I don't think that's obvious at all. This thing would have sailed through, with much worse provisions than it has, if not for the loud roar coming from every state. Having energy and passion on your side in politics is always a good thing. The left is going out of its way to minimize the Tea Party movement, but it's obvious they are very concerned about it.
Apart from that, this thing is far from over. The senate has long been the place where things passed with party discipline in the house go to die. Even with 59 or 60 votes (Lieberman), this is no slam dunk. Landreu and Lincoln are dead meat if they support it. Who knows if Reid's heart will really be in it by January when forced retirement becomes a reality for him. Over the next two months, as people have time to digest the 2000 pages in the house bill and publicize things like jail for not buying health insurance, public sentiment could very well reach the point where it will just die.
“public sentiment could very well reach the point where it will just die. “
Unfortunately, it’s not the “public” who’s voting...it’s our legislators...and they clearly could care less about public sentiment.