IBD/TIPP SHOCKER

Proving they have the tenacity and single-mindedness of a pit bull, the Obama administration is once again trying to rally the troops to pass ObamaCare. There is a full court press going on right now, but the ACORN scandal has sucked all the oxygen out of the room, so little attention is being paid to reports like this stunning IBD/TIPP poll.

The administration insists that there will be no rationing of care (death panels, if you prefer Palinese). Even with every doctor and nurse practicing now, there will most definitely be rationing when 47 million (or is it 30 million - the numbers keep changing) are added to the insurance rolls. This will not cut down on emergency room visits - one of the many reasons health care is so costly - just the opposite, actually. It will take months to see a general practitioner, so people will instead prefer to spend hours waiting their turn at the ER.

The IBD poll, showing a full 45% of our doctors would retire upon adoption of ObamaCare, proves adoption will put us immediately into crisis. This country already has a nursing crisis, as well as a shortage of general practitioners, and that crisis will become a catastrophe if what the IBD poll predicts will happen really does.

This poll is remarkably damaging to ObamaCare, so it is no surprise that it is getting little play. The poll finds many results in complete opposition to what the administration - and the AMA, for that matter - has been saying:

• More than seven in 10 doctors, or 71% — the most lopsided response in the poll — answered "no" when asked if they believed "the government can cover 47 million more people and that it will cost less money and the quality of care will be better."
• Two-thirds, or 65%, of doctors say they oppose the proposed government expansion plan. This contradicts the administration's claims that doctors are part of an "unprecedented coalition" supporting a medical overhaul.
• Four of nine doctors, or 45%, said they "would consider leaving their practice or taking an early retirement" if Congress passes the plan the Democratic majority and White House have in mind.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has been cheer leading the efforts of the Obama administration, including lobbying and advertising to sway public opinion. However, the AMA only represents about 18% of doctors, and has been losing support amongst those still members of the organization. The public view has been that doctors are behind ObamaCare, but nothing could be further from the truth.

None of this information seems to have slowed the ObamaCare express one iota, which is truly troubling. The purpose of this plan was to help the American people who have no health coverage. The result of the plan will be that even more people will be unable to access a doctor when they need one. And yet, the administration still plows ahead, even when the experts, practicing doctors, tell them it is a mistake.

Just this fact alone makes one wonder - even though it is becoming more and more clear that this plan will do more harm than good to the country, both economically and in terms of quality and quantity of care, why is the administration so adamant to pass it?

Seems to me to have more to do with power over one-sixth of the American economy than caring for the American people.

But, if the opinion of doctors in the field doesn't matter, what does my lowly opinion mean?

Good thing there are a few million other voices joining mine, and, with the downfall of ACORN imminent, a midterm election turnover is looking better and better. If congress doesn't pass a health care bill by November, it most likely won't pass at all, because they will be too busy campaigning to keep their seats next year.

After all, re-election is far more important than forwarding the business of the country, and, for once, that will work in our favor!