Policy plans matter more to Democrats

A recent Wall Street Journal blog muses on why we hear so much more about healthcare policy details from Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) than from their Republican counterparts.

In the blog, Drew Altman, PhD, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, writes the reasoning could be that Republicans focus on ideology and values, rather than detailed policy plans. Or, he says, it could be Republicans want less government involvement and Democrats want more, so detailed action plans matter more.

Dr. Altman cites a KFF poll that shows 61 percent of Democrats care about detailed policy plans, on healthcare or otherwise, while 45 percent of Republicans think this matters. Independents fall in the middle, at 59 percent.

"I have come to suspect that when fights erupt over the details of policy plans, it's not the particulars of a plan that matter so much to voters but what voters perceive those plans and details as signaling about the candidates themselves," Dr. Altman wrote.

However, he noted, once each party has selected a nominee, the candidates will feel more pressure to formulate articulate policy plans.

 

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