Of course you knew from the jump that the more conservative people would bemoan the plan as backdoor Socialism. That's a given, and the proposal did separate the conservative Republicans from their middle-of-the-road kin.
But now, look at this: Many of the folks on the hard left are suggesting the whole plan should be taken off life support.
After the public option and Medicare buy-in -- subjects that warm the hearts of liberals everywhere -- were knocked off the Senate bill, Democratic National Committee head Howard Dean said the new proposal solves nothing, and urged Democrats to fight for "real reform." MSNBC commentator and unabashed liberal Keith Olbermann also slammed the now-gutted legislation. "This is not health, this is not care, this is certainly not reform," he says.
Even The Daily Kos, one of the most far-left sites in the blogosphere, started to notice the foul smell about the health care bill. From Kos himself:
... Let me say up front that my disagreement with the "support the current bill" crowd is based on policy and political considerations, but I can see how reasonable people can come to the opposite conclusion. I don't think supporters of this wreck of a bill are stupid or compromised or anything like that. I'm not like Joe Klein railing against "assorted nonsense from left-bloggers", which so reminds me of his ad hominems during the Iraq War debate. How'd that turn out, Joe? In short, there appears to be a divide between those who think the insurance industry will play nice, even with little incentive to do so, and people like me who don't ...
Erstwhile vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman's name is mud in certain Democratic circles these days, after he led the charge to strike public option from the Senate bill. Media Matters, another far-left site, has been largely ignoring the health care debate over the past few weeks, except to bodyslam the Connecticut legislator. Meanwhile, ultralib filmmaker Michael Moore is calling for a boycott of Lieberman's state, a move which would be every bit as ineffectual and laughable as the NAACP's longstanding boycott of South Carolina.
About the only thing keeping the health bill alive is that Barack Obama is solidly for it. His presidency is losing its relevance very quickly, what with the mixed messages he's sending out between Afghanistan and domestic issues, and the left is starting to lose patience with him. That in itself is enough motivation for lawmakers to approve the bill, even a watered-down version. Here's how libertarian Neal Boortz puts it:
... the very validity of Obama's presidency rests on passage of this bill. To shelve ObamaCare would be tantamount to castrating Barack Obama. His presidency would be impotent. ObamaCare is Viagra for the Obama presidency. Without ObamaCare The ACORN Administration enters a period of limp dormancy ...
I like how Neal puts it, but I doubt that will be enough to salvage the bill.
My own stance on the health care plan has been on record in this space. We need to only look at the government's own track record to see why: ventures such as public education, the post office, Amtrak, Cash For Clunkers show that the Feds have the "reverse Midas touch." Everything the government touches turns to ordure. And now they want to take over health care too? Puh-leeeze!
The public is likewise unenthusiastic about the health care plan. Earlier this week Gallup said 46% of Americans generally supportive of passing a bill this year and 48% generally opposed.
Numbers from an ABC News/Washington Post poll are more revealing: 53 percent of the public see higher costs for themselves under Obamalosicare. The poll also indicates that only 37 percent say the quality of their health care would be better under the proposed changes. And a A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation nation survey from last week had similar findings, with 75 percent of people questioned saying the senate health care bill would not help their family. The poll also indicated that 85 percent of Americans think the bill, if it became law, would increase their taxes and nearly 8 in 10 say it would increase the country's budget deficit.
So now, despite efforts to get this thing wrapped up before Christmas, chances are that the health care package will roast in its own juices instead.
Let's hope so.
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