The CBO has said that ObamaCare will not reduce the deficit, and now the Lewin Group, who reported earlier on the massive crowd out of the private insurance market that would occur if a public option were created, has analyzed the House healthcare bill. The diagnosis? People will lose their insurance by the tens of millions and be filtered into the public plan. Americans seem to be catching on.
Gallup now shows that more Americans disapprove than approve of Obama’s approach on healthcare, including more than 55% of independents (On a side note, it’s interesting that the only issues where Obama is polling favorably are the wars and issues of foreign affairs). Karl Rove looks at the numbers and shows that ObamaCare is in trouble.
While Victor Davis Hanson questions whether big government solutions are the answers to our problems, Gallup also shows the concern about growing government. Again, see the numbers among independents.
More evidence suggests that government healthcare reform proposals are on the ropes. The President had a meeting with moderate Democrats at the White House, and then hosted a press conference last night to discuss his plan. The press conference offered little assurance for the plan, as the President dug in his heels and further risked his credibility on the promise that his healthcare plan wouldn’t raise the deficit.
The President also said that reform would be done this year, instead of the earlier plan of having a bill before the August recess. The Senate is now saying the August deadline won’t happen, and House Democrats are still split on multiple issues. On top of the struggles in Congress, state governors are concerned about Medicaid requirements.
What will happen if President Obama fails to obtain government healthcare reform and cap and trade? Going a step further, what happens if we are running high deficits and have stagflation two years from now on top of those failures? Food for thought.
While you’re thinking about those scenarios, read Governor Jindal’s proposals for bipartisan healthcare reform, Mitt Romney’s comments on Obama’s push for reform, and Dr. David Gratzer’s analysis of too much regulation being the real problem.
Also, sign this petition to help defeat the wrong type of reform (H/T Hugh Hewitt). Once the bad ideas are defeated and the right people are on board, we can begin to seriously address the problems we face in healthcare and our economy.
UPDATE: Read Keith Hennessey’s analysis of the mistakes made by Team Obama, and of the current landscape.
The problem isn’t that people have lost faith in “ObamaCare.” They have lost faith in PelosiCare. The problem is that there is no plan being considered in Congress that meets Obama’s requirements. He has said that the plan must be budget neutral over ten years, and the Congressional plans do not meet that test, as you point out.
The real question is yet to be answered: If Congress should, by some miracle, pass a bill that fails to meet Obama’s requirements, will he sign it, or send it back for further work. If he does, then I am done with him. But such a judgment today is premature.
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