Dems Brace Themselves to Defend ObamaCare After Refusing to Repeal
March 13, 2012
As ObamaCare’s Unpopularity Continues to Increase, Top Democrats Claim They’ll Stand By Their Healthcare Disaster
· House Democrats have resigned themselves to running with President Obama at the top of the ticket, suggesting in public comments that they will stand and defend him on the campaign trail.
· The problem for Democrats is that ObamaCare is as unpopular as ever and a new study shows the Democrats’ support for ObamaCare in particular cost them dearly at the polls last time.
· Even worse for Democrats, they’ve been voting in lockstep with Obama on ObamaCare even after their 2010 shellacking and are still pushing the same failed policies.
House Democrats have resigned themselves to running with President Obama at the top of the ticket, suggesting in public comments that they will stand and defend him on the campaign trail:
“DEMOCRATS WARM TO OBAMA AS CAMPAIGN ALLY”: (Jennifer Steinhauer, “Democrats Warm to Obama as a Campaign Ally,” The New York Times, 3/8/2012)
DEMOCRATS “ACCEPTING—AND IN SOME CASES OPENLY EMBRACING” OBAMA: “But with the economy slowly crawling back to life, a shift in messaging at the White House and a Republican push on social issues, Democrats are accepting — and in some cases openly embracing — the inevitable yoking of their campaigns to Mr. Obama’s as election-year activities accelerate. On Capitol Hill, Democrats have begun to mention Mr. Obama more often and have gone out of their way to publicly back some of his proposals.” (Jennifer Steinhauer, “Democrats Warn to Obama as a Campaign Ally,” The New York Times, 3/8/2012)
AT HOUSE DEM RETREAT, FORMER PA. GOV ED RENDELL TOLD DEMS TO “STAND AND DEFEND WHAT YOU’VE DONE” BECAUSE “YOU CAN’T RUN AWAY”: “Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who participated in a separate panel on messaging today, said he encouraged Members to ‘stand and defend what you’ve done, because you can’t run away from them.'” (Jessica Brady, “At Retreat, Democrats Urged to Defend Past Record,” Roll Call, 1/26/2012)
The problem for Democrats is that ObamaCare is as unpopular as ever and a new study shows the Democrats’ support for ObamaCare in particular cost them dearly at the polls last time:
DEMOCRATS EMBRACING OBAMACARE:
OBAMA SPOKESMAN CLAIMS WHITE HOUSE SPENT “MORE THAN TWO YEARS NOW IN AN EFFORT TO EDUCATE” AMERICANS “ABOUT THE BENEFITS” OF OBAMACARE: “The administration has been involved for more than two years now in an effort to educate the American public about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.” (Press Gaggle by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest en route Richmond, VAMarch 9, 2012)
HOYER CLAIMS “CITIZENS ARE COMING” TO “SEE THE BENEFITS” OF THEIR GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE TAKEOVER: “But I think there’s very, very strong support in the Democratic Party, and I believe that citizens are coming to that more and more as they see the benefits of that accruing to seniors in terms of their prescription-drug bill being reduced.” (Jessica Brady, “Democrats Willing to Tinker with Health Care Law,” Roll Call, 3/7/2012)
REP. RON KIND (D-WI): “I WOULD BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT THAT IPAB REQUIRES A LEAP OF FAITH, BUT I SUPPORTED IT, I THINK IT MAKES SENSE.” (Remarks From Rep. Ron Kind, House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Health Hearing, 3/6/2012)
MORE RENDELL: ” ‘We learned that in 2010. All the Blue Dog Democrats who voted for the health care bill and tried to act like it never happened learned you can’t run away from it,’ Rendell told reporters …” (Jessica Brady, “At Retreat, Democrats Urged to Defend Past Record,” Roll Call, 1/26/2012)
BUT OBAMACARE REMAINS POLITICALLY TOXIC:
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)
NEW STUDY: OBAMACARE COST HOUSE DEMS HEAVILY LAST CYCLE: “Voting for President Obama’s healthcare reform law cost Democratic incumbents to lose 5.8 percentage points of support at the polls in 2010, according to a new study in the journal American Politics Research…Democrats in the lead-up to the elections took a number of tough votes – notably on the Wall Street bail-out, the stimulus and cap-and-trade – but none were as unpopular as their support for the health reform law.” (Julian Pecquet, “Study quantifies health reform vote’s ‘significant’ toll on 2010 House Democrats,” The Hill‘s Healthwatch Blog, 3/8/12)
USA TODAY POLL: 50% SAY GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE TAKEOVER WAS “A BAD THING,” ONLY 42% SAY A GOOD THING: (Susan Page, “Swing States Poll: Health Care Law Hurts Obama in 2012,” USA Today, 2/27/2012)
IN SWING STATES, 53% SAY HEALTHCARE LAW WAS “A BAD THING” AND ONLY 38% SUPPORT IT: (Susan Page, “Swing States Poll: Health Care Law Hurts Obama in 2012,” USA Today, 2/27/2012)
Even worse for Democrats, they’ve been voting in lockstep with Obama on ObamaCare even after their 2010 shellacking and are still pushing the same failed policies:
ONLY 3 DEMOCRATS JOINED EFFORT TO REPEAL OBAMACARE: Final Vote: 245-189. (Roll Call 14,Clerk of the U.S. House, 1/19/2011)
DEMOCRATS NOW ASKING FOR $111B MORE TO PAY FOR GOV’T HEALTHCARE TAKEOVER:“Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) is asking about a spike in the estimated costs of subsidies to help people buy private insurance — a central, and expensive, component of the new healthcare law.
“The administration’s budget request this year included $111 billion more for subsidies than its request last year. The difference falls across the same seven-year window.” (Sam Baker, “Republican Probes $111 Billion Jump in Cost of Healthcare Law,” The Hill, 3/2/2012)
PER PERSON COST OF DEMOCRATS’ LATEST HEALTHCARE MISTAKE: $355 FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA: (“U.S. POPClock Projection,” U.S. Census Bureau, 3/2/2012)