President Obama Shows Republicans Why They Can’t Win By Running Against Obamacare
President Obama’s jokes about the ACA rollout turned what Republicans thought was the issue that could carry them to victory in 2014 into a punchline.
Video of Obama at the White House Correspondents Dinner:
The president joked about Obamacare in two separate parts of his speech:
Of course, we rolled out healthcare.gov. That could have gone better. (Laughter.) In 2008 my slogan was, “Yes We Can.” In 2013 my slogan was, “Control-Alt-Delete.” (Laughter.) On the plus side, they did turn the launch of healthcare.gov into one of the year’s biggest movies. (Laughter.)
….
Of course, there is one thing that keeps Republicans busy. They have tried more than 50 times to repeal Obamacare. Despite that, 8 million people signed up for health care in the first open enrollment. (Applause.) Which does lead one to ask, how well does Obamacare have to work before you don’t want to repeal it? What if everybody’s cholesterol drops to 120? (Laughter.) What if your yearly checkup came with tickets to a Clippers game? (Laughter.) Not the old, Donald Sterling Clippers — the new Oprah Clippers. Would that be good enough? (Laughter.) What if they gave Mitch McConnell a pulse? (Laughter.) What is it going to take? (Laughter.)
Republicans are running against the ACA like it is the end of the world, but in 2006 Democrats swept to victory by taking both the House and Senate. They won by campaigning against then President Bush leadership on the war in Iraq, and his administration’s handling of Hurricane Katrina.
The potency of the issues that the Democrats were running on was visible in Bush’s WHCD remarks. Nowhere in his jokes does he mention Iraq.
Video of Bush in 2006:
If Obamacare is such a damaging issue for Democrats, why was President Obama so willing to joke about it? Democrats see the poll numbers. The Republican position of repealing the ACA is not a popular one. The lesson that Obama delivered was that the Obamascare politics that Republicans have grown so dependent on won’t work this time. Thanks to gerrymandered districts and potentially low Democratic turnout, the House Republican majority if fairly safe, but Obamacare isn’t the game changer that Republicans dreamed it would be.
Instead of running away from the ACA, Democrats are embracing it and making jokes.
The message is clear. Democrats don’t think Republicans can win by bashing Obamacare
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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The Republicans are idiots, who most likely will win the Senate and House in 2016 because the voting public are idiots.
I for one believe the Democrats will hold the Senate and make gains if not outright retake the House. Remember the 2012 Presidential polls? Gallup had Romney up by one. Texas, Kentucky, and Florida,Michigan, North Carolina have hugh races for Governor and Senate. Dem turnout will be up, and some House Republican members will fall.
I sure hope that you are right. The Koch Brothers are hard at work in Michigan with ridiculous ads attacking Gary Peters. We Democrats have a lot of work to do.
Considering the obscene amount of money Kochs have spent on elections, they aren't that much ahead in some of the states. Dems have to get out and vote, we just have to. If we don't we are sunk.
I agree. The republicans are trying the same game when Romney was going to win. All the puff and bluffery is going to melt in November. Dems may not take the house, but they will hold the senate. The watershed election will be 2016 and unless the GOP changes it's whole platform toward working with people instead of at people, they will be marginalized into a regional backwater party.
The big money GOP people have made a serious mistake. They think their money can buy the kitchen table talk. They're wrong.
I keep seeing so many predictions of a low Democrat turn out at the 2014 midterm polls. Why? Why do I continue to see this from Democrats? Why? Please explain your predictions of doom. Every Democrat I know plans to vote, no matter what it takes to be there and vote.
My question is who are they polling? I've been in the same residence, with the same phone number, e-mail address, etc., for three election cycles and no one has even asked me squat.
It's not so much polling as it is looking at history, but I think we might just see history made with this mid-term election.
I think a lot more folks are going to turn out to vote than the pundits are predicting.
The Koch bros have really targeted NC, they are spending tens of millions to beat Kay Hagan, I get so frustrated that people around her, many who are Fox viewers have not got a clue even to who the Koch's are.
Senator Hagan should consider embracing President Obama to motivate her base. She won in 2008 on his coattails and will not now be seen with him.
It is a shame Fox News did not show any of the Correspondents Dinner. The Fox viewers (old, white, grumpy people) should see the real President Obama instead of the one Fox has made up. He is funny, smart, and clever...
It is beginning to look like the ACA ''Death Spiral'' predicted by the GOP/TP, is turning out to be an electoral ''Death Spiral'' for the GOP/TP.
It’s The Law
View in 720p HD
http://youtu.be/A3sT2r_JlBU
More bad news for you Dems!
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303417104579542001681400462
No if it happens its bad news for you and your kids. Hope you are not breeding
Thats bad news for every state and every person. Of course unless you love taking peoples rights away from them