Town Hall Protesters May be Gaining Public Support
According to a new USA Today/ Gallup poll, 34 percent of Americans say the protesters' actions have made them more sympathetic to their concerns, while 21 percent say the protests make them less sympathetic. More than one third -- 36 percent -- say the protests have made no difference in their views, while 10 percent say they have no opinion.
USA Today notes the White House's criticism of the poll. White House adviser David Axelrod reportedly questioned its methodology, saying that respondents who claim to be more sympathetic now were likely sympathetic to protesters' views from the start.
Gallup points out that, "Reaction to the protests is highly partisan, with a little more than half of Republicans saying the protests have made them more sympathetic to the protesters' views, compared to 35 percent of independents and 17 percent of Democrats."
Yet while more than half of Republicans say they are more sympathetic, only four out of 10 Democrats say they are now less sympathetic to the protesters' views.
Furthermore, independents say they are more sympathetic to the protesters' concerns because of the town hall rowdiness by a two-to-one margin -- 35 to 16 percent.
Seven out of 10 respondents to the poll say they have been following the news about the town halls closely, with Republicans paying slightly more attention. The poll also found that those paying closer attention were more likely to say the protests have made them more sympathetic to concerns.
"The overall relationship between paying attention and being more sympathetic," Gallup writes, "can thus reflect either the pre-existing fact that those sympathetic to the protestors choose to pay the most attention, or the fact that those who pay attention become more sympathetic in the process of watching the protests unfold -- or both."
Respondents gave rather conflicted responses about what kind of behavior is appropriate at town halls. Six in 10 say shouting down supporters of a bill is an abuse of democracy, yet 51 percent say "angry attacks" against the health care bill are an example of "democracy in action."