"Repeal!" has all the sound and fury of "Impeach!", and signifies just as much.

If by some miracle the GOP does take control of the House, and the bill is 'repealed', then the president will simply veto it.

-It's a fund-raising word, nothing more. . .

Too bad that there aren't more tangible benefits D's could point at.
Still, I'd keep mentioning it in a positive light at every opportunity.
Let the R's paint themselve into the corner by being pro-BP and anti-health care. No, better yet, paint THEM in there.

My group health-insurance plan just raised its monthly premium 18% for the next year. This shows, of course, the need for genuine cost-containment, which HCR addresses as part of its regulatory pretext. But do you doubt that Republicans won't try to couple health-care inflation to HCR? It's a complex subject tailor-made for demogogic attacks by political cynics. I do think HCR's polling numbers are bound to improve once citizens realize that most of the scare tactics used against it were lies. But this is one more issue where citizens instinctively respond to oversimplification and deception, if only because it's much easier to understand.

A simple binary poll result on HCA support is rather meaningless, without knowing why people support or don't support it.

I think this is one of those instances where people kind of forget what they were so outraged about.

"Too bad that there aren't more tangible benefits D's could point at."

There are several benefits which are being implemented this year:

- Adult children may remain as dependents on their parents’ policy until their 26th birthday
- No more lifetime or annual caps on coverage.
- Small businesses will be entitled to a tax credit for 2009 and 2010, which could be as much as 50% of what they pay for employees’ health insurance.
- Medical donut hole will be closed making prescriptions more affordable for seniors. In fact many seniors will be getting reimbursement checks staring in August.
- Early funding of community health centers in all 50 states (Bernie Sanders’ amendment). Community health centers provide primary, dental and vision services to people in the community, based on a sliding scale for payment according to ability to pay.
- No more rescissions. Effective immediately, you can't lose your insurance because you get sick.

the AP data offers some political encouragement to Dems, and should give the GOP pause.

What is it that in the past has given the GOP pause?

A lot of companies are entering their open enrollment periods and updating benefits plans. A lot of insurance companies are adoting the mandated changes now (rather than next year when the mandates officially kick in) to simplify paperwork.

I know here at my company several employees were surprised, and quite happy, to learn they could now keep their kids on their plan until they reach 26 (they were sweating coverage for their kids new to the workforce and having trouble finding jobs with health coverage). The lack of lifetime caps came as a surprise to an employee with chronic health problems.

This tells me two things.

1 - The more people learn about what the Insurance reform bill does, the more they like it.

2 - After over a year of 'debate' and over 3 months after its passage a sizable percentage of the American public still has no clue what's in the acutal bill.

I prefer the republican health care test. You know, the one that takes places in a public men's room where they apply the "Larry Craig" test to see if your asshole can take two cocks at a time, followed by a facial and a kiss by some old white red neck wearing a shit filled diaper.