Are Dems caving on Obamacare?

You know, after the hullabaloo we had to endure over the Obama-Reid government shutdown, one would think the Democrats would be feeling their oats and confident of 2014 success. But maybe not.

Earlier this week, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen called for an extension of the individual mandate and an evaluation in the penalties inherent in failing to enroll:

Given the existing problems with the website, I urge you to consider extending open enrollment beyond the current end date of March 31, 2014. Allowing extra time for consumers is critically important so they have the opportunity to become familiar with the website, survey their options and enroll.

Further, in light of the difficulties individuals may be having with enrolling through healthcare.gov, I ask that you clarify how the individual responsibility penalty will be administered and enforced. If an individual is unable to purchase health insurance due to technical problems with enrollment, they should not be penalized because of lack of coverage.

Isn’t it funny that the Democrats, who rebuffed a Republican attempt to delay the process by a year, now are having second thoughts because there’s no government shutdown to blame the GOP with?

Well, perhaps some of these Democrats are looking at the polls. In Maryland, which is still heavily Democratic for the time being, Obamacare had a 57% approval rating in the latest Maryland Poll. But Democrats in other states which are up for grabs next year may have a tougher row to hoe. Take Bill Clinton’s old stomping grounds of Arkansas, where Obama has an anemic 29% approval rating. There respondents to the Arkansas Poll, conducted by the University of Arkansas, blamed Democrats for the Obama-Reid government shutdown by a 39-27 margin over Republicans. Like Shaheen, Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor is up for re-election next year and a 34% approval rating isn’t conducive for continued political employment.

So, if CNN’s Dana Bash is correct in stating:

then the prospect of a delay actually occurring in the Senate is greatly enhanced. Remember, those Senators up for election in 2014 last faced the voters in the Democratic wave election of 2008, so they may have much stronger headwinds for their re-election. Not all of them are in “red” states, but enough would be to swing the balance of power – if the GOP holds together. The House would certainly follow suit.

Perhaps the electorate is taking the statement that the Democrats “can’t spin this turd” of Obamacare to heart. They may have the dream of single-payer health care, but most won’t sacrifice their office to achieve it.

Getting while the getting is good

In the nine years since I’ve moved to Maryland, I’ve attended a handful of political fundraisers and other similar events for which the common denominator seems to be crabs and camaraderie. But that equation seems to be changing as the O’Malley gun bill takes effect.

While I was out at the Autumn Wine Festival on Sunday, a much different event was occurring a few miles away in Mardela Springs. I don’t think WBOC did justice to the gathering, billing it as “a fundraiser against gun control” and making sure to find some poor downtrodden person to counter the argument with feelgood platitudes about “I just think we need to control (guns).” But they raised $6,000 at the event and when you compare that to what we raise at a Lincoln Day dinner, I think we may need to steal the idea. In this neck of the woods people like to shoot guns – it’s as simple as that.

In fact, gun raffles and outings seem to be more popular than ever as a means of raising money, which leads me into the next event.

The Maryland Citizen Action Network (the group which also sponsors the annual Turning the Tides conference) is having their own “Skeet and Eat” fundraiser where participants can fire their weapons. There will also be other family activities as well, but the main point is to keep those skills sharp and the aim true. Certainly the money raised will help them support conservative candidates and also put on another great Turning the Tides conference this coming year.

So if you happen to be in that area, or would like to support the fine work MDCAN does, be sure to sign up now – space is limited! It’s likely I’ll be at another local family-friendly event (see below) but MDCAN is certainly a worthwhile cause in need of support.

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If you want to support a candidate or cause, now is the time.