Rove: Health Care Bill Is Gift to GOP

The GOP is winning the debate on health care and it'll win control of Congress as well if the Democrats manage to pass a health care bill, writes Karl Rove. Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus wants to "front-load" the bill with hefty tax hikes that will kick in before voters see any benefits, making the Democrats likely to feel the full fury of a voter backlash against tax-and-spend policies next year, Rove warns in the Wall Street Journal.

Independent voters, college graduates, and seniors are all strongly opposed to the bill, writes Rove, quoting poll figures from Fox and Gallup, and their votes will be crucial in 2010. The Democrats should remember that "there are two fights going on here—one over health care and another over which party will control Congress after next year's elections," Rove writes. "By waging the first, they may be setting themselves up to lose the second." (More Karl Rove stories.)