Well, the president"s nationally televised Health Care Summit is over. Now what?
Frank Luntz, who has spoken to AWB's Policy Summit and is nationally recognized for the focus groups he conducts with real people on TV to get their views, predicts that President Obama and the Democrats will use the so-called "nuclear option" to pass their trillion dollar health-care reforms. Today, Luntz appeared on the Imus Show. Watch the first 1:15 of the interview here.
Wall Street Journal Columnist Peggy Noonan summarized the path forward this way:
"What the meeting made clear is what the Democrats are going to do -- not step back and save the moderates of their party but attempt to bully a bill through Congress."
Then there is the cost of Obama Care:
"Mr. Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican, posed the fundamental question: 'Should people in Washington decide exactly how this works and what you can and cannot buy?' We thought the GOP acquitted itself fairly well, noting the irresponsibility of using Medicare cuts to float a new entitlement when the status quo has $37 trillion in unfunded liabilities. They also focused on smaller, incremental reforms that might do some modest good."
What about our health insurance premiums, the Wall Street Journal asks?
"One fact is that the Congressional Budget Office estimates that premiums in the individual market would jump by 10% to 13% in 2016 because the government will mandate that consumers buy richer benefits than they otherwise would. Mr. Obama eventually conceded that point but said these mandates are simple consumer protections, 'Yes, I am paying 10% to 13% more because instead of buying an apple, I'm getting an orange,' Mr. Obama said. "We want competition, we just want some minimum standards."
Back to Luntz to wrap this up. Luntz had 26 people from Philadelphia in a focus group to discuss the summit. It was equally split between Democrats and Republicans and balanced for all of the relvant factors needed to have a fair cross-sample. Here is what they collectively said, loud and clear:
- They all knew what reconciliation was, and universally said: DON'T DO IT!
- President Obama and Congress: START LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE AND DO WHAT IS BEST FOR THEM!
- Start over and make changes we can afford that will make a difference.
Given what the president and Democrats in Congress may do -- jam their version of health care down people's throats -- you really have to wonder if they are listening. They will in November. That's what people universally told Luntz and that's what they're saying in the public opinion polls.
Hello? Is anyone listening inside the Beltway?
Don C. Brunell, President (DonB@awb.org)