Bad news for poll-worshipping Democrats

While a majority of Americans trust Democrats on healthcare issues, they’re more with the President on the expansion of SCHIP:

WASHINGTON — A majority of Americans trust Democrats to handle the issue of children’s health insurance more than President Bush, but they agree with the president that government aid should be targeted to low-income families, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows.

Two days before the Democratic-controlled House attempts to override Bush’s veto of a five-year, $35 billion expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, the poll shows that opinions on the issue are mixed.

Fifty-two percent of respondents say they have more confidence in Democrats to deal with the issue, compared with 32% for Bush.

Slim majorities back two positions at the core of the president’s opposition to the expansion:

POLL RESULTS: Children’s health insurance issue

• 52% agree with Bush that most benefits should go to children in families earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level — about $41,000 for a family of four. Only 40% say benefits should go to families earning up to $62,000, as the bill written by Democrats and some Republicans would allow.

• 55% are very or somewhat concerned that the program would create an incentive for families to drop private insurance. Bush and Republican opponents have called that a step toward government-run health care.

Taken together, the results show that while Bush may be losing the political battle with Democrats, he may be doing better on policy.

This news is sure to be an unpleasant surprise to demagoguing Democrats who are using this issue to try to paint Bush and other Republicans as “child haters.”

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the chance of a veto override is unlikely, but nevertheless continue to keep the pressure on your representatives in both the House and Senate to vote no on overriding the veto on Thursday, as Democrats are going full court press in order to try and get House Republicans on board.

On a related note, Don Surber blogs about another young girl the Democrats are using in an attempt to distort the issue, and how it’s ironic that her family is the very type of family that SCHIP – which was passed by Republicans in 1997 – was designed for. Of course, the Democrats are trying to pretend that Republicans want to scrap SCHIP altogether, which isn’t the case at all.

Related: Has the President been a lame duck since the 2006 elections? Captain Ed provides compelling evidence which suggests he hasn’t been.