DNC Chairman Tim Kaine does not think much of the American public’s preference for how to move forward on health care reform.

“When I hear the start from scratch, it doesn't strike me as earnest advice. It's more like Dr. Kevorkian giving you health care advice. They don't want to start from scratch… Start from scratch isn't an idea. Start from scratch isn’t a solution.” (DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, MSNBC, 2/23/10)

A recent poll shows that 57% think Congress should start over on health care. It may not be the preferred solution of the Democratic Party but Party members ignore the sentiments of  American voters at their own peril.

The White House may try to paint its health care proposal as the Democrats’ consensus plan, but on the issue of abortion in particular, Bart Stupak begs to differ:

“Unfortunately, the President's proposal encompasses the Senate language allowing public funding of abortion. The Senate language is a significant

departure from current law and is unacceptable.”

Rep Stupak is not alone in his conviction that a health care overhaul plan should not include public funding for abortions. A December Quinnipiac University poll found that voters oppose using any public money in the health care overhaul to pay for abortions by a 72 – 23% margin.

The Democratic opposition to abortion funding in a health care overhaul plan may not end with Stupak either considering that sixty-four Democrats voted with 176 Republicans for the Stupak amendment in November, which would have prohibited coverage of abortions in a new government-run health care plan.

At the White House press briefing today, Robert Gibbs said that starting over on health care reform “is not what American people want.”

According to a recent poll, Gibbs couldn’t be more wrong about what the American people want.

 “Presented with a choice of ways forward, 43.9 percent said Congress should start over, 25.1 percent said Congress should pass some kind of bill and fix it later, and just 18.1 percent said they backed Democratic leaders' preferred strategy of having the House pass the Senate bill alongside other legislation to modify it,” according to a Zogby International-University of Texas Health Science Center poll.

That’s right. Not only do the American people reject the plans Democrats have put forward already, but exactly 18.1% actually endorse what has become the White House’s plan of action for moving forward on health care.

The President does himself no favors when he brings local economies to a grinding halt in order to accommodate his campaign stops across the country.

Tour operators in Nevada are his latest victim. The Las Vegas Review-Journal quotes several tour companies describing the economic impact a presidential visit has on their business, at a time when they can least afford.

“Nigel Turner, president of Heli USA, said his company will have to cancel tours for 180 reserved passengers,” due to the presidential visit and the grander-than-usual security requirements, writes the Review-Journal.

And how does Nigel Turner feel about that?

"I think it's very hypocritical to come here and talk about jobs and improving the tourism economy and then do something like this that will just devastate the tour operators," Turner said, according the paper.

Director of operations for Sundance Helicopters told the paper that hundreds of his customers will be affected by the presidential visit.

The ... more

The Plum Line is quoting Senate Dem leadership aides as saying the Senate Democrats are “warming” to the idea of using reconciliation to force their health care bill through Congress after the summit.

According to one Senate aide, “People want to get rid of health care. They want it off the agenda. The simplest answer is that reconciliation may be the most expedient way to do it.”

 After all the talk coming from the President promoting a “bipartisan” health summit the fact that the Democrats are already planning a post summit strategy that involves reconciliation underlines where the Democrats really are on this issue. 

 But it also demonstrates the Democrats’ eagerness to get the unpopular legislation off their plates as soon possible, by any means necessary.

 If Democrats think pushing their government health care plan through Congress by using reconciliation will be more palatable to the American public they should consider a recent poll which found that 57% think Congress ... more