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Monday, December 23, 2013

DEMOCRATS UNCONCERNED ABOUT OBAMACARE FALLOUT…


Oddly enough, it seems that Democrats everywhere, from Nancy Pelosi to Chuckie Schumer, continue to insist that Obamacare is actually something that the Democrats will not only be able to run on come next November, but, according to Schumer, at least, Obamacare won’t even be the number one issue in the next election. He claims that, instead, Americans will be far more concerned with who can get the middleclass going again. Pretty brave words, I’d say, especially in light of the fact that just when it seemed that Barry "Almighty's" approval numbers couldn't possibly get any lower, two new polls released just today, Monday, revealed that his signature healthcare legislation is now considered by many Americans as being his biggest disaster.

According to the most recent Gallup poll, more than a third of voters now view Obamacare as Barry’s greatest failure as president. And not surprising, while views on what has become the unaffordable, Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, vary greatly by party affiliation, there does seem to be what is a common thread of discontent that essentially binds together both ends of the political spectrum. That was signaled this past Sunday by Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin, a pretty reliable ally of Barry "Almighty’s", who said that the law appears to be on the verge of "meltdown." Also it’s fifty percent of Republicans believe Obamacare is Barry’s greatest failure, compared with just 25 percent of Democrats. No surprise there!

And to be expected, conservatives can barely hold back their glee. "Democratic senators in red and purple states are going to have a tough time defending their vote for a health-care law that wasn’t ready for prime time," writes National Review columnist Matt Kibbe, referring to the law’s rather embarrassing rollout that was plagued with all manner of persistent technical and public relations issues. And New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, also a Democrat and Obamacare supporter, is already the target of a biting television spot linking her to Barry and hammering her decision to vote for the law. Persistent reports suggest that former Sen. Scott Brown is now preparing a challenge based in part over her weakness on Obamacare.

And then we have what is a new CNN/ORC survey that also supports the notion that the number of those who say they support the healthcare law has pretty much plummeted to a new record low. It’s according to this poll that most Americans predict that their costs for medical care will skyrocket and that a third don’t believe they will be able to keep their doctor. In that poll, CNN reports support for the law is down five points in less than a month, to just 35 percent of those questioned. Opposition for Obamacare is up four points from November, to 62 percent, also according to CNN. So how bad is it? Well, Gallup states, "Even Democrats recognize the negative issues associated with the new healthcare law and its implementation."

Most of the newest opposition comes from women, which is a traditionally a core constituency for both Barry and the Democrats. But apparently, free birth control notwithstanding, sixty percent of women polled do not like the law. "That's bad news for an administration that is reaching out to moms across the country in an effort to make Obamacare a success." CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said. Not getting along with Republicans and Congress (9 percent), a lack of communication (5 percent) and a lack of leadership (4 percent) were listed as the president’s next three biggest failures, according to Gallup. However, none came close to the 36 percent figure looming over Obamacare.

But still, Barry does continue to maintain supporters in his corner, according to Gallup, with 22 percent of those surveyed seeing Obamacare as being his greatest achievement. And, believe it or not, some of those who oppose the law, 15 percent of all respondents, choose to do so because they actually think it’s not liberal enough. So what that means is that half of the public either supports the law or thinks it is not liberal enough. Just 16 percent said they think their family will be better off when most of the law takes effect next year, a number that is essentially unchanged from earlier in the year. And when it comes to cost though, with 63 percent saying they believe their healthcare costs will rise under the law.

So in the face of these numbers, I find it somewhat odd at how it is that Democrats can remain so confident that all of this Obamacare outrage will simply blow over. They seem to see website as being the only problem, choosing to ignore the millions of folks who have now lost their insurance and will continue to do so. They keep repeating, ad nauseam, how once Americans get to know more about Obamacare, they will come to like it. But I’m just not getting the logic behind such a mindset. Because it’s now pretty common knowledge that as people find out more about it, they like it even less. And with the ‘law’ changing on a daily basis, it only gets more confusing. The bottom line here is that I think we all know that there is only ONE way to get rid of it.

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