OUR VIEW: Democrats play Russian roulette with health care
President Obama and the congressional Democratic leadership seem determined to engage in a high-wire act without a net. It might be possible to admire them for their courage in the face of the unpopularity of their cause, but it is likely that their contempt for public opinion will backfire on them.
The president has made it clear that, despite popular opinion and numerous procedural difficulties ahead, he intends to orchestrate a no-holds-barred campaign to get “a final vote on health care reform” before the Easter recess.
Although he avoided the dreaded word “reconciliation,” a controversial procedure to get around a Senate filibuster, it’s clear that’s how he intends to proceed.
Although the Democrats hold solid majorities in both the House and the Senate, the president is still having problems finding a majority in his own party.
The reasons are simple. The Pollster.com cumulative rating from all national polls has shown a majority of Americans opposed to the health care plans on offer that has held since July.
Massachusetts — Massachusetts! — elected a Republican senator largely on the strength of opposition to Obamacare.
The administration seems to believe further government control over health care will be seen as a historic achievement rivaling Social Security and winning World War II, so it is willing to sacrifice its party’s majority in Congress to get it.
There are plenty of favors to hand out to buy votes. So if the public doesn’t make its wishes known forcefully, the Democrats just might get there. — From the Orange County Register, a Freedom Communications newspaper
