I am not advising Obama to start saying this, but the real response to Mitch McConnell touting polls that say that the American people don’t like the health care bills is to say that it doesn’t matter because the American people need a health care bill.
About The Author

BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
He could use W’s & Cheney’s line that polls don’t matter.
The American people don’t like the bills, they just like what is in the bills.
You would think that the economy and the number of people losing their health insurance would make it easier to pass HCR since there are so many people without coverage. That should put more pressure on our congresscritters, even the Republicans! You would think!
You’re absolutely right. But he could do the tough leadership things and say something along the lines of: “I know the polls show that people have concerns about this, but real leadership isn’t about reading polls, it’s about doing what’s right” etc etc. Put that in Obamanese and it’d come out better than I just said it.
“Obamanese” – love it.
In the parts I watched, Republicans kept citing “the polls show that people think this and they think that …” The correct response should have been that it doesn’t matter what people think – what matters is what is fact. With all the disinformation spread by the Republicans, especially last August, no wonder people have the wrong idea.
I think the real response to Mitch is that the American people don’t like the health care bills in their current form because they do too little. They are unhappy with the weak tea being served by the Congress because it doesn’t do the things that most people want and need. Something like 40% are in favor of the current bill making it’s glacial way through the sausage factory. Something like 60% favor a public option and I think I’ve seen a poll that a majority favor lowering or eliminating the age restriction on Medicare.
It’s not that the American people don’t want real health care reform. It’s that they are deeply disappointed with the pale imitation that Congress if offering them.
meaningful to people like this.
We’re talking about a segment of the public that follows and cheers on that type of thinking.
Finally, concrete evidence for the wingers that evolution (or should I say devolution) does actually occur in humans. And those stupid scientists say devolution in humans is a biological fallacy.
What do they know! I’ve seen it with my own lying eyes.
Somebody needs to knock out all of Limbaugh’s teeth and let him live on applesauce for a year.
what cruel responses to a sad situation
The best response would be to congradulate Mitch McConnell on the ability of the Republican party to misinform the American people.
“Just one thing on polls. I have seen the polls that show only minor support for this bill. But those same polls show that when the current plan is explained to someone in a factual way, support for almost every single provision within the bill jumps considerabily. This disparity, I think, speaks volumes about how this plan is being misrepresented and, let’s be honest, lied about, on an almost daily basis by it’s opponents. So while I find it impressive that opponents have been able to, in the media, paint this plan as some neo-communist plot to destroy America, it doesn’t present a situation in which I’ll be swayed that the American people have rejected what we’re offering.”
I like your response on this the best…
Personally I think the advice of most others here is exactly WRONG. I do not think this is a time for emphasizing “leadership” even in the face of the popular will of the American people. Frankly, that sounds way too Republican (*fascist) like Cheney’s attitude towards the war.
No, I think that the Democratic Party should always operate under the mantle of the People. That our policies ARE the popular policies. I would not concede to the Republicans’ point here. So I would primarily do what you are suggesting, and emphasize the strong support for what is actually in the bill versus the public distaste for the process and the lies sold to them by Republicans.
Additionally, I (as President Obama) could not help but retort, “You say the American People do not want this heath care bill. Well, I’ll tell you some things the American People like even less than that: YOU. YOUR PARTY. The Congress as a whole. And so on.
“There has been a lot of talk about my decrease in popularity in this very difficult first year. What is not spoken of is the dissatisfaction the American people are feeling with government in general. I’m still the most popular person in this room! The Democratic Party is suffering from decreased support but the Republican Party is not becoming more beloved. The GOP strategy seems to be to destroy our functioning government completely in the hopes of winning an election or two. That is wrong.”
I know that the last part sounds a bit sophomoric, but I do think it needs to be said — and perhaps Obama is the only person who can say it where it will be heard. For example, the media focuses on the opinion Dick Cheney has of the current administration without putting it into the context of, “Cheney was the most unpopular politician in recent memory and remains unpopular. So why are we listening to his objections?”
This comment has gone on far too long, but I’m attempting to hone in on the heart of our politics. Good public polling can be our best asset, if we call this nation a democracy and ourselves the Democratic Party. I am tired of my fellow-liberal friends saying that “the American people” are too stupid to know what’s best for them. That is an elitist position. What we must say is that when it is explained to them the American People support what is best for them, Democratic policies.
The response is to say that the American people don’t like these health care bills because they are too weak – go right to the people with the public option or the expansion of Medicare. These things are popular even in Red State America.
But Obama has never had the guts to stand up for them and that’s why we won’t get them. Don’t blame McConnell. It’s Obama who won’t lead the fight.
In his closing remarks he basically said that.
He said:
We agree on this and that
We disagree on these few things
Let’s see if the GOP can find some enlightenment and can’t get this done
If not, we will look at the rules of Congress
And in the end, that’s what elections are for.
Obama says: I’m not carrying this fight for the majority that has medical insurance but for the millions of Americans who suffer needlessly without medical care. Their struggle is also mine and their health is my concern, even if it isn’t yours.
The polls say that the popularity of the Senate bill jumps by 20-30 points when it includes a public option.
The polls also say that voters know the difference between a public option in a market environment and a public program, which is why Republican talking points have gotten little traction in knocking down the public option.
And there are a heck of a lot of people who would like to escape the golden handcuffs of corporate healthcare plans. Just as there are oodles of primary care physicians who would like to escape the golden handcuffs of large integrated private for-profit, public, or university medical systems.
THe days before Bush announced the “Surge” when common thought, polling and expert advice said Bush had failed, yet he gave everyone the biggest finger available, double downed, & declared The Surge. If a pres can double down for a poor policy it would seem adding the public option back in, adding it to reconcilliation and going for it at least deserves more proactive discussion
Right. And kids want all the sugar they can eat, too. Doesn’t mean it’s good for them.