and i just notice that the most recent gallup poll, 53% of the people -- of the independents in this country, according to gallup, who has been polling for years, is not republican, or democrat or independent, 53% of them are opposed to this bill. these are the independents in this country. 37% support the bill. now, these are not radical americans, these independents. they are just tired of the tax-and-spend policies of washington, d.c. and there are people of both parties who are guilty of that. but i have to say, democrats are much better at spending federal dollars than republicans are. in the sense that they spend a lot more of them. they're not better in watching them. now, even a kaiser poll, which is thinking but conservative, had 59% of the people in this country opposed to this bill. now, i -- if i was -- if i was in the position of the democrats, i'd be a little concerned about the independents in this country. they're not crazies. they're not people who are out of line. and i might add, neither are these conservatives who are up in arms. i met with a off the tea party peo

his job approval rating according to the latest gallup poll of 55%, was very nice. 43% of whites like him and approved of his job. 44% of weekly churchgoers give obama passing grades. 59% of those that seldom go to church like what obama is doing but 76% of noncompliance approval of his job performance, 93 percent of african-americans say we like what he is doing. we like him. hispanics, 72% approve of his job performance. 79% of those 65 or older approved a relatively low lark a 60% of young people give him a high grade. young voters are crucial because all of the revolutions that i just mentioned are for most in their age group in your own voters are key to understanding the country's future. we know that with fdr because those that came of age in the 1932/36 and stayed with the democrats did we can still see signs they're staying with the democrats when we get to senior people. we know that reagan republicans, young people that came of age in 19801964, 1966 casting their first bout gave the republican party a very strong infusion of political vitality. and obama comes to the basis

his job rating tod in the gallup poll is 50% favorab, high than that of ronald reagan who went on to n 49 states three yearsater and it's lower by 21 points th george herbert walker sh and lowethan 10 points by jimmy carter was at this time bo of whom were denied a second rm, so when he talksbout the long-term, he'talking about 2012 whereas democts who are nervouright now are on the ballot in 20. >> bro: was it a good year for american politics? >> not ectly. we've had a bad -- a badecade for american politics. >> brown: you don't know - decade -- >> bad two centuries -- it's been fine. you know, the angeafter the fight for healthare is worse than ever, he promised new age, we're not red arica, we're not blue americathat hasn't word out, not his fault, as long as you ve a congress run by john boehn and nancy pelosi y're going to have a partisan congressas long as you promote your adership on the basis of fund-raising y're going to ha this. don't necessarily blame him but it hasn't worked out. >>rown: bad year, indifferent year? >> it was not happy year -- the pledge of thcampaign to

in a recent gallup poll, independents around the country oppose this bill 53-37. these are independents, so it would be wise for my democratic friends to realize that america is not behind them, not behind this bill, and it is time for them to listen to what the majority of americans want and that is not this bill. i cannot tell you the kind of opposition that i've seen in my state to this bill. it is almost unprecedented. i hear it in the letters, on calls, in airports, in grocery store aisles and on the streets. people stop me and say, "don't let that thing pass." absolute power corrupts and that is what we are seeing in washington today. democrats control the white house, the house, they have a filibuster-proof senate, they have used this absolute power to rowber stamp this add -- to rubber stamp this administration's big-government agenda and have tripled our deficit within one year. one year. we will run deficits of at least $1 trillion a year for the foreseeable future while our national debt will triple. we are literally mortgaging the future of this countr

. >> we saw two weeks ago in a gallup poll that there was a 9% more americans opposed then supporting saw a 40% more opposing in another poll. now in the cnn will we see 61% opposed. the argument i your friends on the other side making, they are employing their members to make history. many things may draw history have been mistakes. if this bill were passed in face of overwhelming opposition, having failed to achieve the goal of holding down health care costs, it would be viewed as a historic mistake. guest: i still enjoy these kinds of conversations where you get to the fundamental issues separating left and right. norman talks about a social compact as if we did not have one prior to franklin roosevelt when fact we did. it is called the constitution. it includes the 10th amendment which says all power is not specifically given did not given specifically to the federal government are given to the people. the healthcare bill is a nuclear bomb for that. secondly, i am fascinated when i hear people like norman say, the frame progressive policies as positive. it is not positive, norman,

