Health overhaul proving to be difficult issue for Democrats and Republicans

Politico: Regardless of a candidate's party, "health care reform is treacherous campaign territory." Voter opinion, in a series of polls from Quinnipiac University Polling Center, shows the difficulties for both Democrats and Republicans. "The Quinnipiac polls, conducted in three states across the past month, all find likely voters to have complex and contradictory views on these repeal lawsuits as well as health care reform itself." Voters tend still to oppose the law, but also oppose the idea of repeal lawsuits. "For candidates, it seems, health care reform is a lose-lose proposition, with little to be gained from a vigorous campaign for or against the law." The polls were taken in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania (Kliff, 5/6).

The Washington Times: Republicans — in particular, the Republican Study Committee — are saying that the 10th Amendment "dictates that initiatives such as the health care reform law and other massive government programs are the business of state governments, not Washington." The RSC has created a task force to "work to disperse power from Washington back to regions, states and local governments. ... The RSC says its newest committee was created in response to public outcry over what it calls repeated "one size fits all" solutions from Washington. The task force will work, it says, to 'educate' Congress and the public about the importance of maintaining a proper balance between state and federal governments" (Lengell, 5/7).

Seizing on anger over health reform, the candidate challenging Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln in the Democratic primary, raised nearly twice as much money as Lincoln in April, The Associated Press reports. Lt. Gov. Bill Halter raised nearly $580,000 last month. Lincoln has "become one of the most vulnerable politicians in Washington, facing anger from both the right and the left. Republicans have condemned her for supporting the health care overhaul, while groups on the left have criticized her for opposing a government-run insurance option." While Lincoln has tried to highlight her independence from President Barack Obama and other Democrats on issues like health care, Obama is featured in radio ads airing this week backing her re-election bid (DeMillo, 5/6).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.