Dems Run, But Can't Hide from ObamaCare

• For years, Democrats promised that the public would eventually fall in love with ObamaCare once they realized all its wonderful benefits

• A month ago, President Obama said debate about the law was over because it was such a huge success — once 8 million people allegedly signed up for coverage

• As recently as this spring, Nancy Pelosi was bragging that ObamaCare will be a "winner" for Democrats, that Democrats "embrace" and are "very proud" of it, that "we couldn't be more thrilled"

Dems Run, But Can't Hide from ObamaCare

Investors.com Editorial | May 27, 2014

Denial: Six months ago, Rep. Nancy Pelosi promised Democrats would "stand tall" for ObamaCare. But as November elections near, more Democrats want to pretend ObamaCare never happened. And for good reason.

Georgia's Senate candidate, Michelle Nunn, refuses to say whether she would have voted for ObamaCare had she been in Congress in 2010. Ditto Kentucky's Alison Lundergan Grimes and Nebraska House candidate Pete Festersen.

Montana's Sen. John Walsh, who is trying to keep the seat he was appointed to in February, wants everyone to know that he was far, far away from Washington when ObamaCare votes were cast, "preparing soldiers and airman to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan."

Even Pelosi is trying to downplay ObamaCare for the midterms, saying in an interview over the weekend that "we're not running on or from the Affordable Care Act."

Really? For years, Democrats promised that the public would eventually fall in love with ObamaCare once they realized all its wonderful benefits.

A month ago, President Obama said debate about the law was over because it was such a huge success — once 8 million people allegedly signed up for coverage.

As recently as this spring, Pelosi was bragging that ObamaCare will be a "winner" for Democrats, that Democrats "embrace" and are "very proud" of it, that "we couldn't be more thrilled."

Well, perhaps someone showed Pelosi recent polls.


The latest AP poll shows support for ObamaCare at a pathetic 28% — which is near the all-time low for this poll. And just 17% say they "strongly support" the law, also near the poll's all-time low.
Meanwhile, 32% say they "strongly oppose" the law, which is higher than the share who said that when the ObamaCare exchanges first opened last October.

The Kaiser Family Foundation's health tracking poll shows the same thing, with overall opposition running near all-time highs.

Worse for Democrats, it appears voters in states with competitive Senate races and districts with tight House races are even more distraught over the law.

A Politico poll of these voters found that nearly half favor repealing ObamaCare, and 60% say that, despite Obama's words to the contrary, "the debate over the law is not over." The poll also found that nearly 90% say the law will be important in determining their vote.

If that weren't enough, ObamaCare continues to flummox the Democrats' union base.

Across the country, unions and employers are battling over who is going to pay all the added costs imposed by the law that Pelosi insists be called by its official title: the Affordable Care Act.

Flight attendants working for Alaska Airlines, for example, voted down a contract because they said it failed to provide enough protection against ObamaCare's steep price tag.

In Las Vegas, service workers are threatening to go on strike next month, with the primary point of contention being ObamaCare-induced cost increases.

Meanwhile, in Pelosi's home state of California, the United Farm Workers are trying to figure out how to continue providing insurance for more than 10,000 of their union members in the state, now that ObamaCare has effectively outlawed their current benefit plan.

Turns out a replacement insurance policy for these workers would cost 35% to 80% more. Filling in the gaps with a supplemental plan will cost millions of dollars, which some of the state's Democrats want taxpayers to pay for.

Then there's this week's news about how hospitals are cutting back on charity care because of ObamaCare, and how the IRS is threatening massive fines if employers respond to ObamaCare's incentives by shifting workers into the exchanges.

Even if Pelosi isn't noticing any of this, you can bet voters are.