Health Wars (10/20/09)

Again, not really much of a surprise.  But we can never have too many reminders of what the Obamunists are really all about:

If you believe Sebelius when she says, "And to dismantle something in order to get to a better cause, I think may be not as productive as closing the gap [to "universal" coverage" versus her later admission of being "for a single-payer system...eventually," particularly given that BarryCare would make her the second most powerful human being on the planet after her clay-footed faux deity, well, you probably voted for these worthless animals in the first place.

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Just exactly how DO you keep all the prisoners from exiting a sinking ship?  The Democrats are clueless about that (and a great deal else), too.  But that isn't keeping them from grasping for any lifeline they possibly can:

The White House and Democratic leaders are offering doctors a deal: They’ll freeze cuts in Medicare payments to doctors in exchange for doctors’ support of healthcare reform.

At a meeting on Capitol Hill last week with nearly a dozen doctors groups, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said the Senate would take up separate legislation to halt scheduled Medicare cuts in doctor payments over the next ten years. In return, Reid made it clear that he expected their support for the broader healthcare bill, according to four sources in the meeting. …

Reid also asked that doctors ease up on demands for medical malpractice reform during the upcoming healthcare debate. Democrats have traditionally resisted calls for tort reform, which trial attorneys — a reliable base group — staunchly oppose.

But the primary focus of the meeting was on Democratic plans to bring to the Senate floor a standalone bill costing nearly $250 billion that would freeze cuts in doctors’ payments mandated by a 1997 law. Without the freeze, doctors would see their Medicare payments drop by 21% next year and by 40% by 2016. The bill’s costs are not offset by tax increases or spending cuts at a time when the Obama administration estimates the federal deficit at $1.4 trillion.

Loosely translated, "Screw you, but we'll happily bribe you with a cool quarter-billion of other people's money that we would be spending anyway, and you'll take it if you know what's good for you."  Like, you know, drafting any doctors into compulsory government "service" if they try to quit.  Or until the CBO, and the REAL mainstream media, blow the whistle on this deficit hammer.  Which, come to think of it, the latter already did on how the nation's physicians REALLY feel about BarryCare.

In any case, there are many adjectives that can be applied to "Dirty Harry" Reid, but "intimidating" ain't one of them.

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How desperate is the Left to foist this national health care insanity on the American people?  First, what the Washington Post says:

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and wins clear majority support from the public.

Americans remain sharply divided about the overall packages moving closer to votes in Congress and President Obama’s leadership on the issue, reflecting the partisan battle that has raged for months over the administration’s top legislative priority. But sizable majorities back two key and controversial provisions: both the so-called public option and a new mandate that would require all Americans to carry health insurance.

Independents and senior citizens, two groups crucial to the debate, have warmed to the idea of a public option, and are particularly supportive if it would be administered by the states and limited to those without access to affordable private coverage.

But in a sign of the fragile coalition politics that influence the negotiations in Congress, Obama’s approval ratings on health-care reform are slipping among his fellow Democrats even as they are solidifying among independents and seniors. Among Democrats, strong approval of his handling of the issue has dropped fifteen percentage points since mid-September.

The unmistakable message?  "See, Mr. President, the American people are bowing down to you on health care, don't chicken out now!"  The same poll, BTW, gives Red Barry a 57% approval rating and shows the Dems up by TWELVE POINTS in the generic congressional ballot.  Whereas legitimate surveys like Rasmussen have shown the GOP ahead in the low-to-mid single digits for the past two months and Obama's approval number between 45% and 50%.

How can this possibly be?  Is The One turning the public opinion tide just in the nick of time?

Um, no:

The sampling comprises 33% Democrats, as opposed to only 20% Republicans.  That thirteen-point spread is two points larger than their September polling, at 32%/21%.  More tellingly, it’s significantly larger than their Election Day sample, which included 35% Democrats to 26% Republicans for a gap of nine points, about a third smaller than the gap in this poll.  Of course, that’s when they were more concerned about accuracy over political points of view.

And, of course, the actual gap in the 2008 election was six to seven points.  So the WaPo - you know, one of those "legitimate news organizations" - had to DOUBLE the partisan sample gap that actually elected this Obamunist junta a year ago in order to get results they could propagandize with.  As if anybody was still paying attention to their pulp fiction.

I say, if facts are no longer an obstacle, why bother polling Republicans anymore, period?  That way you could provide the ObamaHouse with the numbers they TRULY want, and justify the "great leap forward" Anita Tse-Dunn has only heretofore dreamed about.