On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher argued that, even though they did not get the policy concessions that they wanted from it, the Democrats got a win of sorts out of the government shutdown, because “I think what the Democrats were trying to do was make health care an issue,” because the health care issue is one they have a polling advantage on and the Democrats had to try to make health care an issue and get the public to blame Republicans for premiums increasing.
Maher said, [relevant remarks begin around 38:40] “But here’s the alternative to the idea that Trump is not the winner here on the shutdown: I think what the Democrats were trying to do was make health care an issue, which it kind of, for some reason, has never really been. It’s the one issue where the public gives the Democrats higher marks, and they had to get people to notice this is who’s doing this to you, this is who is going to make your premiums go up.”
He added, “So, it may not look good for the Democrats now. I think, in the future, it will.”
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