Ebola: Americans agree with Republicans this time

Much of the nation is in agreement with the GOP’s call for temporary travel restrictions and stricter entry regulations when it comes to West African nations now burdened with Ebola and its management. Why, it seems like just yesterday that Republicans were getting blamed for Ebola by members of the Obama administration, select Democrats and noisy progressives who broadly cited “budget cuts” as their rationale. Time and the public narrative quickly marched on, however. Pollsters have gauged citizen sentiment on the situation, and their findings suggest that big majorities favor GOP prudence about Ebola — voiced by, among many others, House Speaker John A. Boehner, Rep. Trey Gowdy and Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Here’s a sampling of what’s out there:

Ninety-one percent of Americans favor stricter screening for people traveling to the U.S. from West Africa; 66 percent support a flight ban (Washington Post/ABC News Poll released Oct. 14); 89 percent favor stricter screening of travelers inbound from affected areas (Harris/Health Day poll released Oct. 10); 79 percent would avoid international travel if an Ebola outbreak occurred in the U.S. (Reuters/Ipsos poll released Oct. 16); 72 percent favor a quarantine of travelers from affected areas; 56 do not approve their entry into the U.S. (The Economist YouGov poll released Oct. 15).

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