Gallup: Health Care is Looking Like Waterloo

Gallup's latest poll shows a seismic shift in public opinion on the role of the federal government in health care.   In 2006 69% of Americans thought it was the role of government to ensure everyone has health care coverage.  This poll shows 47% believe this should be the responsibility of the government while the number who believed health care is not the responsibility of government grew from 28% in 2006 to 50% currently.  This represents a 22 point shift in both directions.

A follow up question in the Gallup poll reveals 61% of the American people are in favor of maintaining the current health care system while those in favor of replacing the system with a new government run health care system has fallen to 32%.  It looks as though more people favor "doing nothing" or maintaining the status quo. Maybe it's time for Obama's speech writers to think up a new line.

 Gallup's bottom line:

The current poll results indicate that, with the renewed healthcare debate since Obama took office, Americans have become less convinced that it is an appropriate goal for the federal government to take on the responsibility of ensuring that all Americans have healthcare coverage. It is possible that the current debate has increased the average American's awareness as to the nuances of the various roles the government could play in the healthcare system, helping make the generic "make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage" sound less appealing. Plus, the current debate may have produced more skepticism among Americans that the government's role in healthcare could or should be this broad

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air points out Democrats in Washington have failed to detect the ground shifting beneath their feet:

 Three years ago, the Democratic point of view fell firmly in the mainstream.  Now it’s the fringe, but the Democrats in the Beltway haven’t noticed that the ground has changed under their feet.  A 44-point swing in three years is a sea change, one that will drown the Democrats next year if they try to shove ObamaCare and its mandates down our throats.

This poll completely refutes the conventional "wisdom" in Washington that passing health care will save Democrats in the coming midterm elections.  Bill Clinton paid a visit to the Senate as a reminder what happens when a Democratic majority fails to pass health care.  It's too bad they can't send Napoleon to the Senate as a reminder of what will happen if they do pass health care.