So the logical question is, exactly who does Max Baucus serve? Surely not the residents of Montana:
Fifty-five percent of Democrats in Montana disapprove of how Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has handled healthcare reform, according to a new Research 2000 poll given to The Hill by a liberal activist.
Liberal advocacy groups and labor unions have been running television ads and running grassroots operations in Montana this summer targeting Baucus and criticizing his tepid support for a government-run health insurance program.
It appears the campaign has begun to impact Baucus’s public standing.
A majority of Montana Democrats disapprove of Baucus’s actions on healthcare reform while only 34 percent of Democrats approve, according to the poll, which was conducted from Aug. 17 to Aug. 19. The poll was commissioned by Daily Kos, an influential liberal website, according to the source.
Overall 42 percent of Democratic, Republican and independent voters approve of Baucus on healthcare reform while 44 percent disapprove. Nearly half of Montana Republicans polled, 49 percent, approve of Baucus’s role in healthcare talks.
More than a third of Democrats polled said they would be less likely to vote for Baucus if he opposed a public health insurance option while 52 percent said their vote would not be affected. About one in 10 said they would be more likely to support Baucus if he opposed a public option.
