Defending ObamaCare Takes Its Toll on Senior Dems

April 19, 2012

Top Democrats are Publicly Criticizing ObamaCare, and Many Dems Are Opting to Retire Rather than Run on their Politically Toxic Government Healthcare Takeover

Rep. Barney Frank caused quite a stir this week when he criticized ObamaCare as a “mistake” for which Democrats paid a “terrible price,” joining several other top Democrats who have expressed frustration with how their party’s leaders handled ObamaCare.
If Democrats haven’t jumped ship on ObamaCare with their words, they are certainly doing so with their actions. A spate of senior Democrats have announced plans to retire after this Congress, effectively calling Nancy Pelosi’s bluff on her delusional promises to retake the majority.
Meanwhile, poll numbers continue to show ObamaCare as unpopular as ever.

Rep. Barney Frank caused quite a stir this week when he criticized ObamaCare as a “mistake” for which Democrats paid a “terrible price,” joining several other top Democrats who have expressed frustration with how their party’s leaders handled ObamaCare:

REP. BARNEY FRANK (D-MA): “WE PAID A TERRIBLE PRICE FOR HEALTHCARE”: “Frank referenced former President Bill Clinton and his failed health care plan from the 1990s. ‘Obama made the same mistake Clinton made,’ Frank said in a wide-ranging interview with New York magazine. …

“The outgoing representative from Massachusetts added that after Republican Scott Brown won former Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s seat, breaking Democrats’ filibuster-proof majority, Obama should have backed down: ‘I think we paid a terrible price for health care. I would not have pushed it as hard. As a matter of fact, after Scott Brown won, I suggested going back. I would have started with financial reform but certainly not health care,’ Frank said.” (Jonathan Miller, “Barney Frank: Obama Made ‘Mistake’ With Health Care Push,”National Journal, 4/16/2012)

VA SEN. JIM WEBB: OBAMACARE IS OBAMA’S “BIGGEST DOWNSIDE” POLITICALLY, “COST OBAMA A LOT OF CREDIBILITY AS A LEADER”: (Tweet from Susan Page, USA Today, 4/18/2012)

REP. JOHN YARMUTH (D-KY): OBAMACARE “PROBABLY WASN’T WORTH IT” POLITICALLY: ” ‘Oh, politically? Politically?’ Yarmuth paused for a moment. ‘Big picture, politically, it probably wasn’t worth it. Policy-wise, it was worth it because it’s going to move the country dramatically in the right direction,’ he said. ‘Even if it were to fail [at the Supreme Court], it’s going to move the country dramatically in the right direction.'” (Joshua Miller, “Kentucky: John Yarmuth Says Health Care Probably Wasn’t Worth Political Cost,” Roll Call, 4/12/2012)

If Democrats haven’t jumped ship on ObamaCare with their words, they are certainly doing so with their actions. A spate of senior Democrats have announced plans to retire after this Congress, effectively calling Nancy Pelosi’s bluff on her delusional promises to retake the majority:

REP. ED TOWNS (D-NY), RANKING DEMOCRAT ON HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM, ANNOUNCED RETIREMENT THIS WEEK: (Alex Isenstadt, “New York’s Ed Towns Won’t Run for Re-Election in 2012,” Politico, 4/15/2012)

REP. NORM DICKS (D-WA), RANKING DEMOCRAT ON HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS, CALLS IT QUITS: (Seung Min Kim and Jonathan Allen, “After Norm Dicks Retirement, Dems Jockey for Top Appropriations Slot,” Politico, 4/18/2012)

REP. BARNEY FRANK (D-MA), RANKING DEMOCRAT ON HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES, ANNOUNCED RETIREMENT: (Alex Isenstadt and Byron Tau, “Barney Frank Will Not Seek Reelection in 2012,” Politico, 11/28/2011)

REP. JANE HARMAN (D-CA), FORMER RANKING MEMBER ON HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, RESIGNED EARLIER THIS CYCLE: “First elected to the U.S. House in 1992, Harman is perhaps best known for her service on the House intelligence committee. As the panel’s top Democrat, she was in line to chair the panel when Democrats won the majority in 2006.” (Catalina Camia, “Reports: Rep. Jane Harman to Join Wilson Center,” USA Today, 4/18/2012)

OVERALL RETIREMENTS THIS CYCLE “HAVE HURT DEMOCRATS MORE”:“Overall, the retirements have hurt Democrats more, with 15 of the 25 House retirements and six of the 10 Senate retirements coming at their expense.”(Aaron Blake, “Congressional Retirements Reach Highest Point Since 1996,” The Washington Post, 4/16/2012)

Meanwhile, poll numbers continue to show ObamaCare as unpopular as ever:

ABC NEWS/POST POLL: 53% OPPOSE OBAMACARE, JUST 39% SUPPORT, AND STRONG SUPPORTERS OUTNUMBER STRONG CRITICS 2 BY TO 1 MARGIN: “Fifty-three percent of Americans now oppose the law overall, while just 39 percent support it – the latter the lowest in more than a dozen ABC/Post polls since August 2009. ‘Strong’ critics, at 40 percent, outnumber strong supporters by nearly a 2-1 margin in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates.” (Greg Holyk, “New Low in Support for Health Law; Half Expect Justices to Go Political,” ABC News, 4/11/2012)

ABC NEWS POLL: TWO-THIRDS THINK SCOTUS SHOULD THROW OUT ALL OR PART OF OBAMACARE: (Greg Holyk, “New Low in Support for Health Law; Half Expect Justices to Go Political,” ABC News, 4/11/2012)

NATIONAL JOURNAL POLL: 66% OPPOSE MANDATE, ONLY 28% SUPPORT:“The mandate on individuals to purchase insurance or pay a penalty, as in earlier national polls, remains an idea without any significant constituency. Overall, when asked if ‘the federal government should or should not be able to require all Americans to obtain health insurance or else pay a fine,’ just 28 percent of those surveyed said they supported the mandate, while 66 percent opposed it.” (Ronald Brownstein, “Public Still Opposes Health Care Mandate,” National Journal, 3/27/2012)

NEW CBS/NEW YORK TIMES POLL: 47% OPPOSE OBAMACARE, JUST 36% APPROVE: “In the latest poll, 47 percent said they oppose the law while 36 percent approve, with the rest having no opinion. The results are similar to previous surveys that have consistently found the law’s detractors outnumbering its supporters.” (Dalia Sussman, Helene Cooper, and Kate Phillips, “Most Americans Oppose Health Law, Poll Finds,” New York Times, 3/27/2012)

AP POLL: OBAMACARE “STILL UNPOPULAR”: “The poll found that 35 percent of Americans support the health care law overhaul, while 47 percent oppose it. That’s about the same split as when it passed. Then, 39 percent supported it and 50 percent opposed it.” (“Poll: Obama’s Health Overhaul Still Unpopular, But Fewer Expect Own Care to Worsen,” Associated Press, 3/8/2012)

STUDY: OBAMACARE COST DEMOCRATS THE HOUSE: “A top Democrat acknowledged Thursday that President Obama‘s health care bill hurt his party in 2010. And a new study suggests it cost the Democrats something pretty specific: their House majority…The study, by five professors from institutions across the country, looks at the health care bill alongside other contentious votes in the 111th Congress and determines that, more so than the stimulus or the cap-and-trade energy bill, it cost Democrats seats. In fact, they lost almost exactly the number of seats that decided the majority.” (Aaron Blake, “Study Shows Health Care Bill May Have Cost Democrats the House,” The Washington Post, 3/9/2012)