Legal Commentary

The Village (And "Progressive" Bloggers) Insist Dems Dump Their Base

By Big Tent Democrat

DemfromCt (by contrast Nate Silver has a very cogent critique of WaPo analysis of its poll) appears to endorse the Village view that even though the public option is favored by no less than 55% of Americans (51% support mandates, though it would not occur to the Village to ask how people feel about HCR if mandates are removed), it is the public option that must go. And when you present the ACTUAL public option presented in the proposals on the table now, support for a public option rises to 76%. But that does not matter to the Villagers, of the Media and the blogger variety (I'm referring to DemfromCt, who disingenuously and inaccurately describes the support for the public option as less than perceived. Why is DemfromCt playing with facts on this?):

[I]t is the public option that has become the major point of contention . . . If that single provision were removed, opposition to the overall package drops by six percentage points, according to the poll. Without the public option, 50 percent back the rest of the proposed changes; a still sizable 42 percent are opposed. Independents divide 45-45 on a package without the government-sponsored insurance option, while they are largely negative on the entire set of proposals (40 percent support and 52 percent oppose). Republican opposition also fades 20 points under this scenario.

[More...]

The decision to back away from the provision might hurt Obama among his base, but not dramatically so, as 88 percent of liberal Democrats support the reform plan as is, 81 percent without the public option.

See the game? A 7% drop among Dems is nothing. But a 5% rise among independents is a HUGE deal. It is is the old Villager game. And now apparently a "progressive" blogger game too. we'll see how that game plays out for Dems in a mid-term election. I predict badly.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 14, 2009 (boomark / email).