So I turn Fux on this morning and

[doc03]

(Alert) is crawling across the screen the breaking news (Higher Taxes to come). The guys at the coffee shop are going to be worked into a frenzy this morning. Of course they all have insurance most are on Medicare and none of them make over $250,000 a year. Morans!

[ixion]

1. You act surprised...The Dems have shot themselves in the foot

despite all the champagne glass clinking going on around here, this is going to play out poorly.

[onenote]

2. the Democrats are in far better shape having passed this bill than not having passed it

First, like it or not, the fact is that this the bill the Democrats could get. Take a look at the vote counts and tell me how a more progressive bill passes the House.

Second, passing the bill has had the effect of energizing Democrats from what I've seen in the last couple of weeks. People remember what its like to beat the repubs and it feels good. And more importantly, they remember how important it is to defeat the repubs given their odious behavior during this debate.

Yes, the Democrats will lose seats in November, probably double digit losses in the House. But we've known that was coming since the day after election day in 2008. At this point, however, how many seats are lost will depend more on how the economy is doing by the end of the summer than on the health care debate.

In fact, the health care debate threatens to become something of an albatross around the neck of the rebubs-- a good portion of the public is likely to have moved on and if the repubs are harping on health care and not talking about jobs and the economy they risk seeming out of touch. Plus, the repubs have hitched their wagon to an extremist fringe that, as it did repeatedly this weekend, will embarrass them with racist, homophobic, and generally nasty rhetoric. We haven't seen the last time a repub candidate (or the party leadership) has to decide whether to disassociate themselves from the tea baggers or be seen as condoning their coarse and divisive attacks.

[ixion]

3. I think your bias towards party is swaying your perception

This was not-at-all a popular bill, and the Dems are going to pay for passing it.

The only people who were "energized" are the hard-core partisans and DLC crowd. The progressive base has watched in horror as this massive handout to insurance companies -- and gentrification of that same corrupt system -- was passed off as 'reform'.

The only 'reform' that has happened is the elevation of insurance agencies to quasi federal entity status. This will not make things 'better', it will become a nightmare overnight. Despite all this talk of reigning in insurance agencies, the opposite has happened.

Disclaimer: If I am wrong, I will be more than happy to admit so.

[spanone]

4. pfffft

[ixion]

5. May I say:

Right back at'cha.

[doc03]

6. I think you are right in every poll I have seen locally

70% or better were dead set against the bill. I think a trained chimpanzee could beat our Congressman this year. Between now and the election you will hear every day that some insurance company is raising their rates. They have the Medicare crowd convinced they are cutting Medicare and I haven't heard a Democrat adequately dispute the claim. I look for a blood bath this fall, I look for the Republicans to gain control of Congress. I don't see how this can be any gain for us nothing kicks in until 2014. Now the lack of improvement in the economy and unemployment will be blamed on the HCR.