Fueled by voter dissatisfaction over the government takeover of the nation’s health system and the unbridled expansion of government as a whole, 2010 is already shaping up to be a plus-year for Republicans. A growing consensus in Washington suggests that Republicans stand to pick up a windfall of seats in both houses of Congress.
As reported by the Washington Post, “Democrats now face the evaporation of their 60-vote filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and losses in the House that a number of strategists across party lines conservatively estimate in the range of 20 to 25 seats.”
Since late-June, Republicans have led Rasmussen Reports’ generic Congressional ballot, numbering 28 weeks in a row. Since then, their lead has not abated, nor has their support dropped below 40 percent. Today, their lead stands at 44 percent to 35 percent — a 9-point spread — indicating a growing trend in their favor.
The key question is “Why?” Other polling by Rasmussen suggests that the answer largely lies in public opposition to the Democrats’ health care takeover. Quite simply, it’s an Albatross around the necks of Congressional Democrats, especially for vulnerable members who voted in favor of it.
Since Rasmussen’s September 13th-14th poll, opponents of ObamaCare have outnumbered supporters in every single poll the organization has taken. In fact, supporters have only outnumbered opponents twice throughout the entire year: in the June 27th-28th poll (50 to 45 percent) and in the September 11th-12th poll (51 to 46 percent). And that was out of 31 polls taken.
Today, opposition is holding with 52 percent against the legislation, and only 42 percent in favor. Making matters worse for Obama and the Democrats, a recent Quinnipiac University poll showed Independents opposing the legislation by a staggering 58 to 30 percent.
The key point: as opposition to ObamaCare has intensified, Republicans’ lead in the generic ballot has expanded. And support for Obama and Democrats across the board has plunged.
Which is not at all surprising. This is, after all, the same legislation that would ration health care away from seniors, raise taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars, take private choices away from the American people and force them onto government-run plans, and bankrupt the Treasury with an another unsustainable entitlement.
In short, while Medicare and Medicaid are going bankrupt and every year depend on more taxpayer funds drawn from general income tax revenue, Congressional Democrats have sought to expand the nation’s health care entitlement by 30-45 million.
Not only is that clearly unaffordable — Senate Republicans say it will cost $2.5 trillion over ten years once fully implemented — leaders have added insult to injury by attempting to disguise the gargantuan cost with accounting gimmicks that few Americans any longer believe, as ALG News has previously reported.
In fact, the Qunnipiac poll reveals that 73 percent of voters believe Obama’s government health care takeover will increase the burgeoning deficit.
And, because the government entitlement being established is so inherently unsustainable, the American people understand intuitively that it will mean that there is less health care to go around. They also understand that increased burdens on the system will mean less research and development, leading to declining quality.
All of which explains why 2010 is shaping up to be a banner year for Republicans politically. Not only are voters dissatisfied with the state of affairs, they are increasingly prepared to address the issue by ousting incumbents currently in the majority.
In short, it’s not so much an anti-incumbent feeling as an anti-Democrat one. And one needs look no further than the ObamaCare Albatross vulnerable Democrats have hoisted over their own necks.
Robert Romano is the ALG Senior News Editor.
