Doubling down on 'ObamaCare': A 'political nightmare' for Democrats?
The White House is once again talking up the benefits of President Obama's health-care overhaul, and Republicans are licking their chops
![President Obama's Affordable Care Act turns two years old on March 23, and a few days later, the Supreme Court will consider the landmark law's constitutionality.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MRGPBtYwooSfYSKZAd6rC-415-80.jpg)
As we approach the Affordable Care Act's two-year anniversary on March 23 — not to mention the Supreme Court's high-stakes hearing to decide the law's fate a few days later — "President Obama's re-election campaign has launched an all-out defense of his landmark, and unpopular, health care overhaul," says Zeke Miller at BuzzFeed, making the ACA a key feature of fundraising emails and campaign videos. Republicans are eager to discuss "ObamaCare," too, since they see the topic as a "political nightmare" for Democrats. Is Team Obama smart to make a big push to turn around public opinion on his signature domestic achievement, or is any discussion of health-care reform a loser for the Left?
Obama has already lost this fight: The president's "robust re-education campaign" won't make Americans fall in love with "ObamaCare," says Guy Benson at Townhall. In fact, two years later, a battery of new polls show the law is still "deeply unpopular, and most Americans would like to see it repealed." That probably explains why, bluster to the contrary, Obama "has 'no plans' to make formal remarks on the anniversary of his own law."
"Super-majority opposes Obamacare's individual mandate"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
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.
But Democrats have to do something: The Affordable Care Act "isn't easy to love," largely because it keeps so much of the flawed current system in place, says Paul Krugman at The New York Times. But overall, Obama's law will still do an enormous amount of good. "One indicator of just how good it is comes from the apparent inability of its opponents to make an honest case against it." And that's why Democrats need to talk up health-care reform and debunk GOP attacks. If they don't, "there is a real chance that these lies will succeed in killing health reform."
The public verdict on "ObamaCare" may be years away: Both sides in this bitterly partisan fight believe "the next two weeks will be crucial to getting out their message about the Affordable Care Act," says Sarah Kliff in The Washington Post. And yet, it seems unlikely that the imminent "Obamacarepalooza" will move the opinion needle, which has been "stuck stubbornly in place" for two years now. Opinion will only truly change when people start feeling the impact of the law, for better or worse, and that won't happen until key provisions take effect in 2014. Or it might not happen at all, if the Supreme Court strikes down key parts of the law.
"The politics of 'Obamacareapolooza'"
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
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
-
Big Tech's answer for AI-driven job loss: universal basic income
In The Spotlight A new study reveals the strengths and limitations
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'I will not be silent' on Gaza, says Kamala Harris
Speed Read In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris supported Israel's right to defend itself while expressing a desire to end Palestinian suffering
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'How long can TikTok dominate as a social network?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, 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
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published