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Shifting the Discussion,
Trying to Squelch an Honest Discussion
Part One of Three By Dave Andrusko Editor's note. Please send your thoughts and comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. As Wesley Smith notes in a blog entry reprinted at National Right to Life News Today, ObamaCare is dreadfully unpopular. Of the 1,021 adults surveyed, 56% told Gallup they opposed the "health care overhaul," while only 39% approved. These numbers were released today.
On Friday, the New York Times ran a piece headlined "Health Care Weights Heavily in Ohio Race" [www.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/us/politics/11ohio.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=kevin%20sack%20%20ace%20hardware&st=cse]. The key paragraphs for us are "The health care overhaul, a dream of liberal Democrats for decades, has been used by political opponents to build a case that Mr. Obama is guilty of ideological overreach," writes Kevin Sack. "After hard-fought passage of the sweeping law, White House officials expressed confidence that voters would become more supportive once the fury of the legislative debate faded and Americans more clearly assessed the tangible benefits. "Yet despite a White House campaign to promote the law's most popular components before the midterm elections, recent polls suggest that national support is at best stagnant, in the range of 40 percent, and may be declining after early signs of improvement. Some polls have found substantial opposition in the swing districts that matter most, like Ohio's 16th." In between, on Sunday White House senior adviser David Axelrod told Meet the Press's David Gregory, "I think that health care, over time, is going to become more popular." That by itself does not give you the flavor of the exchange. For example, Gregory began by observing, "It was striking to me hearing the president on Friday, when he talked about the economy and the choice in this election, he did not mention anything in his opening remarks about healthcare reform, which he and you and others have, have billed as a signature achievement of this administration. In fact, you have said that once people know more about health care, the more popular it will become. And, in fact, we see reporting this week in Politico that, in fact, there aren't any Democrats who supported this who are out there touting that vote…. Why is it that the president has failed to win the argument about the benefits of healthcare reform?" Axelrod zigged and zagged. One second, his response was that the election wasn't about ObamaCare but the economy. The next second he is insisting the electorate will warm to ObamaCare because it will save a trillion dollars over time--a comment so ludicrous it was unfortunate Gregory didn't have time to challenge him. Healthcare "reform" is a drag on Democrats for many reasons. And that most assuredly includes the knowledge that it provides an enormous stimulus to the Abortion Industry and opens the door to rationing. In Part Two we see how the Empire (in the form of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius) is striking back at those who point out the inevitability of insurance premium increases. |
