Barack Obama's ill-advised comments regarding the Supreme Court being an "unelected group" who, if they ruled against his Obamacare aka Affordable Care Act law, would be acting in an "unprecedented" manner, were instantly criticized as an attempt to publicly intimidate the High Court after they concluded their hearings into the constitutionality of the individual mandate which forces Americans to buy health insurance or be penalized.Nearly three weeks after those arguments were made, transcripts and audio published and Obama made his comments, polling finds that the majority of American voters, 56 percent, also saw Obama's comments as an attempt to intimidate the Supreme Court.
A 56 percent majority of voters think the president was trying to intimidate the Supreme Court when he publicly commented on the health care case and referred to the justices as “an unelected group of people.” Forty percent disagree. Most Republicans (81 percent), a majority of independents (61 percent) and more than a quarter of Democrats (29 percent) believe Obama was trying to strong-arm the justices.
Other findings:
• Setting aside the constitutional issues, by a 53-to-40 percent margin voters oppose the health care law. That’s mostly the same as two years ago, when it was 54 percent opposed and 39 percent in favor (April 2010).
• Fifty-five percent of voters think the law would have failed if every member of Congress had read the full bill before voting on it.
• 42 percent think the Supreme Court should toss out the whole law
• 24 percent take the middle ground and think the court should keep most of it but rule the mandate for Americans to buy health insurance as unconstitutional
• 27 percent thinks the court should uphold the law as is
• Some 43 percent of voters say they trust the judicial branch the most, up from 33 percent who felt that way in 2005. The court is followed by the executive branch at 27 percent and the legislative branch trails at 15 percent. Eleven percent of voters say they don’t trust any of the branches.
• In general, nearly half of voters -- 45 percent -- think the Supreme Court’s decisions are “about right” ideologically. Some 26 percent say the court is “too liberal” in its decisions, while 21 percent say “too conservative.”
Full poll results can be found HERE.
Related:
Obama Attempts To Intimidate The Supreme Court On Obamacare Ruling
Appeals Court Picks Up Challenge Obama Threw Down
Obama Still Gets Law Precedent Wrong
By 2-to-1, Likely Voters Believe Supreme Court Does NOT Limit Government Enough
Transcript: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell To Barack Obama: 'Back Off' SCOTUS
Supreme Court’s Ratings Jump Following Health Care Hearings