No matter what the outcome of today’s special election in Massachusetts, the political games in Washington have changed. What makes this election so important is that it will serve as a referendum on the health care debate from one of the most liberal states in the country. People across the country have grown furious over the past several months, viewing the closed door negotiations and interest-group bribery with disgust.

Take a look at some of the statistics coming from a new Washington Post-ABC News poll released today:

 44 percent of Americans support the proposed changes in the health care system being debated in Congress, while 51 percent oppose them. (Today’s Rasmussen poll puts the figures closer to 38% in favor, 56% opposed)

 Opposition is more intense than support, with 39 percent saying they strongly oppose the legislation and 22 percent saying they strongly favor it.

 53 percent said the changes would mean higher personal costs.

 56 percent said the overall cost of the initiative nationally would be higher under the plan advanced by the president and the Democrats.

These results have shown a steady stream of public animosity to the health care agenda being forced through in Washington. And force is now the operative term. The New York Times reported this morning that the White House has started a new campaign to have the House vote on the final version of the Senate bill. This would leave liberals in the House with two options: support the bill without their provisions or vote against it entirely.

This emergency action has already begun to backfire, as prominent House Democrats have said they will not vote for the Senate bill. Today on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) stated that if Scott Brown wins in Massachusetts today, “I think you can make a pretty good argument that health care might be dead.”