A fascinating number in Wednesday’s CBS poll is that only 7% of the American public want ObamaCare “kept in place.” A full 93% either believe that changes are needed to the law (48%) or want a full repeal (43%). This pits President Obama and Democrat lawmakers — who thus far have refused to make any meaningful changes — against 93% of the American people and 72% of Democrats.
Moreover, only 12% of Democrats want ObamaCare “kept as is.” Another 12% want it repealed.
If only 12% of Democrats want nothing changed with ObamaCare, there is no question that Democrat lawmakers and the president are defying their own base with this ongoing refusal to make any real changes to the law. Furthermore, they are blocking proposed changes, including changes proposed by fellow Democrats.
The growing narrative from the media and ObamaCare champions is that Democrats need to “stay the course.” Analyzing the Democrats’ political options, ABC’s Rick Klein writes today:
Lost in the Democratic angst over Obamacare is a simple fact of 2014 politics: They don’t really have any choice but to own it. … No quantity of votes on “fixes” now will matter in the broad messaging wars later; no lawmaker, and virtually no Democratic challenger, will be able to seal him or herself off from potential political damage.
Klein is not alone with this advice. But how exactly is that a smart play when 84% of Democrats disagree?
A fair question to ask is, “What kind of changes do Democrat voters want?” A poll released by ABC News yesterday showed that two-thirds of Americans oppose ObamaCare’s individual mandate. There are definitely some Democrats in that group.
It is also safe to guess that a whole lot of Democrat voters would like to see laws passed that ensure people don’t lose the insurance Obama repeatedly promised they could keep. But those are legislative changes the president has threatened to veto and Democrat leaders refuse to even put to a vote.
As the 2014 midterms loom large late next year, ObamaCare is almost certain to have begun its rampage through the lives of the 95% of Americans who are insured through group and employer plans. The administration itself predicts that tens of millions will lose their insurance as the new employer mandate kicks in. For obvious reasons, the media is covering this fact up. But cover-ups can’t stop reality from becoming reality.
By this time next year, “stay the course” is probably going to look like a suicide pact.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC