Patrick H. Caddell, political commentator and former pollster along with Douglas E. Schoen, a pollster, and the author of The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
Their blind persistence in the face of reality threatens to turn this political march of folly into an electoral rout in November. In the wake of the stinging loss in Massachusetts, there was a moment when the president and the Democratic leadership seemed to realize the reality of the health-care situation. Yet like some seductive siren of Greek mythology, the lure of health-care reform has arisen again.
As pollsters to the past two Democratic presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, respectively, we feel compelled to challenge the myths that seem to be prevailing in the political discourse and to once again urge a change in course before it is too late. At stake is the kind of mainstream, common-sense Democratic Party that we believe is crucial to the success of the American enterprise.
Bluntly put, this is the political reality:
First, the battle for public opinion has been lost. Comprehensive health care has been lost. If it fails, as appears possible, Democrats will face the brunt of the electorate’s reaction. If it passes, however, Democrats will face a far greater calamitous reaction at the polls. Wishing, praying or pretending will not change these outcomes.
Nothing has been more disconcerting than to watch Democratic politicians and their media supporters deceive themselves into believing that the public favors the Democrats’ current health-care plan. Yes, most Americans believe, as we do, that real health-care reform is needed. And yes, certain proposals in the plan are supported by the public.
However, a solid majority of Americans opposes the massive health-reform plan. Four-fifths of those who oppose the plan strongly oppose it, according to Rasmussen polling this week, while only half of those who support the plan do so strongly. Many more Americans believe the legislation will worsen their health care, cost them more personally and add significantly to the national deficit. Never in our experience as pollsters can we recall such self-deluding misconstruction of survey data.
They describe the lastest Obama salvo as nothing more then fighting the last war…not the new one. The last one is lost already and they have so deluded themselves, so insulated themselves, they can’t even see the cliff approaching:
…the country is moving away from big government, with distrust growing more generally toward the role of government in our lives. Scott Rasmussen asked last month whose decisions people feared more in health care: that of the federal government or of insurance companies. By 51 percent to 39 percent, respondents feared the decisions of federal government more. This is astounding given the generally negative perception of insurance companies.
CNN found last month that 56 percent of Americans believe that the government has become so powerful it constitutes an immediate threat to the freedom and rights of citizens. When only 21 percent of Americans say that Washington operates with the consent of the governed, as was also reported last month, we face an alarming crisis.
Health care is no longer a debate about the merits of specific initiatives. Since the spectacle of Christmas dealmaking to ensure passage of the Senate bill, the issue, in voters’ minds, has become less about health care than about the government and a political majority that will neither hear nor heed the will of the people.
The authors also bring up that the only way to turn this failure around is to bring the best idea’s of both parties together “such as purchasing insurance across state lines, malpractice reform, incrementally increasing coverage, initiatives to hold down costs, covering preexisting conditions and ensuring portability” and leave all the backroom dealmaking, armtwisting, and the corrupt attempts at getting this bill passed (ie reconciliation or holding no vote at all) behind.
But Obama and his cronies have blinders on, and whether they know it yet or not, they WILL be falling off that cliff.
See author page
@MataHarley:
Speaking of billy bubba’s predictions….Remember when he was crowing about the bishops endorsing ObamaCare?
Errrrr….turns out, not so much:
Dayum!
Another theory shot clear to hell, eh?
Is anyone else here making the connection between the Obamacare WH talking point and the talking point used for AGW? Namely, “the time for talking is over”.
It’s funny that both issues devolved to this when the debate about both were heating up. I think the reason that it has become the main talking point for them is that the longer it is debated, the more people outside of DC realize that it’s not in their best interest to support it, and the WH knows this, which is why they don’t want any debate on it prolonged anymore.
johngalt–
Yes, there is massive ignorance and delusion out there and those of us who are thinking can only reach one or two at a time. So trying to shorten the time for consideration must be seen as a diversionary tactic. At the risk of being called obstructionists our best ploy seems to be to stall and talk. And continue to lampoon the idiots and crooks.
Recently I was thinking the Dems could be trying to get a new tax under the radar to shore up the looming revelation that past presidents, esp. Clinton and Bush, borrowed from SS in order to pay for discretionary projects (ie pork), another blow to SS besides the basic Ponzi nature of it. And sure enough, today my paper says the IOUs are coming due and we’ll need to borrow from foreign lenders, $29 billion. No one else I know was aware of this borrowing, but I knew of it ten years ago. If the bill had passed last summer, this might have gone unnoticed a little longer, although I don’t think the “pre-tax” could have kicked in soon enough. I wonder what other shoes are about to drop.