Is the anti-ObamaCare movement finally dead?
Electoral defeats and the Tea Party's diminishing influence have sapped support for the law's repeal
Saturday marks the Affordable Care Act's third anniversary — and with it, the third anniversary of Republican efforts to undo the law.
The future of the law, which fueled the Tea Party's rise and cost Democrats control of the House, was for a long time in doubt. But after the Supreme Court upheld it, and President Obama won re-election in convincing fashion, calls for repeal have grown noticeably quieter.
Republicans still say they oppose the law, and have backed that talk with votes to defund all or part it. In the latest such instance, they passed Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wisc.) budget, which cut funding for the program. Yet that legislation was clearly more about trimming the budget as a whole than it was an assault on ObamaCare specifically.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) introduced the first bill of this legislative session, one that would fully repeal ObamaCare. It's the same bill she has rolled out twice before, but unlike years past, Bachmann couldn't find a single co-sponsor this time around. So while she denounced the law on the House floor on Wednesday, saying it "literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens," she did so with a much smaller coalition backing her up.
So what changed? Was Republican opposition silenced by those mysterious death panels?
For one, Obama won re-election. Republicans had held out hope that a Romney presidency would give them enough power to nix the law. With Democrats not only holding the White House and the Senate, but picking up seats in the House, a repeal effort was no longer in the realm of possibility. Responding to those losses in November, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) acknowledged that "ObamaCare is the law of the land."
The GOP's losses in the House corresponded with a decline in support for the Tea Party, which was at the height of its power in 2010. The Tea Party Caucus, launched with much fanfare that year, has become effectively defunct; they haven't held a meeting since July. The group lost firebrand Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) to the 2012 elections. And Bachmann, despite a high-profile presidential campaign and a $26 million fundraising haul, barely won her re-election bid.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
As for Republicans on the whole, they've been partly sated by concessions in recent spending deals.
Voters have dialed back their opposition as well. Polls have found Americans gradually warming to the law, though a slight majority remains opposed to it. At the same time, the budget has superseded almost all other political discourse, and lawmakers are gearing up for a separate crop of contentious legislation on guns and immigration.
For now, Republicans seem content to oppose the law with merely symbolic gestures. That was the case in January when Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a repeal bill in the Senate, while conceding it had no chance of going anywhere.
"Unfortunately, this bill will not pass in the current Congress," he said in a statement, "but I will continue working hard until we have the votes to repeal ObamaCare in its entirety."
Republicans may never embrace ObamaCare, but they have at least begun to accept it as law. And, with a few exceptions, they've shown they're ready to move on.
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
Is Cop29 a 'waste of time'?
Today's Big Question World leaders stay away as spectre of Donald Trump haunts flagship UN climate summit
By The Week UK Published
-
The rise of the celebrity chef tour
The Week Recommends Chefs and food writers are hosting sell-out live events around the world
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
'Thank you for your service'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published