the week before that gallup had it disapproved by 9%. now cnn just yesterday, the latest poll, people opposed the senate bill 61-36. so, mr. president, we have heard from both c.m.s. and cnn, and when will our colleagues on the other side of the aisle respond to either the cold, hard facts or the american people? they argued to make history. it is clear that this would be a historical mistake of gargantuan proportions, a historical mistake of gargantuan proportions. the only history we're making here is a historical mistake. we know from the experts it won't achieve the goal. we know from the american people they don't want us to pass it. it's time to stop this effort and to start over and go step by step to fix the problems the american people sent us here to fix regarding the american health care system. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: who yields time? time will be charged equally. mr. kyl: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona is recognized. mr. kyl: thank you, mr. president. mr. presi

that's a national gallup poll. a gallup poll on this for a long, long time, and it is the highest number ever of what americans think in terms of the fact that they're getting very little value for their tax consider for their tax dollars. they see games being played. and that's what i hear when i have telephone town hall meetings in wyoming. they know that senator reid's bill steals $464 billion from medicare. they know that it raids the health care program that they depend upon. not to make medicare stronger, knots to make medicare more solvent, but, as my colleague from wyoming tells me, to create a brand-new entitlement program. they are raiding medicare to start another government program that is -- that itself is going to be insolvent. and so i ask my colleague from wyoming, are you seeing what i'm seeing? mr. enzi: i'm seeing what you're seeing. i'm noticing that some people don't know what an entitlement actually is. that's a bill that goes on forever that the secretary of health and human services has to m

the report states, this gallup poll states that despite the considerable efforts of congress and the president to pass health insurance reform, the public remains reluctant to endorse that goal. but this poll is just confirming what we've really known for months and that is that the bill before us and the one that passed the house before that is the wrong approach. we are not against reform of health care. we need reform of health care. people are concerned about the rise in premiums in health care. so we ought to be looking at ways to address that issue by doing what? by cutting the costs in the system and by allowing people to have more affordable health care options, none of which is in this bill. americans do not support half a trillion dollars in medicare cuts, they do not support half a trillion dollars in new taxes, they do not support mandates, they do not support our growing national debt, which has hit its ceiling at $12 trillion, and they certainly don't support a government takeover of our health care system. let's talk about the medicare cuts. the americans that are most

. >> we saw two weeks ago in a gallup poll that there was a 9% more americans opposed then supportingore opposing in another poll. now in the cnn will we see 61% opposed. the argument i your friends on the other side making, they are employing their members to make history. many things may draw history have been mistakes. if this bill were passed in face of overwhelming opposition, having failed to achieve the goal of holding down health care costs, it would be viewed as a historic mistake. guest: i still enjoy these kinds of conversations where you get to the fundamental issues separating left and right. norman talks about a social compact as if we did not have one prior to franklin roosevelt when fact we did. it is called the constitution. it includes the 10th amendment which says all power is not specifically given did not given specifically to the federal government are given to the people. the healthcare bill is a nuclear bomb for that. secondly, i am fascinated when i hear people like norman say, the frame progressive policies as positive. it is not positive, norman, to give the

today gallup like to discuss the direct relationship between sipc and bernard madoff's ponzi scheme. sipc today provides coverage to individuals with an individual and of $500,000. my members pension funds have no real coverage. my members, like millions of workers across the country, rely on pooled coverage which sipc does not currently protect. when i was elected in 2005, the madoff investment was approximately 30% of our pension fund. we receive regular confirmations that our money was invested in s&p 500 cos. while the return on the account slightly trailed the s&p 500 index, we were assured that the strategy offered adequate there's a versification and lower volatility. we believe that the u.s. securities markets monitored by the securities and exchange commission provided protection for our members. the plumbers and steamfitters local 267 benefited fund had out market value of approximately $34 million invested with madoff's direct brokerage. local 267 had $6.5 million invested with bank and an associates. beacon is a fund consisting of a basket of investments which comprised o

today gallup like to discuss the direct relationship between sipc and bernard madoff's ponzi scheme. sipc today provides coverage to individuals with an individual and of $500,000. my members pension funds have no real coverage. my members, like millions of workers across the country, rely on pooled coverage which sipc does not currently protect. when i was elected in 2005, the madoff investment was approximately 30% of our pension fund. we receive regular confirmations that our money was invested in s&p 500 cos. while the return on the account slightly trailed the s&p 500 index, we were assured that the strategy offered adequate there's a versification and lower volatility. we believe that the u.s. securities markets monitored by the securities and exchange commission provided protection for our members. the plumbers and steamfitters local 267 benefited fund had out market value of approximately $34 million invested with madoff's direct brokerage. local 267 had $6.5 million invested with bank and an associates. beacon is a fund consisting of a basket of investments which comprised o

we've seen the gallup poll show a tremendous swing as their people are against it. the more they know about it, the less they like it, and yet we're trying to rush it through in the holiday season to get it done before christmas even though it's four years away before all of the wonderful things that are being promised will surface. mr. president, i think my constituents have it right. i think those people who belong to aarp were saying they're going to drop out because of aarp's endorsement are right. i think those physicians who say they're either not members of the a.m.a. or they're going to drop out from the a.m.a. because of the a.m.a.'s position are right. and i think if we cram this thing through in a sense of urgency even though it's four years from implementation, we will see an outcry in the intervening four years from the american people that will cause members of the senate to wish they had taken more time to examine it all, to do it right, and not to panic over pressure from various special interest groups that see ways in which they can profit from thi

today gallup like to discuss the direct relationship between sipc and bernard madoff's ponzi scheme. sipc today provides coverage to individuals with an individual and of $500,000. my members pension funds have no real coverage. my members, like millions of workers across the country, rely on pooled coverage which sipc does not currently protect. when i was elected in 2005, the madoff investment was approximately 30% of our pension fund. we receive regular confirmations that our money was invested in s&p 500 cos. while the return on the account slightly trailed the s&p 500 index, we were assured that the strategy offered adequate there's a versification and lower volatility. we believe that the u.s. securities markets monitored by the securities and exchange commission provided protection for our members. the plumbers and steamfitters local 267 benefited fund had out market value of approximately $34 million invested with madoff's direct brokerage. local 267 had $6.5 million invested with bank and an associates. beacon is a fund consisting of a basket of investments which comprised o

a week before that, gallup said 9% more disapprove than approve. we can see what's happening here -- widening public opposition. and then c.m.s. the actuary, the independent government employee who is an expert on this, that says this bill, the reid bill, doesn't do any of the things it's being promoted to accomplish. so two important messages on december the 11th delivered from cnn and from c.m.s. mr. roberts: would the senator yield? mr. mcconnell: yes. mr. roberts: i'd like to thank our distinguished leader for pointing that out. it has been a seminole event. as i said before, i have the privilege of being the chairman of the world health care caucus. there's probably 30 -- rural health care caucus. there's probably 30 of us in a bipartisan caucus to try to protect and improve the rural health care delivery system. and i took that report by mr. foster, who is the actuary at c.m.s., and said this is required reading. i made the point that c.m.s., if you mention c.m.s. to a beleaguered hospital administrator or a member of the board or any provide

now, i'm not about to say this is a gallup poll of tennessee. because i know that surveys like that have to be done in a scientific way. but they're straws in the wind for someone here 21 straight days not able to go home because we're debating this bill. the first one, do you believe the senate should rush to pass the health care bill before christmas? this was last week. 943 people responded to the question by pushing a button. they said no. that's 83%. 108 said yes. that's 9%. second question, do you support the health care bill moving through the senate? 1,496 said no, that's 5%. 352 said, i don't know. that's 18%. yes, 154. that's 8%. the number leigh: do you a-- number three: do you believe congress doesn't do legislative well -- 1,285 said yes, that's 80%, 7% said disagree. i've often 4erd our friends -- often heard our friends on the other side say where's the bill. our response has been day after day if you're looking forward to seeing the republican leader roll a wheelbarrow in here with a 2,700 page republican comprehensive bill, you'

gallup says 16% of american people don't want this. stop coming out here saying the american people want this. the american people don't want this. you want it. the labor unions don't want it. nobody wants this thing. and most of all, small business doesn't want this. i've listened to anecdote after anecdote after anecdote from the other side. there is some very touching stories and everybody here is empathetic with that. but you don't legislate using anecdotes because you're only hearing one side of the story. you're not hearing all the facts that have to do with those anecdotes. then patched with these pages and say this will solve that. that is not the way you legislate and not the way you argue a point. i heard the other side come out here and patch the bill and say when we pass this, 94% of american people will have shaourpbs. in court they say you have to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. that's exactly why you can't pass this and say 94% of the american people are going to be covered. somebody listening