In response to The Term ‘ObamaCare’ No Longer Embraced By Democrats:
Charles Cooke linked to this gem on Twitter, and I couldn’t resist adding to my last post about how Democrats are no longer calling the Affordable Care Act “ObamaCare” because it polls so badly.
On September 26 in Maryland, Obama delivered what is described by the Daily Kos writer as “a barnburner of a speech, defending Obamacare and taking on its tea party Republican critics with a vintage mix of policy wonkiness and pointed political barbs.”
He’s brilliant and sassy at the same time, you guys! And he really stuck it to the ‘pubs by invoking Reagan to make his point:
I believe eventually they’ll come around. Because Medicare and Social Security faced the same kind of criticism. Before Medicare came into law, one Republican warned that “one of these days, you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.” That was Ronald Reagan. And eventually, Ronald Reagan came around to Medicare and thought it was pretty good, and actually helped make it better.
(Reagan “came around” to the political reality of a time which was that the Democrats held the House by a wide majority precluding him from reforming entitlement programs like Medicare. But the idea that “he came around” on Medicare is obnoxious. He was prophetic in his famous speech against socialized medicine in 1964.)
Anyway, here’s the schadenfreudelicious part:
So that’s what’s going to happen with the Affordable Care Act. And once it’s working really well, I guarantee you they will not call it Obamacare.
Here is a prediction for you: A few years from now, when people are using this to get coverage and everybody is feeling pretty good about all the choices and competition that they’ve got, there are going to be a whole bunch of folks who say, yes, I always thought this provision was excellent. (Laughter.) I voted for that thing. You watch. (Laughter.) It will not be called Obamacare. (Laughter.)
Well, he’s right about one thing – “it will not be called ObamaCare.” (Laughter)
As Charles Cooke said, “this is fun”:
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