By Dave Andrusko

Okay, we are all adults here so none of us have been or will be surprised when the usual media suspects do anything and everything to try to provide cover for Democrats who bought that pig in a poke known as ObamaCare. We'll keep you posted, because the disinformation campaign will be something to behold. The worst part will be angry insistence that opposition is not legitimate because of [fill in the blank].

But first let's start with the essentials before we examine in the days to come how supporters will spin them in favor of a law that is widely and passionately opposed. Make no mistake, the public simply does not believe in ObamaCare--its substance, its promises, or the duplicitous way it came to be law.

From today's Rasmussen Reports, "One week after the House of Representatives passed the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats, 54% of the nation's likely voters still favor repealing the new law. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 42% oppose repeal."

There are two other important additional components. Even after all the hullabaloo about "historic" this and "promise-fulfilled" that, we learn, "Those figures are virtually unchanged from last week." And, as has consistently been the case, the intensity factor is with opponents. "They include 44% who Strongly Favor repeal and 34% who Strongly Oppose it."

The most important number is not the 84% of Republicans who favor repeal but that six in ten (59%) of what Rasmussen calls "unaffiliated voters" also favor repeal.

Reading the way the Washington Post explained its own poll yesterday is to marvel at its candid admissions even as elsewhere in the paper it tries to find the "correct" conclusions.

For example, 50% oppose ObamaCare, 46% support, according to the poll of 1,000 adults. "In the days since President Obama signed the farthest-reaching piece of social welfare legislation in four decades, overall public opinion has changed little," according to Jon Cohen and Dan Balz, "with continuing broad public skepticism about the effects of the new law and more than a quarter of Americans seeing neither side as making a good-faith effort to cooperate on the issue."

Not surprisingly the Post poll found both that the debate "galvanized" the public and that the greater intensity is among opponents. "About a quarter of all adults say they tried to contact their elected representatives in Congress about health care in recent months, including nearly half of those who say they are 'angry' about the changes," they write. (The kicker is the next sentence.) "In general, opponents of the measure were more than twice as likely as supporters to say they had made the effort."

If you are a Democrat who voted for the bill, and that didn't make you nervous enough about next November, there are other results that are likely to leave you quaking in your boots. "Senior citizens, who typically make up about one in five midterm voters, represent a particularly valuable but tough audience on this issue," Cohen and Balz write. "More than six in 10 of those 65 or older see a weaker Medicare system as a result of the changes to the health-care system. Overall, seniors tilt heavily against the changes, with 58 percent opposed and strong opponents outnumbering strong supporters by a 2-to-1 ratio."

More generally, "At this point, more poll respondents said they are likely to oppose a lawmaker who backed the president's health-care initiative than said they would support such a candidate (32 percent to 26 percent), with more passion again on the negative side."

Just one other result of many that could be cited. The public simply doesn't buy the talking points, especially Obama's insistence that no one will be forced to make changes they oppose or that, at worse, ObamaCare is revenue-neutral.

"Most respondents said reform will require everyone to make changes, whether they want to or not; only about a third said they believe the Democrats' contention that people who have coverage will be able to keep it without alterations," Cohen and Balz note. "And nearly two-thirds see the changes as increasing the federal budget deficit, with few thinking the deficit will shrink as a result."

And then a remarkable paragraph. "The Democrats hold a 13-point advantage over the GOP when it comes to dealing with health care in general," according to Cohen and Balz. "That's a significant, but far slimmer, lead than they carried into the 2006 elections, which returned them to the majority. Similarly, Democratic advantages on the economy, taxes, immigration and the deficit are all severely attenuated."

You know you are deep, deep trouble when the best answer you give is that, "Hey, if we hadn't passed ObamaCare, we'd be in worse shape." (Meaning the Democrats' base would have discouraged/in full revolt.)

The best comeback to that exercise in self-deception came from John Harwood, writing the New York Times Sunday: "In politics, as in sports, the thrill of victory sometimes pales alongside the agony of defeat. In 2010, Democrats remain on track to experience both. … [T]he new spring in the steps of Democratic lawmakers has not reversed the likelihood that there will be fewer of them next year."

Be sure to send your thoughts to daveandrusko@gmail.com and to read www.nationalrighttolifenews.org.

Part Three
Part One