Obama Should Steamroll the GOP on Health Reform

There's a lot of hand-wringing about whether the Democrats and Barack Obama should use reconciliation as a way of passing health care reform (HCR) in the face of the GOP filibuster.

Newt Gingrich actually had the chutzpah to call it "majoritarianism," as if a two-thirds majority had actually been written into the U.S. Constitution.

But most of the hand-wringing is actually coming from the left, which worries that Obama and the Democrats will suffer political consequences -- tea party madness, populist revolt, etc. -- in November.

That's madness. They will suffer consequences for not doing everything in their power to pass the HCR we elected them to enact.

This Princeton Survey Research poll conducted for Newsweek proves a couple of important points:

• Obama has way more political capital than the GOP
• Obama has let the GOP frame HCR in a way that makes it less popular
• People are overwhelmingly in favor of most aspects of the plan and -- this is the key --
• Rate Obama's plan favorably when they're told what those proposals really are, even though there are aspects of the reform that they don't like.

Here are some of the poll questions and results:

First of all, Obama is popular. His health care favorables are bad, but still better than the GOP:

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?

48 Approve
40 Disapprove
12 Don’t know

Now thinking about the issue of HEALTH CARE REFORM… Please tell me if you approve or disapprove of the way each of the following is handling this issue. (First,) do you approve or disapprove of the way
Approve Disapprove DK
a. Barack Obama 39 52 9
b. GOP in Congress 21 63 16
c. Dems in Congress 27 61 12

On an up-and-down, blind test, Obama's HCR is unpopular

As you may know, Barack Obama has proposed a plan to change this country’s health care system. From what you have seen or heard about what he has proposed, what is your OVERALL opinion of Obama’s health care reform
plan – do you favor it or oppose it?
Favor Oppose DK
40 49 11

But when the proposals are spelled out, people love pretty much all of them:

Do you favor or oppose this proposal (to change the health care system)?

a. Requiring that all Americans have health insurance, with the government providing financial help to those who can’t afford it

Favor Oppose DK
59 36 5

b. Requiring most businesses to offer health insurance to their employees, with tax incentives for small business owners to do so
Favor Oppose DK
75 20 5

c. If health coverage is required for everyone, imposing fines on individuals who don’t obtain
coverage and on larger businesses that don’t offer it
Favor Oppose DK
28 62 10

d. Requiring health insurance companies to cover anyone who applies, even if they have a pre-existing medical condition
Favor Oppose DK
76 19 5

e. Creating a government-administered public health insurance option to compete with private plans

Favor Oppose DK
50 42 8

f. Creating a new insurance marketplace – the Exchange – that allows people without health
insurance to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive rates

Favor Oppose DK
81 13 6

g. Preventing insurance companies from dropping coverage when people are sick

Favor Oppose DK
59 38 3

h. Imposing a tax on insurers who offer the most expensive health plans, the so-called Cadillac plans, to help pay for health care reform

Favor Oppose DK
34 55 11

The fascinating thing is, when people are told this is part of Obama's HCR plan, they change their tune about it:

Now please think about the proposals I just described to you. ALL of these proposals are included in Barack Obama’s health care reform plan. Having heard these details, what is your OVERALL opinion of Obama’s plan – do you favor it or oppose it?
Favor Oppose DK
48 43 9

Now tell me people are going to hold his use of a parliamentary procedure against him if that's what it takes to get a bill passed. On the contrary, they'll love him for doing it, as long as he and the Democrats spend enough time touting its benefits.