After ABC's Jake Tapper hosting "This Week" asked the Governor about a new Washington Post poll finding Democrats have become a little more popular since the bill passed, Barbour replied, "I am surprised that the, the numbers in the Washington Post poll weren't better."
He marvelously continued, "I mean since this thing passed last weekend, we've been seeing the longest wet kiss in political history given to the Obama administration by the liberal media league, and every day it goes by it gets sloppier" (video embedded below the fold with transcript, relevant section at 8:13):
JAKE TAPPER, HOST: Governor Barbour, there was good news for Democrats in the Washington Post poll that I wanted to ask you about. And, it does suggest that maybe the Party, according to some critics, miscalculated, both in terms of policy, by walking away, there aren't as many Republican ideas in the bill, and politics. Just listen to these numbers. In February, on the generic ballot, Republicans led Democrats 48% to 45%. But now, after the bill has passed, the Democrat leads 48% to 44%. Doesn't that suggest that maybe your Party miscalculated, both in terms of the fact that the law is now the law of the land and probably let's not kid ourselves it will be for a long, long time and in terms of the politics, in terms of the fact this is not hurting Democrats as much as you thought it would?
GOVERNOR HALEY BARBOUR (R-MISSISSIPPI): Well, in fact, I think Ed has got it just backwards. You mentioned ot Valerie Jarrett we've now learned that big corporations are going to have to take $14 billion worth of write-offs according to the Towers Watson estimate. $14 Billion worth of write-offs that nobody knew about, and that's -- how many jobs are those $14 billion of losses, on corporate balance sheets? How many jobs are they going to cost? We're going to learn a lot more about this deal. We're learning already where they said small businesses who didn't cover their employees would have to pay $750 per employee. Now it turns out, when you read the bill, if you have the average employee in Mississippi who makes $32,000 a year, if the cost of health insurance is more than $3,000 for that employee, the small business has to pay $3,000, not $750. Four times as much. As people find out these sorts of things, this bill is going to become even more unpopular. And candidly, I am surprised that the, the numbers in the Washington Post poll weren't better. I mean since this thing passed last weekend, we've been seeing the longest wet kiss in political history given to the Obama administration by the liberal media league, and every day it goes by it gets sloppier.
Nicely put, Governor. I'm not sure we could have said it better.
