Big Dogs Weblog

Gibbs Gets One Right (Almost)

by Big Dog on Oct 27, 2009 at 19:56 Political

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs made a statement today that is almost completely correct though he probably thought it was more of a veiled threat. The statement came after someone asked about Senator Joe Lieberman, who vowed to filibuster the Reid plan (or any plan) if it contains a government option. This is how the exchange was reported:

Asked about Lieberman’s threat to filibuster a final vote on the Reid plan, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said: “I haven’t seen the report from Sen. Lieberman or why he’s saying what he’s saying. I think Democrats and Republicans alike will be held accountable by their constituents who want to see health care reform enacted this year.” [emphasis mine] Politico

It is difficult to gauge what support for the public option is because various polls report drastically different results. An ABC/WaPo poll shows 57-40 in favor of (up 5 points from August) but Rasmussen says support is soft:

Polling on the health care topic by many firms has created some confusion. In particular, polls on the “public option” show a wide variety of results. A recent poll in The Washington Post found that 57% support a government-run health insurance company to compete with private insurers, but our polling shows that support is very soft. In fact, people are strongly opposed to a public option if they think it could lead employers to drop the existing coverage they provide employees. The fact that results are so subject to change based upon minor differences in question wording suggests that voters do not have firm opinions on the public option.

The issue is all over the place and that probably reflects confusion on the part of the public because the issue changes almost hourly. The polling to date suggests that those under 30 (the me generation) are in favor of the reform and the public option while those over 65 are not.

Back to Gibbs’ statement, he is right about paying at the polls but in all elections, and particularly midterm elections, the most reliable voting block is the elderly. Senior citizens show up in very large numbers on election day. The young do not generally show up and it is highly unlikely that they will turn out like they did during the last presidential election when they were excited about voting for ObaMao.

Those who are pushing this health care takeover will pay for it at the polls. Harry Reid is down to 41% in his home state and the last time I looked he lost to the generic Republican. Reid is digging his grave deeper but a lot of things can happen in the next 12 months. The economy will be a big drag if it stays bad but any improvement would help Democrats. There is some easing of the downturn but I think that is temporary. The recovery will be a W and we are on that first uptick. When inflation hits next year and we head back down the Democrats will have hell to pay.

So will any other politician deemed to have had a hand in this. This would include any that voted for the stimulus and those who decide to vote for the health care takeover.

The public is upset and politicians will have a hard time this go round. They usually rely on the short memories of the electorate who only remember the last thing that was done for them but this time it appears as if a lot of people have very good memories. The Tea Parties are still going strong and a lot of people are angry at government. ObaMao’s base is upset with him because he did not go all Commie fast enough and has not done enough damage to the country in their eyes.

The moderates, Independents, and Republicans are upset with out of control spending, a stimulus that has not worked, the abandonment of our troops in Afghanistan and the pettiness of the Rookie in Chief. Barring a major event that turns this country around in a good direction, next November will be a bloodbath at the polls.

Robert Gibbs might have thought he was issuing a veiled threat to Lieberman and others who oppose this health care takeover but he really accurately predicted the fate of many in government who have abandoned the Constitution and have spent like there is no tomorrow.

If Gibbs still has his job the day after the election, it would be funny to play his words back for him and tell him how he was almost correct. The thing he will get wrong?

The politicians will be held accountable by their constituents who do NOT want this health care takeover to go through.

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Tags: election, Gibbs, health care, lieberman, Obama, public option, seniors