WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Most Americans want Congress to halt existing healthcare reform efforts and instead consider alternatives that could win more Republican support, a poll shows.
The USA Today/Gallup poll found 55 percent of respondents said they want lawmakers to go back to the drawing board, compared with 39 percent who said they want healthcare legislation in Congress to move forward.
In the poll, taken the day after Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown's election to the U.S. Senate, 72 percent of respondents said his victory "reflects frustrations shared by many Americans, and the president and members of Congress should pay attention to it." Eighteen percent said the victory "reflects political conditions in Massachusetts and doesn't have a larger meaning for national politics."
Brown had campaigned against healthcare reform legislation in Congress and promised if elected to cast the 41st Republican Senate vote to block passage.
Many in the poll questioned whether reform "deserves the attention political leaders in Washington have given it over the past several months." About a third said President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress are right to make healthcare reform their top priority, while 46 percent said other problems should be dealt with first and 19 percent said healthcare should not be a major legislative priority.
On the anniversary of Obama's first year in office, the poll asked respondents to rate the president's term thus far. The poll found 37 percent said they were pleased with the progress Obama has made on the issues facing the nation, and 37 percent said he's taking the country in the wrong direction.
The telephone poll of 1,010 adults has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
