As Congress heads into a final decision on health-care reform, liberal opposition to the bill appears to be vanishing, according to Public Policy Polling. Last month 19 percent of liberals said they opposed the plan; now only 3 percent do. Ben Smith says in Politico that this vindicates White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's strategy of ignoring complaints from the Left that the plan doesn't go far enough, and concentrating on winning over moderates to get reform passed. Here, a key excerpt:
"Liberal voters are totally unified behind passing the health-care plan. A mere 3 percent oppose it. That's a public sentiment that makes it a whole lot easier for even Dennis Kucinich to come along.
"But if the bill passes with unified, if grumbly, support on the Left, it would seem to vindicate the White House's fundamental approach, which was to take the Left for granted as much as possible and focus on courting marginal members of the Senate."
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