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…than a weekday vote. A large amount of the public were able to see what happened and had the time to see the online reaction of pro-life group etc and the rather incredible statement by Stupak.
It will be very hard to spin what people saw with their own eyes. A really foolish move politically.
This fall it isn’t going to be close.
I was at a restaurant after the men’s conference and was telling the owner about my adventures during the Scott Brown campaign and CPAC when he introduced me to a reporter/democratic operative who had come to eat with his wife. It was a very interesting experience.
When I was asked to explain the reasons why I thought Martha Coakley lost I started out by reminding him of her abortion flip flop concerning the healthcare bill. The moment I brought that up the gentleman started filibustering saying I had no business voting for Scott Brown since he had flipped on abortion. He would not let me finish my point when he started making “tea bagger” references. I reminded him that this was a vulgar sexual reference, quite inappropriate as he was sitting with his wife in a public restaurant, but he continued to use the reference and then maintained that the Obama joker posters were beyond the pale and other than the odd union sign democrats never acted this way.
As I was in fact born after the invention of the internet and did live through the eight years of the Bush administration I wouldn’t let him get away with that either, saying he could tell that to the marines but not to me. (Even Charles Johnson wouldn’t fall for that). It was astounding, it was the same tone deafness that the Coakley campaign had combined with a touch of the bigotry of the Boston Berkshires and ‘Bama lady.
When the gentleman started to suggest that my mother who left the democratic party this year was “confused” it was definitely time to excuse myself. I game my respects to his embarrassed wife (I felt bad for her, she seemed a nice lady and her reaction to my respects suggested that she had to deal with her husband in this capacity before) and left them to their dinner.
His inability to listen, suggestions that I was not capable of learning or understanding, lack of basic decorum; particularly in front of lady were troubling. Combine this with his attempts to make assertions that were false on their face and frustration when I would not accept them leads me to believe that Coakley’s weaknesses are not unique among democratic circles. If that is the case then the Democratic party in Massachusetts may be in much worse trouble than they know or will acknowledge.
Barack “Don’t worry Martha Coakley I’ll come to Massachusetts to save you” Obama has decided to lay down the law for wavering democrats:
The president will refuse to make fund-raising visits during November elections to any district whose representative has not backed the bill.
A one-night presidential appearance can bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds which would otherwise take months to accumulate through cold-calling by campaign volunteers.
We all saw how anxious John Boccieri was to attend the Obama event in Ohio, I’m sure other congressmen in swing districts are just as anxious to have him there.
Between this and the sudden shifts by newspapers things are going to get very interesting.
FYI around the blogroll will return tomorrow.
From the Wall Street Journal (hat tip Independent Woman’s voice) we see that political costs of the healthcare bill are not insignificant:
The survey shows astonishing intensity and sharp opposition to reform, far more than national polls reflect. For 82% of those surveyed, the heath-care bill is either the top or one of the top three issues for deciding whom to support for Congress next November. (That number goes to 88% among independent women.) Sixty percent want Congress to start from scratch on a bipartisan health-care reform proposal or stop working on it this year. Majorities say the legislation will make them and their loved ones (53%), the economy (54%) and the U.S. health-care system (55%) worse off—quite the trifecta.
Seven in 10 would vote against a House member who votes for the Senate health-care bill with its special interest provisions. That includes 45% of self-identified Democrats, 72% of independents and 88% of Republicans.
Even more troubling for the White House and the leadership is that the political benefits of changing your mind and opposing the bill, like the benefits of quitting smoking start almost at once:
A congressman can buy himself a little grace if he had previously voted for health-care reform but now votes against it. Forty-nine percent of voters will feel more supportive of that member if he does so, 40% less supportive. More dramatically, 58% of voters say they will be more supportive of their congressman’s re-election if he votes against the bill a second time. However, for those members who voted against it in November and vote yes this time, 61% of voters say they will be less likely to support their re-election.
So much for the Damned if you do damned if you don’t argument.
The administration’s attempt to create a Fait accompli is very foolish. it has the potential to blow up in their faces like the Olympics or the Obama visit to Massachusetts during the Scott Brown election.
Democrats would be well advised to keep this in mind before they join the congressional version of Judean People’s front Crack suicide squad.
That’ll show us conservatives!
Update: The full poll is here.
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