Friday, March 12, 2010

Pollsters To Two Former Democratic Presidents Speak About Political Reality

Patrick H. Caddell and Douglas E. Schoen, pollsters to Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, write a piece in the Washington Post about political reality and how the Democrat's actions are setting them up for an "unmitigated disaster in November."

The Democrats have put themselves in between a rock and a hard place with Obamacare, as they explain:

First, the battle for public opinion has been lost. Comprehensive health care has been lost. If it fails, as appears possible, Democrats will face the brunt of the electorate's reaction. If it passes, however, Democrats will face a far greater calamitous reaction at the polls. Wishing, praying or pretending will not change these outcomes.


One line stood out clearly when they discussed the Democratic politicians self-deception about polling on Obamacare:

Never in our experience as pollsters can we recall such self-deluding misconstruction of survey data.


They conclude:

For Democrats to begin turning around their political fortunes there has to be a frank acknowledgement that the comprehensive health-care initiative is a failure, regardless of whether it passes. There are enough Republican and Democratic proposals -- such as purchasing insurance across state lines, malpractice reform, incrementally increasing coverage, initiatives to hold down costs, covering preexisting conditions and ensuring portability -- that can win bipartisan support. It is not a question of starting over but of taking the best of both parties and presenting that as representative of what we need to do to achieve meaningful reform. Such a proposal could even become a template for the central agenda items for the American people: jobs and economic development.

Unless the Democrats fundamentally change their approach, they will produce not just a march of folly but also run the risk of unmitigated disaster in November.


Since Democratic leaders have no intention of changing their approach and are considering even more extreme tactics (IE: Slaughter Solution), November promises to be a horrible train wreck for Democratic politicians across the board in the House and Senate.

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