Why Americans are turning on ObamaCare

The verdict is in: a majority of Americans now oppose ObamaCare. According to Rasmussen, 53% oppose Democrats’ proposals, with disapproval ratings up 9% since June. 51% believe health care costs will increase under Obama’s plan, and just 19% think the proposed measures will bring health care costs down.

Gallup has compiled a ten-point list summarizing Americans’ problems with Democrats’ plans based on voter surveys taken in late July. They conclude that while Americans want some reforms in the long-term, they are in no hurry to see health care legislation pushed through quickly.

The list points out that Americans are primarily concerned about government spending, and in light of the enormous stimulus bill, which less than a third believe has made the economy better,  their concern is with the country’s economic well-being. The failure of the stimulus to stimulate anything (other than the government) has prompted them to step back, examine the details of the legislation and question how it would affect their lives.

The outrage significant numbers of people have expressed is due to the fact that they feel manipulated, and they’re sick of being lied to. The President and his administration had much success using his sales tactics and urgent rhetoric to sell people on the necessity of his plans early on in his Presidency – especially when it came to the stimulus. The President toured the country then too, telling people that the only way to get the economy back on track was to spend more – namely in the areas of health care, energy and infrastructure. Yet, here we are in August, with only about $70 billion of the $787 billion having been spent.  And even with a slight drop in the unemployment rate last week, with payrolls declining, struggling Americans who aren’t seeing any change in their lives are getting frustrated with Washington’s rabid spending, crafty rhetoric and overall incompetence.

And yet today, President Obama looked people in the eye at the town hall gathering in New Hampshire and lied to them once again. He was dishonest a few times, but the time I’d like to focus on is when he mentioned that he would not sign any bill that increased the deficit.

The current price tag for health care is a whopping $1 trillion. The CBO estimates that the proposals will increase the federal deficit by $239 billion over the next ten years. After the next 10 years, health care could add more than $880 billion to the deficit. And it gets worse with the possibility that the CBO may have underestimated the cost of health care by $1 trillion.

Despite these facts, Obama once again renewed his promise today to provide health care coverage to (almost) all Americans, bring down costs and make the system more efficient - without adding to the deficit.

Americans know when something seems off. And, after the stimulus debacle, they don’t want to be lied to. If liberals are going to sell their health care bill, they must engage voters honestly and have a real debate over the proposals. People went along with the stimulus because they believed that without spending that money, the economy would collapse. No one would be spared its effects. But, Americans learned their lesson, and they’re not buying anymore.

If anything, President Obama’s performance at the town hall today hurt his cause more than it helped it. All but a couple questions were from health care supporters who had already made up their minds. And, he stuck to the liberal talking points and continued to lie – about everything from the cost of the plan, to the alleged competitiveness it would foster, and even about his own prior position on a single-payer system.

It caught my attention when at one point, President Obama said, “if you’re in private insurance, first of all, your private insurance can do whatever you want.” That’s exactly the point Mr. President. Now how about some more of that honesty in the town hall forums coming later this week?

*Originally published on The American Issues Project Blog, here.

Tags: capitalism, economic crisis, health care debate, Stimulus