Tucking its tail and bowing to widespread pressure, the Obama administration has delayed the employer mandate—the centerpiece of Obamacare—until January 2015. This concession to reality confirms that the legislation is a train wreck, and the delay until just after the 2014 elections is a desperate attempt to avoid a sweeping defeat for Democrats in the mid-terms.
The fallout from Obamacare’s implementation is already obvious, having led to the retirement of five prominent Democratic senators (Rockefeller – Va., Harkin – Iowa, Johnson – S.D., Baucus – Mt., and Levin – Mich.). What did all of these lawmakers have in common? They all voted for and were public proponents of Obamacare, and they all knew that it would make their reelection impossible in 2014.
How many more senators called the White House and threatened not to run in 2014 if the president didn’t pull Obamacare implementation off the table? Sen. Jean Shaheen from New Hampshire was likely among them.
Several weeks ago a local citizens’ group, Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire, produced a high-quality commercial, and did a significant ad spend attacking Shaheen for her deciding vote on Obamacare and the damage that it would do to New Hampshire citizens. No doubt other senators and the administration were taken aback by such a strong, early attack in a non-election year.
In a clear sign of political weakness, the administration made the announcement during the July 4th holiday week, in the hopes of burying the news. But the ploy is obvious. The administration and congressional Democrats are becoming increasingly desperate to separate themselves from the president’s signature accomplishment.
According to the latest polling from Rasmussen, 48 percent of likely voters want their governor to oppose implementation of Obamacare, while only 41 percent are hoping their governor will support implementation. That’s a nine percent gap in likely voters. Sixty percent of likely voters believe that their costs will increase under the new law, and 57 percent believe that the health care system will get worse in the coming years. Those numbers aren’t going to get better as the law is implemented.
It’s important to remember that polling never showed widespread support for the Obamacare legislation, and that Sen. Harry Reid had to play games with the rules in order to force this train wreck on the public. It was a stunning example of a ruling elite that has no regard for the people they are supposed to represent.
Now that the bill has passed, and in Nancy Pelosi’s words, the American people “get to see what’s in it,” they like it even less. To its credit, the House of Representatives has voted many times to repeal Obamacare. However, in a continuing show of their disdain for the citizens, Harry Reid has led the Democrats in the Senate in blocking any consideration of a repeal vote. The American people don’t want it, the House of Representatives repeatedly voted to repeal it, and yet “King” Harry Reid refuses to even allow a vote.
Sen. Max Baucus said it best when speaking about the implementation of Obamacare: “I just see a huge train wreck coming down.” Baucus and four other Democratic senators announced their retirements in order to get off the tracks and avoid the coming electoral crash. The administration’s desperate Fourth of July fireworks ploy will not fool the American people nor prevent the damage.
