Yesterday's Wall Street Journal posted an article by John Fund detailing why he believes President Obama is having such a difficult time getting healthcare reform legislation passed. Mr. Fund points out that in order to get elected to the Presidency, President Obama put together a coalition of young voters and wealthy voters.
The article points out:
"Mr. Edsall (Thomas Edsall, a correspondent for the New Republic) calls the Obama coalition "a successful alliance of the upscale and the downscale -- wealthy and needy marching hand in hand, sharing animosity to George W. Bush and the war in Iraq" But he also calls the Obama coalition a fragile one when it comes to economic issues. The Gallup Poll reports that voters earning under $30,000 a year wanted health care reform by a 13-point margin. But those earning over $75,000 a year opposed reform by 16 points."
Because President Obama did not have the support of a majority of the middle class, it has been difficult for him to get legislation passed. The two groups that are supporting him have very different ideas on healthcare reform and cap and trade legislation.
I guess the bottom line is that until President Obama comes up with legislation that the American people support, he is going to have a problem getting things passed. There is talk of passing healthcare reform by using a procedure that attaches it to another bill and slipping it through unnoticed, but I believe this will have major negative consequences for the Democrats in future elections.
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