The Current Tally

Byron York’s sources say their best estimate is that there are now 204 votes for the government health care takeover bill, 209 votes against it, and 18 undecided. The good news, one could infer, is that the Republicans only have to carry seven of the 18 to block the bill, while the Democrats have to convince 12 of the 18 to vote Yes in order to pass it. The bad news is that all 18 undecided votes are Democrats.
It is hard to believe that Nancy Pelosi and her cohorts won’t be able to get there, by hook or by crook. Still, we need to keep up the fight to the end–and beyond. If the current bill, whatever it is, becomes law, taxes will rise immediately but the health care “reform” provisions will mostly be put off for several years. I agree with Paul and others that once socialized medicine is actually established, it will be difficult or impossible to undo. But that won’t happen under the current bill. Rather, as I understand how the legislation works, there will be a window of several years during which Republicans can try to repeal or amend the legislation. So no matter what happens this week, Obamacare will be a millstone around the Dems’ necks for years to come. That’s how it looks to me, anyway.
This survey, a joint project of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest Advance and Pajamas Media, suggests how deeply unpopular some of the key provisions of the Democrats’ legislation are with the public.
For reasons that are obviously related, this was a red-letter day, as for the first time, President Obama’s approval rating broke into negative territory on the Gallup poll. Among voters, of course, Obama has been under water for a long time.