Smart move Mr. President, et al…
Mother Jones
Sometime last year I gave up entirely on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Not the act itself, of course, but the name. I gave on PPACA and I gave up on ACA. President Obama himself seemed to be OK with it being called Obamacare, so I decided that’s what I’d call it too.
So naturally I’m pleased that the Obama campaign has now made it official:
The campaign launched a Facebook feed Friday featuring a big “I Like Obamacare” logo. The social network rollout also included a Twitter hashtag that the campaign reported become the top trending topic in the world within hours. On the web, an “I Like Obamacare” frontpage popped up on the Obama campaign website.
In an email to supporters, Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod said it was time for Democrats to turn the “Obamacare” insult into a badge of honor. “I’m proud of it — and you should be, too,” he wrote. “Here’s why: Because it works.”
This has always seemed fine to me. We have Pell grants and Roth IRAs, so why not Obamacare? Like it or not, that’s what everyone calls it, and it’s the only widely recognized name that PPACA has. What’s more, I never thought of it as an insult in the first place. The masses have spoken, and Obamacare it is.
Related articles
- Obama reelection campaign urges supporters to say ‘I’m for Obamacare’ (thehill.com)
- President Obama Reappropriating ObamaCare From Conservatives (mediaite.com)
- Obama Campaign Launches New ‘I Like Obamacare’ Page (thinkprogress.org)
- The White House Fully Embraces “ObamaCare” (buzzfeed.com)
- The 4 Best Legal Arguments Against ObamaCare (reason.com)
Actually, this might be wise. It probably should have been done earlier, but there we are.
I can see a series of ads such as “Because of Obamacare, my young adult children can stay on my insurance until they find jobs … I like Obamacare.”
“Because of Obamacare, my insurance company can’t cancel my policy when I get sick.”
“Because of Obamacare, my insurance company couldn’t refuse to cover me because of a pre-existing condition.”
Thus far, there really hasn’t been much effort spent defending the ACA from the right wing. I’m hoping that this signals the beginning of a real effort in that regard.
Excellent points WK. In terms of the timing…better late than never…
Yes. And it might be sort of a rope-a-dope strategy. Technically, the general election race hasn’t started, so I should hold off my thoughts.
That did work pretty effectively against the birthers. When the second birth certificate was released, the birthers had the choice between saying, “Oh. Never mind” or doubling down. I would sort of like to see Romney have to explain why it’s bad that kids can’t have their insurnace cut off when they get sick.