[lbo-talk] The possibilities of failing upwards with healthcare

[Carrol Cox]

The question is not whether individual politicains _or_ some or all of
the capitalists "care" abut public opinion. The question concerns the
nature of their response in action to public opinion (and to the way in
which that public opinion is expressed. Month after month for 10 years I
have read reports on this list how on this or that issue the "public"
(as reflected in polls) favors this or that while the government acts in
contrary ways. And it is not only in not doing what the public may
desire, it is also in doing what the public does not desire. A query:
What percentate of the American public in 1965-65 favored the passage of
the Civil Rights Act? What proportion favored the insertion of Title 9
into that act?

I don't study voting behavior much, but how often do voters decide their
vote on the basis of a single issue? And how often do they vote for a
party or candidate on other grounds than any one issue?

I simply claim that  rarely if ever will Congress pass (or significant
interest groups accept) legislation simply because huge numbers of
people passively support it. I know of no evidence to the contrary, and
what the politicians "care" about is not relevant to this question. What
people think is data, nothing more, and much other data is involved.

Carrol