“All signs point to an electoral rebuke of epic proportions tomorrow for those who sponsored and pushed ObamaCare through Congress in 2009 and early 2010. That would certainly be just. Because, months ago, ObamaCare’s advocates decided it was more important to them to jam the health care bill of their ideological dreams through Congress than it was to secure the consent of the governed for a more balanced, consensus plan.”
ObamaCare directs states to set up exchanges to manage its new insurance subsidy system. “But states view the project as an enormous undertaking, requiring them to design a system, develop the information technology and put it into action in just three years amid tight budgets.”
“But while the Post implies that it’s largely these Democrats’ waffling that’s gotten them into trouble, the Democrats who switched to yes are hardly the only ones who are struggling. Those who voted yes on Obamacare all along are also getting clobbered. By my last count, the other Obamacare-supporting Democrats who are running in districts that lean Republican (by any margin) or lean Democratic by no more than 5 points (based on the past three presidential elections), are winning in only 8 of their 30 races (27 percent). Meanwhile, Democrats in these same districts who voted against Obamacare are winning in 10 of their 15 races (67 percent).”
“A majority of likely voters in the most competitive House districts support repealing the Democrats’ health overhaul, according to recent polling data. The figures are one of the sharpest signals yet that Democrats are unlikely to translate their signature legislative achievement into success inside the voting booth. The health bill passed in March is particularly unpopular in the districts that matter most in the Republicans’ effort to retake the House.”
“That interplay has been replicated across the 2010 campaign, with Republicans largely keeping Democrats on the defensive about the Obama presidency’s signature domestic achievement. While clearly secondary to economic concerns, the continuing debate over health care has remained prominent in numerous races for the House and Senate.”
“Just over half of Americans likely to vote in next week’s midterms want the next Congress to repeal this year’s health care overhaul if Republicans gain power on Capitol Hill, according to a new poll, a dramatic rebuke to a sitting president and freshly minted statute. Fifty-one percent of voters most likely to vote support taking the new health care law off the books if the GOP takes the House and Senate, or either, while 41 percent oppose repeal, according to the latest Society for Human Resource Management/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll, conducted with the Pew Research Center.”
Congressmen who voted against the original House health care bill but voted for ObamaCare are in serious trouble in the polls. “Meanwhile, there were five Democrats who flipped from ‘yes’ on the first bill to ‘no’ on final passage. And, by comparison, they’re looking pretty good.”
“But the reality that Democrats hate to discuss – and even some Republicans have been hesitant to fully embrace – is that the party’s signature health care law is what’s turning a bad election year into a disaster of potential history-making proportions.”
“It is true that the tax credits will reduce the effective premium that many households will face for health insurance coverage. However, the key question from a policy perspective is whether the benefits of the Obamacare tax credits outweigh their costs. Since the Families USA report failed to list any of the costs or concerns of the Obamacare tax credits, Heritage will fill the void.”
“Democrats and their media apologists just can’t bring themselves to believe that there is anything substantive behind opposition to Obamacare. And so, instead of engaging in serious argument, they offer up condescending nonsense — such as this New York Times editorial which supposedly debunks the myths being peddled on the campaign trail by candidates trying to stir up opposition to Obamacare.”