Public cooling to health-care reform as debate drags on, poll finds (no shit!)

[BurtWorm]

:eyes:

I've been cooling to it since it became clear long, long ago that the Democrats are too wimpy to ram robust reform down Republican throats.

Thanks for making us proud Dems. ( :sarcasm: )


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/15/AR2009121503717_pf.html




By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 16, 2009; 12:30 AM

As the Senate struggles to meet a self-imposed, year-end deadline to complete work on legislation to overhaul the nation's health-care system, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds the public generally fearful that a revamped system would bring higher costs while worsening the quality of their care.

A bare majority of Americans still believe government action is needed to control runaway health-care costs and expand coverage to the roughly 46 million people without insurance. But after a year of exhortation by President Obama and Democratic leaders and a high-octane national debate, there is minimal public enthusiasm for the kind of comprehensive changes in health care now under consideration. There are also signs the political fight has hurt the president's general standing with the public.

[Vinnie From Indy]

1. This was another very CRITICAL part of the plan to screw America

It was no accident that the HCR debate was drawn out. It gave Big Insurance and the right-wing propaganda mills time to work on the psyche of America. Good propaganda requires repetition and that takes time.

[Bigmack]

2. Dems to blame... but....

"the people" are to blame a bit, too. With an attention span of about 5 minutes, and a willingness to research complex problems that is non-existent, Murikans bear some of the blame in this thing, too.

[BurtWorm]

3. Yes, but people wanted and needed reform, and still do, and their leaders have failed them.

[Bigmack]

4. True... but so many want "reform" ....

without knowing what it looks like. I follow three different newspaper blogs, and most of the posters think reform is getting rid of those nasty regulations that raise prices on things.

[BurtWorm]

5. I think there was a general consensus that whateverit took to lower costs was necessary

The Dems failed to telegraph that the public option would lower costs and was therefore absolutely essential to health care reform (seeing as single payer was off the table from nearly the start). The Dems failed to keep their coalition in line. They failed to strong-arm the moderates. They failed to create the conditions such that opposing the public option would be viewed as anti-American. They failed to out-Republican the Republicans, in other words. And now they and we are going to pay dearly for their failure.