So it seems that the doubling-down on ObamaCare crowd exists mostly in the punditocracy. Congress wants to move on. Who knows if this is what Obama “wants.” He is, in a sense, a bystander to the wreckage of his own failed first year. The survivors are walking away from the crash, bruised and battered. Whether he acknowledges this failure tonight remains to be seen. But it matters not at all what he says on the subject. The country has spoken, the Congress is finally listening, and the jig is up. ObamaCare is dead.
Commentary's Pete Wehner, February 25th:
I think ObamaCare will die; and it will die because liberals are badly losing the arguments on the merits. The sooner liberals like Chait accept that unpleasant truth — the sooner they re-engage with reality — the better off they will be.
Slowly, though, the right-wing line has turned from gloating that health care reform is dead, and mocking anybody who suggests otherwise, to warning that the democrats will suffer terrible consequences if reform passes.
Commentary's Pete Wehner, March 1st:
Nancy Pelosi is asking many House Democrats to sacrifice honors, prestige, and their chosen career in behalf of a single issue: ObamaCare. I don’t think they will do it; and in fact they would be very wise to turn down her invitation. To go down in flames for a plan that is both noxious and unpopular is not the political epitaph most lawmakers want. But if Ms. Pelosi has her way, it’s an epitaph more than a few Democrats will end up with.
Rubin, quoting Stu Rothenberg, today:
Yes, they may pass a comprehensive bill, but at a steep cost.
I'm holding steady: 60% chance of passage.