Democrats’ retirements add burden for Obama
Health care agenda raises voter anger

The retirements of two veteran Senate Democrats in two days this week underscore the political problems facing the party, with five other Democratic incumbents trailing potential Republican challengers in states where President Obama and his $1 trillion health care reform plan are increasingly unpopular.

From Nevada, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid faces a string of negative polls, to Arkansas, where Sen. Blanche Lincoln is polling at just 40 percent in head-to-head matchups with four potential Republican challengers, opposition to Mr. Obama’s agenda is causing problems for Democratic incumbents.

As noted by C.A.H. from Madville Times in a comment on an earlier post, the GOP has some retirements too, but the impact is not exactly the same:

Democrats at one time hoped to build on their 58-40 Senate majority – or 60, when two independents who caucus with the Democrats are counted – in the 2010 midterm vote, with six Republican incumbents also stepping down this year. But now they face a starkly different political landscape and vulnerabilities they had not expected.

In at least seven states – Connecticut, Nevada, Ohio, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Colorado – the Democratic candidate for Senate trails the Republican in the most recent polls. In those states, Mr. Obama’s popularity has dropped below the percentage of votes he drew in 2008, and opposition to the health care reform bill is deep and wide.

And then there is the prospect of Harry Reid in the same sort of boat that sank out from under SD’s own Donk ex-Sen. Daschle:

Most striking is the plight of Mr. Reid. After shepherding the health care bill through the Senate – making deals throughout that Republicans decried – the senator from Nevada finds himself in political trouble with 10 months to go before Election Day.

Mr. Reid has been polling in the mid-40 percent range in recent surveys, trailing two lesser-known Republicans hoping to unseat him. In addition, the latest Rasmussen Reports poll found that 49 percent of Nevada voters have a “very unfavorable opinion” of Mr. Reid.

Ouch!  That’s got to hurt!

Meanwhile, also swinging in the breeze is Nebraska Donk Ben Nelson, who’s still trying to talk his way out of the aftermath of his noteworthy negotiations acceptance of political bribery that led to his abandonment of long-stated principles to go in the tank for the Obamacare monstrosity.

Nelson: We should have waited on health care

Sen. Ben Nelson said Tuesday it was a mistake for the Obama Administration to take on massive health care reforms in 2009, and suggested efforts would have been better spent addressing the economy.

Nelson, who provided the crucial 60th vote to advance the bill toward Senate passage on Dec. 19, has been active ever since trying to explain his actions to Nebraskans. Ads have aired on television and Nelson is making the rounds with the state’s media.

He requested Tuesday’s interview with the Tribune.

“I think it was a mistake to take health care on as opposed to continuing to spend the time on the economy,” he said.

Uh, Ben…it’s too late now!