AP Poll: 68% Of America Opposes Health Care Seizure

For about the fifth time in the past year, Mr. Obama has declared the time for talking is over on his plan to seize control of the American health care system.  That industry is now 1/6th of the economy.  His continual appearances seem to have moved the public some more...but in the wrong direction.  In a new AP/GfK Poll more American than ever now oppose the bills as written.  That's not to say the the AP writers in the article quoted below aren't spinning this poll...

finds a widespread hunger for improvements to the health care system, which suggests President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies have a political opening to push their plan. Half of all Americans say health care should be changed a lot or "a great deal," and only 4 percent say it shouldn't be changed at all.

How's that for spin?  I agree to some extent that there is a great deal of room for improvement...but that reform should be in smaller increments that are easier to "digest" and to see what effect they have on the  system as a whole, rather than complete government seizure of the system.  One of the writers of the US Constitution had an interesting take on large bills...

It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood .--James Madison

That's the problem here.  This administration and Congress have chosen to take control of the entire system in the name of "efficiency" despite the simple fact that the following programs were supposed to be either efficient or save money:

• U.S. Post Service was established in 1775. You have had 234 years to get it right and it is broke.
• Social Security was established in 1935. You have had 74 years to get it right and it is broke.
• Fannie Mae was established in 1938. You have had 71 years to get it right and it is broke.
• War on Poverty started in 1964. You have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor" and they only want more.
• Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. You have had 44 years to get it right and they are broke.
• Freddie Mac was established in 1970. You have had 39 years to get it right and it is broke.g.. The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a budget of $24 billion a year and we import more oil than ever before. You had 32 years to get it right and it is an abysmal failure.

Now...what  we have is a very large majority of the people in this country who are opposing the bills that have been sitting in Congress for a year now and the "new" bill of the Mr. Obama's that is merely a rehash of the ugly bill passed through the Senate of Christmas Eve.

More than four in five Americans say it's important that any health care plan have support from both parties. And 68 percent say the president and congressional Democrats should keep trying to cut a deal with Republicans rather than pass a bill with no GOP support. [empahsis is ed.'s]

That's to say, don't pass any of these bills.  Never before in the history of the United States has any bill of the magnitude as this one ever been passed by Congress on strict party lines.  If this behemouth passes, this November's elections could, and should see historic losses by the ruling party along the lines of those of 1816-20, when the Federalist Party dissolved under the weight of public disgust.

John DeHority, a Democrat from Rochester, N.Y., supports Obama's effort...But he suggested the GOP is winning the political battle.  "I think passing the bill in its current form would be political suicide for Democrats," said DeHority, 56, a researcher in health care imaging. He said he thinks the proposed changes would fail because they would not control costs, and "Democrats will take the fall for that."  Obama's own message, sometimes shifting, seems unpersuasive to many.  Over the past year, he has moved his emphasis from the moral implications of improving health care to the cost-cutting possibilities to the impact on the deficit.  [emphasis is ed's]

That's an opinion of someone who is trying to help the party in their desire to take control of ever more of the private economic sector.  Political suicide seems to be what the leadership of the Democratic Party want.  I spoke to a small business owner yesterday here in Pikesville, Maryland.  He has been a lifelong Democrat, but in the past year, he is shifting rightward along with the rest of the country and has become and adamant opponent of his own party's desire to dictate what he must provide for his employees in a faltering economy.   His take on this is that it's not a matter for the federal government to impose upon the states a mandate that will become a huge burden upon each state, unless that states ("more  and more corrupt politicians") are able to make deals to exempt their states from the provisions of the bill (Gator Aid, Louisianna Purchase & Cornhusker Kickback)...

Think about that...a very liberal small business man who has never voted for a Republican is now going to vote against every single Democrat this November because in his view, the party is going in the wrong direction in a time of economic stress...unfortunately, for him, the Democratic leadership isn't listening.

My personal objections to this bill are many, but my anger is greatest that Congress and Mr. Obama have specifically exempted ALL Federal employees and Congress from the provisions of this bill.  If it's good enough for me, then dammit it's good enough for them!

UPDATE: Via Dan Riehl,

From Rasmussen on March 1st, current Party ID numbers stand at 35% D, 32% R, and 33% I.  The AP-GFK poll uses 45% D, 34% R, and 20% I. It's possible ObamaCare's numbers are even worse than the AP-GFK poll suggests, but beyond that, there's even more troubling information inside. Obama is completely out of step with America's priorities right now...Fifty-six percent believe America is on the wrong track, while only 38% say Right. And Obama's arrogance and single-mindedness puts him totally out of touch with the people. When it comes to issues, the Economy is number 1 for 92% of the people. Unemployment is number 2 at 84%; terrorism comes in 3rd at 83%; and the deficit is 4th at 75%.

I think that Mr. Riehl's point is valid.  Mr. Obama and his coterie of Chicago insiders has completely lost touch with what the American people believe to be the real problems that we face today.  His continuing to push/ram through a health care bill that the country doesn't want, no matter how well SOME issues it contains may poll, on the whole the bill is widely unpopular.