A new poll shows Americans like Republican plans to extend those Bush-era tax cuts, but they don't want the GOP killing President Obama's health care overhaul.
The Associated Press-Gfk poll showed 53 percent of those polled in favor keeping the tax cuts, even for the wealthiest Americans.
Forty-four percent feel that only taxpayers making less than $250,000 a year should receive the cuts.
As for Obamacare, only 39 percent want to see the Republicans fulfill their pledge to kill the new health care law. Instead, 58 percent want it left alone or extended even further.
"I think everybody wants change," said Steven Lamb, 60, a Tenn. state government worker in Nashville who voted Republican last week despite opposing the party's stance on tax cuts and health care.
"I'm tired of what's going on, and the only way to do it is to make a change," he added.
Last week's GOP victory in the midterm elections was not an embrace of Republicans. According to the poll, the party is no better liked than Democrats. Both parties received favorable ratings from about half the survey.
"Lately, we're not prospering and one party has been in control," said Suzanne Fairchild, 33, of Pahrump, Nev., who recently lost her job and likes divided government in Washington. "When they're busy bickering with themselves, the rest of us can get along with our lives."
The poll also found:
- 63 percent rarely or never worry about being victims of terrorism.
- Almost two-thirds think Obama is handling terrorism effectively.
- 62 percent don't want any countries to have nuclear weapons, while just 6 percent said any country that develops them should be able to keep them.
The AP-GfK Poll was conducted Nov. 3-8 by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications and involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,000 adults chosen randomly from across the U.S. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.