Both Parties Think They'll Benefit from Health Care This Fall

Democrats and Republicans are reading very different tea leaves on how the public will respond to health reform, but to the same effect: both sides think their own party will benefit in November.

In National Journal's latest Congressional Insiders Poll, 77% of Democratic members of the House of Representatives said their party's base will "be more energized over health care reform in November, while a full 97% of Republicans said the GOP base will be more energized.

"Sunday night was a huge momentum shift in favor of our party," one Democrat told National Journal.

"You will have to put our folks in a cage to keep them from voting; they are so energized and committee to voting out the Democrats' agenda," said one Republican.

If nothing else, both sides appear certain--or at least on message--about health reform.

As far as independent arbiters go, we don't have much data yet.

A USA Today/Gallup poll, taken the day after health reform passed in the House Sunday night, that showed respondents calling passage a "good thing" by a 49% to 40% margin. Rasmussen has reported 41% in favor of the legislation and 54% opposed, with 55% supporting its repeal.

That's a fairly wide discrepancy, as is common between Rasmussen and Gallup. As more polling firms release surveys conducted after Sunday's vote, we'll get a clearer picture of opinion and enthusiasm.