Republican Candidates To Take Poll Advice, Focus on Health Care
Republican candidates will "talk more about health care policy and less about tax cuts" in response to polling and focus groups data showing that "swing voters are concerned about 'government-run health care,'" CongressDaily reports.
The research has shown that voters do not associate GOP candidates with health care solutions, according to CongressDaily. GOP candidates to this point have focused mainly on tax-related health care proposals, but voters do not appear to have "made the connections between those GOP ideas and securing their health care," CongressDaily reports.
According to Senate Republican Conference Chair John Kyl (Ariz.), GOP candidates will target undecided voters who "are concerned about losing their health care if they lose their jobs. We have solutions for that." Kyl added, "People don't want the government or bureaucrats to be involved in their health care decisions. That's certainly our position. They want the patient to be at the center of the decision-making process."
Polls show that swing voters are more interested in reducing government spending than in tax policy and that many believe that Democratic plans to raise taxes on the wealthy would negatively affect them. Kyl said swing voters are "not crazy about [State Children's Health Insurance Program] expansion. They think it's a really bad idea," adding, "Our conversation needs to shift from what we've done to what we're doing in the future. ... All elections are about the future" (Johnson, CongressDaily, 9/12).