The Ryan plan: The more America hears about it, the more they hate it

It's all fun and games until somebody loses their Medicare. Mitt Romney can't send Paul Ryan to Florida because of his radical Medicare plan, but when Democrats have a chance to remind voters about the plan, Romney won't be able to use Ryan anywhere.

Here are a few blasts from the polling past, when the Ryan plan to end Medicare was in the news.

CNN, June 2011:

"Half of those we questioned say that the country would be worse off under the GOP Medicare proposals and 56 percent think that GOP plan would be bad for the elderly," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Opposition is highest among senior citizens, at 74 percent, suggesting that seniors are most worried about changes to Medicare even if those changes are presented as ones that would not affect existing Medicare recipients."

"A majority of all demographic groups don't favor the GOP Medicare proposals," Holland adds. "That includes conservatives'54 percent of them don't like the plan. As a result, rank-and-file Republicans are split right down the middle, with 48 percent favoring the GOP plan and 50 percent opposed."

Here's Pew, June 2011:

Those ages 50 and older oppose this proposal, which is part of Rep. Paul Ryan's deficit reduction plan, by a 51%-to-29% margin. And this opposition is intense: 42% strongly oppose this kind of change, while only 19% strongly favor it. The same is true among people who say they have heard a lot about this proposal'fully 56% are opposed while 33% are in favor, and strong opposition among this group outweighs strong support by two-to-one (50% vs. 25%).

This makes one thing very clear: The more people hear about what is now the Ryan-Romney plan, the more they hate it, no matter what their age.

And here's CBS/NYT, April 2011:

According to the new poll, 61 percent of Americans think Medicare is currently worth the costs. As many as 78 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of Independents say it is worth it, but just 45 percent of Republicans agree. Forty-four percent of Republicans say it's not worth it. Among Tea Party supporters, 41 percent say the cost is worth it, while 46 percent say it's not. [...]

Americans are mixed on the idea of trying to reduce the deficit by changing Medicare to allow seniors to purchase private health insurance'47 percent approve of the idea, while 41 percent disapprove. Among seniors, 55 percent oppose the idea, while most young people, who are years away from using Medicare, back it (53 percent).

How about Gallup, April 2011:

Americans' biggest concern, at 71%, is that the Democrats' plan will not go far enough to fix the nation's budget problems. However, nearly as many Americans [66 percent] worry that the Republicans' plan will go too far in cutting Medicare, Social Security, and programs for the poor, or in protecting the rich.

And, because it's in the news now, what about Florida? The bad news for Ryan-Romney is that they're not just risking losing seniors there. Here's PPP from July 2011:

If there is anywhere Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal should be met with death stares, it is in Florida's retirement communities.  Indeed, 40% of the entire state opposes his plan, with only 24% supporting it. 37% of the seniormost voters are against it, but the largest age bloc in opposition is the youngest. 50% of those 18 to 29 years old oppose, and only 15% support it.

But the really key thing to remember is this focus group story sort of buried in a longer report on Super PACs.

The public did not view Romney as an extremist. For example, when Priorities informed a focus group that Romney supported the Ryan budget plan'and thus championed 'ending Medicare as we know it' ' while also advocating tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, the respondents simply refused to believe any politician would do such a thing.

This politician just did that very thing. Romney doesn't just support the Ryan budget, he's running on it now, however much he might try to fudge that truth.