which did show 59 percent disapproval, but also revealed a significant chunk of voters opposing the bill because it's not liberal enough. Altogether, the CNN poll found that a 52 percent majority of Americans either support the bill or wish it went further. 

In reality, the public remains closely divided over health care reform, thanks in no small part to the scary lies they've heard from the likes of Michele Bachmann.  Yes, there are polls that have found stronger opposition, but no mainstream poll puts that number anywhere near two-thirds of the American people.

Bachmann is simply pulling numbers out of thin air.