Howard Dean: Republicans in ‘Deep Trouble’ for Opposing ObamaCare
DEAN: "First of all, Mitch McConnell has never been terribly popular in Kentucky. He just doesn't fit in. He has this kind of acerbic, humorless approach to everything. He's not an easygoing guy and that's a problem. The biggest problem though, interestingly enough, Alison Lundergan Grimes comes from an old Kentucky Democratic family, well known. But the thing that is really killing Mitch McConnell, I think, is the incredible success of Kentucky Kynect. They don't call it ObamaCare, very smartly. But this is probably the best run state exchange in the entire country. Governor Beshear, a Democrat. And the fact that these people have health care after all this time and Mitch McConnell did everything he could to stop them from getting health care. That's got to be a factor here. And you are going to see this all over the country, in fact you already are seeing this all over the country. There's a poll today, the folks suggested that we ought to be on the offensive on ObamaCare. We ought to be supporting it. We ought to be proud that we supported it because it is in fact providing people with health care. And nobody knows that better than the people of Kentucky. This is a poor state. A lot of people uninsured. A lot of those people have insurance. That's not going to help Mitch McConnell."
WAGNER: "Yeah, I think it's 40 percent of Kentucky's population has now been insured through the exchanges."
DEAN: "Yeah, extraordinary."
WAGNER: "And Medicaid. Patrick, I want to go to you about money and getting primaried [sic]. Because what the McConnell-Grimes race would seem to point to is the fundamental problem in the Republican party which is the far, far right wing of the Republican party. Mitch McConnell is burning through cash to beat a primary challenger named Matt Bevin, who is someone who suggested that same-sex marriage may lead to a person defining themselves as married to one of their children for financial benefits. This guy is far, far right. And where McConnell should be focused on grimes and her potential threat, he's distracted with Matt Bevin."
MURPHY: "That's right, you're absolutely right Alex. And not only does he have this tough primary fight against Bevin, but Allison, as you know, Allison Grimes, she out-raised him in this quarter and she's ahead in the polls. And the governor is right. You know, you look at Kentucky Kynect, health care -- the tide has turned with ObamaCare. They scared the living daylights out of folks in 2010. I was a victim of the Tea Party wave in 2010. In 2012, it didn't work. We picked up eight seats in the House, we won the reelection of Barack Obama. And in 2014 they're going back to the well, and they're just -- that dog is not going to hunt. And we're going to see, hopefully, Mitch McConnell -- McConnell finally taken down in Kentucky. This is like when they took out, unfortunately Tom Delay. And this is the number one target on offense for the Democrats, and I think it's a good thing."
WAGNER: "Governor Dean, to follow up on your contentions about the ACA. Politico is reporting today some very, very good news for Democrats which is a strong March enrollment surge along with indications that younger and healthier people have begun signing up, 'has changed certain attitudes around the country. Insurers are considering expanding their stake in the exchanges next year,' bringing more of their business to states and counties. 'And some health plans that skip the new market places altogether this year are ready to dive in next year. If you look at the numbers, what the CBO is projecting at this moment is by 2017 there will be 36 million people enrolled in the exchanges and in Medicaid. This is an inevitability thing at a certain point. And yet the entire Republican arsenal is based on one cannon, which is the ACA."
DEAN: "That's what their big gamble is, and it looks like they may have made a mistake. There was a poll out today, that for the first time in as long as I can remember, more Americans trusted the Democrats on health care than they did on the Republicans -- the Republicans. That can only mean that the attack on ObamaCare is not going to be successful, if the numbers continue. Now this is early, but I've not seen the number like this in at least a couple of of years. So, I really do think it's possible the tide is turning. If -- I think Landrieu is going to win. I think Hagan is going to win. I think Begich is going to win no matter what. We've got some very good news from Arkansas tonight. We've got good news in some of the other parts of -- Kentucky, obviously. So, the Senate is very much up for grabs. And if the current trend continues -- and this is a new trend -- I think that the Republicans are in deep trouble because they put all their eggs in the basket of ObamaCare failing. They did everything they could to undermine it and undermine the president and it looks like the American people have finally figured that out."
