Posted on 11/13/2013 2:08:08 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
But Republicans are pledging to stay focused on ObamaCare, which they see as symbolic of a greater problem with Democrats’ governing vision and abilities.
Democrats are scrambling to regain control of the national political narrative as problems with ObamaCare are threatening to undo all of the advantage they gained following the government shutdown, jeopardizing their chances in 2014.
House Democrats outlined plans to refocus attention on the potential for another showdown over the federal budget in January — when the current government funding measure is set to run out — in a memo issued at a caucus meeting Wednesday by Democratic Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.).
And the Democratic National Committee unveiled a new messaging push Wednesday riffing off comments made by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Sunday that the GOP will "be the party that is fresh and new in 2016."
The DNC is highlighting a number of failed policy attempts — including immigration reform, which looks dead in the water this year, the shutdown and a new ban on certain kinds of abortions, proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — as evidence the GOP is the "same extreme, ideological and out-of-touch party that turned voters away" in 2012, DNC spokesman Mike Czin said in an email to The Hill.
But Republicans are pledging to stay focused on ObamaCare, which they see as symbolic of a greater problem with Democrats’ governing vision and abilities.
“Democrats are desperately trying to change the topic but their efforts are falling flat. For the next year they will be forced to explain why they continue to support the train wreck that is ObamaCare,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Andrea Bozek said in an email to The Hill.
Democrats are looking to shift attention away from the disastrous rollout of ObamaCare, which has produced weeks of negative headlines and sharp attacks on President Obama from Republicans and members of his own party alike.
Polls show the healthcare law’s troubles have erased any political advantage Democrats gained post-shutdown, when Democrats grew optimistic they could keep their 10-seat majority in the Senate and compete for the 17 seats the party needs to win back the House.
When the government shutdown ended in mid-October, polling showed Americans overwhelmingly blamed them for the crisis.
But new polling released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University shows Democrats tied with Republicans in a generic congressional matchup — a loss of a 9-point lead Democrats held over the GOP in Quinnipiac's last poll, on Oct. 1.
That same Quinnipiac poll showed Obama's disapprovals rising to 54 percent. For the first time in his presidency, the poll showed him distrusted by a majority of Americans.
And faith in the president's signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act, is equally low.
Only 19 percent of respondents say they believe the quality of their healthcare will improve over the next year under the law, while 45 percent believe it will get worse.
Fifty-five percent oppose the law.
Forty-six percent of voters believe Obama knowingly deceived Americans when he proclaimed that "if you like your health plan, you can keep it" under the healthcare reform law, a declaration since proven erroneous as thousands of Americans face dropped coverage under ObamaCare.
The dropped coverage has prompted friendly fire from the likes of former President Clinton, who said that the president should “honor his commitment” that Americans won’t be dropped from their current coverage.
In a clear sign Democrats are concerned about the potential political ramifications of the shutdown, every Senate Democrat running for reelection in a red state has signed onto a bill introduced by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) — herself a top Republican target for 2014 — that would ensure Americans can keep their current plans under ObamaCare.
Czin admitted that the rollout “should’ve been better.”
But he said that “far from” running away from ObamaCare in 2014, he expects Democrats to embrace it.
“[Voters] don’t want to see the healthcare law repealed, they want to see it work, they want to see the benefits of the Affordable Care Act,” he said, citing a mid-October Kaiser Health tracking poll that showed a majority of Americans want to keep or expand the law, rather than repeal it.
“What’s going on now is Democrats are united in wanting the legislation to work, where Republicans are really intent with repealing it.”
He suggested, too, that Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s win in the Virginia gubernatorial race last week indicated voters aren’t focused on ObamaCare; rather, they’ll head to the polls and vote on the economy, which he expects is an argument Republicans will lose.
And Democrats are working to beat back attacks from the right.
The DCCC on Wednesday launched Web ads hitting 32 Republican House members, many of them top Democratic targets, reminding voters they haven’t ruled out the possibility of backing another shutdown to eliminate ObamaCare.
Israel, in his memo, warned Democrats that “the worst may be yet to come” when the current government funding measure runs out, on Jan. 15.
Then, Democrats privately believe, another showdown over the budget could tip the government back into chaos and again singe Republicans, mitigating any harm done by the ObamaCare rollout to Democrats.
The DNC, meanwhile, plans to aggressively push the message that the Republican Party, for all its attempts to broaden its appeal, hasn’t changed.
The committee released an online video on Wednesday and plans to drive home that message with paid Web ads and events with state parties in target states — like in Iowa this Saturday, where Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is campaigning with Gov. Terry Branstad (R ).
Like maybe you don’t need maternity insurance if you’re 60 or dental insurance if you have no teeth?
Bengazi, NSA, IRS...where would you like to start?
Fast & Furious?
The Jan 2014 budget talks will be the Dems counter ambush of GOP. They may make demands that the GOP cannot accept in order to deliberately trigger a shutdown of the gov and have the MSM blame the GOP thus taking Obamacare off the public attention. Let us see how adroit the GOP is on this coming PR ambush.
Iran Nukes?
And so, they have a shooting to preen about and make words over about the dreaded....guns.
Is he smoking crack?
They should be making sure that voters know that any future Democratic law is going to be as screwed up as ObamaCare. This is their legacy law, the one they've been looking to pass for decades. So, now we know what they're up to- Do not let them screw up anything else! A vote for a Democrat is a vote for more disaster!
The GOP slogan should be, Fool me once, shame on you: fool me twice, shame on me! So, don't get fooled again!
And the point should be made, if the Democrats screwed this up so totally, what else have they done wrong?
Now that Obama hit them square between the eyes with Obamacare, WE have their attention.
The dems want to invoke the “Republicans government shutdown” talking points. I think the republicans should proudly own the shutdown, “we did all we could to stop this ACA from being implemented, we knew this would be devastating, tried to stop funding and as it turns out, we were right.”
and stupid GOP elites like Boehner are just itching to help ‘em get the Obamacare obamination off the Dim’s back
Bengazi, NSA, IRS...where would you like to start?
Hit them all and keep hitting them with all of these every day until the end of the world. Make sure all of their criminal acts are kept up in lights before the public and make them go from worried to frenzied crazy. Agree to nothing other than full investigations and repeal of deathcare. Grow, buy, or rent some real balls GOPe.
Maybe that’s the plan. So many scandals that we lose track.
So far Obamacare has allowed the media to help Obama completely duck our miserable economic situation. The only problem people seem to be aware of with Obamacare is lousy implementation. Actually that's good news. A well-implemented Obamacare is DISASTROUS to our country. If Obama and his minions can shuck and jive their way through implementation problems and delays, they're better off than having to answer for the economy.
The opposition isn't helping either. Instead of clearly WINNING the ARGUMENT for freedom and free markets over poverty-ridden socialism, they by-an-large just continue to curse the darkness and repeat what's wrong with things. People don't want to hear that. We need to clearly win the debate of freedom over tyranny in the forum of ideas. As Margaret Thatcher has been quoted to say, "First you win the argument, then you win the vote."
the media will try to make the next few weeks about anything else but the large bucket of fail that Obamacare is.
I hope that talk radio guys or some idiot congressman or state legislator don’t fall into the trap and makes an outlandish statement either, because that will be the out the media has been looking for ala Imus.
FUBAR. They own it.
They'll have to go bigger. Is that Syria war still available?
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