Cross-posted from New Deal 2.0.
The negative headlines are to be expected. Today's Politico says "Health care 'nos' help Dems at risk" above an article that tells a different story: half of the Democrats who voted no went down to defeat.
And Republicans can be expected to say that the vote is a mandate for repeal. As Eric Cantor told CBS news last night, "So I believe that when we take majority in January, I hope that we're able to put a repeal bill on the floor right away because that's what the American people want..."
But it just isn't so. Here are two incontrovertible facts from yesterday's election:
1) There was absolutely no relationship between how a House member voted on health care and whether they were reelected.
2) Even in this very conservative electorate, the exit polls do not show majority support, let alone a mandate, for repeal.
Democrats had a bad night, but it didn't matter how a member voted on health care. Take a look at three neighboring Congressional districts in upstate New York, all of which have more registered Republicans than Democrats. Bill Owens voted for health care and won. Scott Murphy voted 'no' in November and then 'yes' on the final health care bill, but lost. His colleague Michael Arcuri voted for the bill in November but then voted 'no' in March, and he too lost. Moving downstate, to the New York metropolitan area, it is also clear that there is no evidence that a health care vote mattered. 'No' voter Michael McMahon lost, as did 'yes' voter John Hall, while another health care supporter, Tim Bishop, won.
Elections in other states tell the same story. There's been a lot made of the defeat of first-term Democrat Tom Perriello, a health care supporter who squeaked into office by a few hundred votes in 2008. But two Virginians who voted no on health care, longtime Congressman Rich Boucher and newly elected Glenn Nye, also lost.
In Ohio, Zack Space voted 'no' and lost, while John Boccieri voted 'yes' and also won't be coming back to Washington. In New Mexico, Harry Teague's 'no' vote didn't stave off defeat any more than Harry Mitchell's 'yes' vote in Arizona caused his political demise.
I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Voters had something else in mind (the economy, stupid) besides health care when they cast their ballots.
There was a group of voters for whom health care was a top concern -- 18% of the electorate according to the exit polls. A majority of these voters, 55%, favored Democratic candidates, as opposed to 45% who voted for Republicans.
As far as a mandate for repeal, there's no such thing. Even among the most conservative electorate in years, just under half (48%) favored repeal. An equal proportion opposed repeal with almost one-third (31%) actually saying that the law should be expanded!
We can't expect reality to interfere with the Republican's intense desire to roll back a health care law that represents the biggest expansion of the social contract in this country in decades. But Democrats shouldn't be cowed when the Republicans claim a mandate for repeal. The voters, even this frustrated, angry bunch, said no such thing.
7. Amid Massive Lay-off Panic, Change & Healthcare for all, After Stimulus Package, Opposition from lots of the Ungrateful.
Taking advantage of benefits from Stimulus Package, Corrupt Money & Almost Dead Media & Power-only party turned U.S. into D.S.
8. Over the duration of healthcare debate, using the preliminary cost analysis of CBO, the reps opposed the public option stubbornly, but
after the release of final score, they have been defiant on the referee.
** Chanting deficit :
a. Amid chanting deficit, the same old failed policy.
b. Amid chanting deficit, hands-off approach over huge trade deficit from oil money spill & trade imbalance with China from remorseless health care premium.
c. Unfortunately, as a direct consequence of remorseless health care premium, numerous folks have no choice but to hang onto affordable offerings, since one in two households is said to face a hard decision between necessity & drug.
d. Inaction cost in relation to health care reform totals $9trillion over the next decade.
e. Over the next 10 years, total Bush tax cut costs will equal $3.9 trillion, .... the tax cuts would increase deficits by nearly $4 trillion between 2005 and 2014.
1. Audacity of Nope extracted exceedingly low possible jobless rate compared with the extremely critical market situation, while D.S. economy was held hostage by Audacity of Nope, and time was running out.
Prior to the full recovery, the Stimulus Package was all about Lehman Brothers or not of D.S. economy.
2. Last year, Warren buffet warmed in an interview with NBC that the D.S. economy was in free fall. Plus, tragically, the Japan economic leader committed suicide before the strong export report, last year.
As we know, blocking Free Fall From Cliff requires multiple efforts.
3. Global austerity policy dealt a harsh blow to the burgeoning economic activity. By ruling out this critical factor, Power-only party of objection for objection & Almost Dead Media led Independents to Fuel reps Gains.
4. As a groundwork, the Stimulus Package alone can't complete a perfect building. Sadly, extension of oil wars displaced Energy Independence or A Jobs law, empowering the war party and leaving healthcare law near demise before survival. Accordingly, the Stimulus Package lost momentum creating Synergy.
5. The most efficient deficit-cut way of government would be slashing the destructive war & military waste.
Slashing the destructive war & military waste alone supposedly could be enough to balance the budget.
Regrettably. opponents are instead critical of sound investments. ( Depression : New Deal = Great Recession : Stimulus Package (Groundwork) )
If Democrats play it smart, they can show how MANY parts of it are wanted by the public AND how much it will cost to repeal it
Republicans will have absolutely no answers when confronted by this and will lose a good bit of its independent support
He dared the Republicans 8 months ago, he DARED the Republicans to run on repealing ObamaCare, thinking there's no way they'd win on such a platform. Well, they did run on that and they won, BIG TIME.
As soon as members of Congress are sworn in, they may participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). The program offers an assortment of health plans from which to choose, including fee-for-service, point-of-service, and health maintenance organizations (HMOs). In addition, Congress members can also insure their spouses and their dependents.
Not only does Congress get to choose from a wide range of plans, but there’s no waiting period. Unlike many Americans who must struggle against precondition clauses or are even denied coverage because of those preconditions, Senators and Representatives are covered no matter what - effective immediately.
And here’s the best part. The government pays up to 75 percent of the premium. That government, of course, is funded by taxpayers, the same taxpayers who often cannot afford health care themselves.
And the Congressional perks don’t stop with the FEHBP. According to the article “Health care as good as Congress gets,” by John Barry, a staff writer for the St. Petersburg Times, “Members of Congress have their own pharmacy, right in the Capitol. They also have a team of doctors, technicians and nurses standing by in case something busts in a filibuster. They can get a physical exam, an X-ray or an electrocardiogram, without leaving work.”
So, you tell me just how much of a "priority" health care is for either party.
On a sadder note, that may be the highest number of House Democrats to vote for anything for the next several years.
Give me an instance when the Dems weren't cowed during the last two years, when they didn't give away the store BEFORE every fight.
So now we can go by the precedent set by the Republicans and only pay attention to the daily polls. And since the current polling shows a majority do not want repeal, they have to do what America wants and not shove repeal of healthcare down America's throats. Otherwise they will pay in November 2012.
They should also pass a public option since a majority wants it.
If he's a liberal.