Putting together a piece for your enjoyment and consumption this week, I found myself oddly strapped for ideas. My liberal, opinionated self somehow was totally transformed into a normal human being. Last week, I wrote about #SochiProblems, and the week before, it was the minimum wage—what else is there to opine to my vast readership?
And then, like a lightning bolt from Zeus, it struck me: Obamacare. It’s what’s in. Everyone who’s anyone is writing about it (well, mostly far-right-wing bloggers). I’m not sure if I really want to align myself with them, but to hell with it. I’m already this far in, so I figured I better offer some snarky commentary before all the talk about the Affordable Care Act’s problematic implementation goes away.
It surely goes without saying that the rollout of HealthCare.gov was certainly botched—there’s no denying it at this point. And such a long, recurring story about Obamacare’s many problems has left Democrats—nearly every one currently in government having voted for the bill—on the defensive. Happening just one year out from a major election cycle, Democrats, particularly those defending seats in more conservative states like Kay Hagan in North Carolina, Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, Mark Pryor in Arkansas, or Mark Begich in Alaska, have had to run away from their damaging votes. They’ve offered bills to fix various problems, they’ve offered rebuke for the poor implementation, and they’re all running ads distancing themselves so that they might be able to win their seats in November.
Democrats, though, should be careful about how far they put themselves from this law. Just as I suggested above, this story, if it takes days, weeks, or even many months, is going to go away. As of this time last week, nearly 3.3 million Americans had registered to receive health insurance through the exchanges, seeming to put the figures back on track to reach the 7 million enrollee goal by the end of March, despite the Obamacare website’s technical malfunctions.
Someday in the near future, the Affordable Care Act is going to be more or less fully implemented with millions of Americans having access to health care for the first time ever, and when that happens, Democrats again are going to want to cozy up to the bill they so valiantly fought and sacrificed for in 2010. This will, obviously, open them up to Republican flip-flopping attacks: Are Democrats for the Affordable Care Act or against it (a question to which Democrats will perplexingly answer yes)? This line of questioning could especially complicate the 2016 presidential election having backed away from the president who implemented it but supporting a candidate who, in all likelihood, will have voted for it in Congress. But to my likeminded liberals fretting over this political imbroglio, I say to you: Do not to worry. There is, in fact, a possible strategy to overcome these short-term electoral problems without undermining long-term gains. Instead of totally abandoning their support of the law, Democrats instead must go on the offensive. If Republicans were in control of government, they would choose to disband health care reform altogether (remember Mitt Romney: “Day one, job one, repeal Obamacare”), and the law provides for a number of items Americans overwhelmingly support, like free preventative care and mandating the end of gender disparity. Thus, instead of awkwardly backing away from their votes, Democrats can and should assert that Republicans aren’t for the many common sense reforms wrapped in the Affordable Care Act, the kind of provisions that stop rich health care corporations from profiting off the misfortunes of everyday Americans.
So to my fellow Democrats, I say don’t back down. We can win on this issue without sacrificing our political bona fides. And political complications aside, our country needs this law. There are no realistic alternatives that will help so many uninsured Americans get the coverage they deserve. Don’t turn away from what’s smart, and don’t turn away from what’s right.
Do you love and embrace the Affordable Care Act or do you hate everything about it? Should Democrats embrace it as well? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
