Democrats Are Running Out of ObamaCare Excuses

Dems Have No One Left to Blame But Themselves After Attacks on Supreme Court Backfire

• Just days ago Democrats thought that they had a grand plan to turn around public disapproval for ObamaCare if all or part of the law is ruled unconstitutional: attack the Supreme Court.
• But now that plan has backfired and Democrats are desperately doing damage control after facing rebuke from even their allies for attempting to discredit the Supreme Court.  
• Democrats are quickly running out of ways to distract attention from their failed government healthcare takeover and may finally come to the obvious conclusion they’ve been trying to avoid: ObamaCare is a sure loser, no matter how they try to spin it.

Just days ago Democrats thought that they had a grand plan to turn around public disapproval for ObamaCare if all or part of the law is ruled unconstitutional: attack the Supreme Court:

DESPERATE OBAMA “TAKES A SHOT AT SUPREME COURT OVER HEALTHCARE” AND QUESTIONS LONG-ESTABLISHED AUTHORITY OF JUDICIAL REVIEW: “President Barack Obama took an opening shot at conservative justices on the Supreme Court on Monday, warning that a rejection of his sweeping healthcare law would be an act of ‘judicial activism’ that Republicans say they abhor.” (Jeff Mason, “Obama Takes Shot at Supreme Court Over Healthcare,” Reuters, 4/2/2012)

OBAMA “ALL BUT THREW DOWN THE GAUNTLET WITH THE JUSTICES,” THREATENED SCOTUS NOT TO “TAKE WHAT WOULD BE AN UNPRECEDENTED, EXTRAORDINARY STEP OF OVERTURNING A LAW THAT WAS PASSED BY A STRONG MAJORITY OF A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED CONGRESS”: (Jan Crawford, “Appeals Court Fires Back at Obama’s Comments on Health Care Case,” CBS News, 4/3/2012)

DEMOCRATS CONSIDER “MAKING THE COURT AN ISSUE IF IT WERE TO RULE AGAINST THE WHITE HOUSE”: “With the Supreme Court weighing the  constitutionality of a central element of President Obama’s comprehensive health care reform, there’s a lot of talk (in the places where people talk about such things, usually unburdened by responsibility or firsthand knowledge) of making the court an issue in the campaign if it were to rule against the White House.” (Jon Meacham, “Why Obama Shouldn’t Declare War on the Supreme Court,” Time, 4/2/2012) 

But now that plan has backfired and Democrats are desperately doing damage control after facing rebuke from even their allies for attempting to discredit the Supreme Court: 

FACTCHECK.ORG: OBAMA STATEMENT “ABSURDLY WRONG”: (Brooks Jackson, “Obama Eats His Words,” FactCheck.org, 4/4/2012)

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY IN FULL-COURT DAMAGE CONTROL MODE: “On Wednesday, the White House defended President Obama’s remarks about the Supreme Court, saying he wasn’t trying to threaten justices into upholding the health-care law.

” ‘It’s the reverse of intimidation,’ White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a nearly hour-long briefing with reporters that was dominated by questions about the president’s remarks. He said the president was making an “unremarkable observation” that when it comes to matters of national economic importance, the court generally defers to Congress.” (Jared Favole, “Laurence Tribe: Obama Misspoke on Supreme Court,” The Wall Street Journal, 4/4/2012) 

“WHITE HOUSE IN DAMAGE CONTROL OVER OBAMA SUPREME COURT REMARKS”: (Alister Bull, “White House in Damage Control Over Obama Supreme Court Remarks,” Reuters, 4/4/2012)  

“BRUISED OBAMA TRIES TO WALK BACK HIS ATTACK ON THE SUPREME COURT”: (Jennifer Rubin, “Bruised Obama Tries to Walk Back His Attack on the Supreme Court,” The Washington Post, 4/4/2012)  

“EVEN SOME LEGAL SCHOLARS SYMPATHETIC TO OBAMA AND THE HEALTHCARE LAW ARE SAYING” OBAMA MAY “HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF KEEPING QUIET”: (Peter Wallsten and Robert Barnes, “Obama’s Supreme Court Comments Lead Some to Question His Strategy,” The Washington Post, 4/5/2012)

THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR GETS A SCOLDING FROM HIS CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR: ” ‘Presidents should generally refrain from commenting on pending cases during the process of judicial deliberation,’ said Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe, a close Obama ally. ‘Even if such comments won’t affect the justices a bit, they can contribute to an atmosphere of public cynicism that I know this president laments.'” (Peter Wallsten and Robert Barnes, “Obama’s Supreme Court Comments Lead Some to Question His Strategy,” The Washington Post, 4/5/2012)

WASHINGTON POST: OBAMA’S “JARRING” COMMENTS “CLOSE TO A PREEMPTIVE STRIKE” ON THE SUPREME COURT’S “LEGITIMACY”:“President Obama’s comments Monday about the Supreme Court were jarring. If the court were to strike down the health-care law, Mr. Obama said, it would be a blatant example of judicial activism. That ‘an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law,’ the president said, would be ‘an unprecedented, extraordinary step.’ Well, not exactly, and the comments strayed perilously close to a preemptive strike on the court’s legitimacy if it were to declare the individual mandate unconstitutional.” (Editorial, “President Obama Tones Down Attack on the High Court,” The Washington Post, 4/03/2012)

OBAMA GETS A SCOLDING FROM THE FIFTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS: “In the escalating battle between the administration and the judiciary, a federal appeals court apparently is calling the president’s bluff — ordering the Justice Department to answer by Thursday whether the Obama Administration believes that the courts have the right to strike down a federal law, according to a lawyer who was in the courtroom.” (Jan Crawford, “Appeals Court Fires Back Obama’s Comments on Health Care Case,” CBS News, 4/3/2012)

WHITE HOUSE TRIES DESPERATELY TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT FROM OBAMACARE: “The President’s depiction of the wonkish and formerly obscure House Budget Chairman as some political monster is itself telling. Mr. Obama is conceding that he can’t run on the economic recovery, the stimulus, health care, green energy or any of the other grand liberal ambitions that have dominated his time in office. All of those are unpopular or failures. He was elected on hope and change, but now his only hope is to change the subject to the ogres he claims are the disloyal opposition.” (Editorial, “Paul Ryan’s Hunger Games,” The Wall Street Journal, 4/3/2012)

Democrats are quickly running out of ways to distract attention from their failed government healthcare takeover and may finally come to the obvious conclusion they’ve been trying to avoid: ObamaCare is a sure loser, no matter how they try to spin it:

ATTACKING THE “COURT ITSELF CAN BE A LOSING TARGET”: “Should Obama decide to challenge the court more directly, some experts say he faces political risk. Not only is the health-care law unpopular — polls show that many Americans see it as unconstitutional — but the court itself can be a losing target.” (Peter Wallsten and Robert Barnes, “Obama’s Supreme Court Comments Lead Some to Question His Strategy,” The Washington Post, 4/5/2012)

SUPREME COURT CONTINUES TO BE “DEEPLY RESPECTED” BY ALL DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS: “James Gibson, a political science professor at Washington University in St. Louis, has found in an annual survey that Americans hold a consistently high regard for the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.

” ‘Obama’s got to be very careful about attacking the institution,’ Gibson said. ‘We have good data to suggest the Supreme Court is deeply respected, and that’s even after Bush v. Gore, even among Democrats and even among African Americans.’ ” (Peter Wallsten and Robert Barnes, “Obama’s Supreme Court Comments Lead Some to Question His Strategy,” The Washington Post, 4/5/2012)

OBAMACARE REMAINS POLITICALLY TOXIC:

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)

ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST POLL: 55% FAVOR REPEALING ENTIRE HEALTHCARE LAW, ONLY 37% OPPOSE: (Greg Holyk, “As Health Care Law’s Trial Approaches, Two-Thirds Say Ditch Individual Mandate,” ABC News, 3/19/2012)

TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICANS SAY THE SUPREME COURT SHOULD RULE THE MANDATE UNCONSTITUTIONAL: (Greg Holyk, “As Health Care Law’s Trial Approaches, Two-Thirds Say Ditch Individual Mandate,” ABC News, 3/19/2012)

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)