Posted on 09/04/2009 5:37:01 AM PDT by Obadiah
Listening to two briefings -- one by a Democratic pollster who had just conducted a survey for a group favoring health care reform, the other by a Republican pollster more skeptical of the reform plans -- I felt as if I were hearing a pair of reports by the National Transportation Safety Board on the same plane crash. But in sorting through the problems facing President Obama and congressional Democrats, focusing too narrowly on their disastrous handling of health care would be a mistake.
Obama and Capitol Hill leaders don't need to worry too much about their modest drop in support from Democratic voters or the predictable drop on the Republican side. But top Democrats should be very frightened about the sharp drop in support among independents, because it could ultimately threaten their party's hold on the House and shrink their majority in the Senate.
With 14 months to go before the 2010 midterm election, something could happen to improve the outlook for Democrats. However, wave elections, more often than not, start just like this: The president's ratings plummet; his party loses its advantage on the generic congressional ballot test; the intensity of opposition-party voters skyrockets; his own party's voters become complacent or even depressed; and independent voters move lopsidedly away. These were the early-warning signs of past wave elections. Seeing them now should terrify Democrats.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationaljournal.com ...
“....focusing too narrowly on their disastrous handling of health care...”
This is the second or third article I’ve read about “the disastrous handling” of health care by the Democrats. Makes sense as the Democrats would never admit their bill was a disaster in itself.
This has to be defeated to the point it is unretrievable from the round file to be used against us ever again.
Exactly, it has zero to do with their handling and everything to do with the content.
Liberal Equation: Symbolism > Substance
At some point, the Dems will have to realize that their style of health care reform is a non-starter. HillaryCare went down in flames, and ObamaCare is also going down. HillaryCare led, in part, to the Republican Revolution of 1994, and ObamaCare appears to be leading to a wave of Republican votes in 2010.
At some point, the cooler heads in the Democrat party will realize that just as messing with Social Security is the third rail of Republican politics, nationalized health care is the third rail of Democrat politics.
The “resignation” by van jones ought to be the clincher to have any remaining independent running as fast as they can from the obamamachine.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.