Conservatives are now on fertile ground. Still enraged by the ignominy of having been trounced, they are most likely feeling marginalized, ignored and afraid. For them, it has been less about clarifying health care reform and more about a clarion call to resistance.

And the deceptions have worked. According to an NBC News poll released this week, 76 percent of Republicans believe that the health care plan will lead to a government takeover of the health care system; 70 percent believe it will allow the government to make decisions about when to stop providing medical care to the elderly; and 61 percent believe it will allow the use of taxpayer dollars for abortions.

Conservative lawmakers should be delirious. Not only is this stoking the passions of their dwindling base, it is opening the spigot of money from the health care industry and conservative groups.

According to a report on Wednesday by OpenSecrets.org’s Center for Responsive Politics, health services and H.M.O.’s increased their campaign donations by 37 percent from the first to the second quarter this year. Republican and conservative advocacy groups increased their contributions by a whopping 237 percent over the same time period. For comparison, donations by Democratic and liberal advocacy groups declined.

Realizing that the plan was running into trouble with a wrangling right, the president began kowtowing to the crazies himself. When the president of the United States has to reassure us that he is not going to kill our grandmothers, you know there’s a problem.