If there’s one person in America who wants people to stop talking about Obamacare, it’s Obama. In recent appearances, the president has gone out of his way to declare that the debate is over and the law is here to stay.
Obama is obviously trying to cement that notion in the minds of Americans so they’ll be less receptive to changes should the Republicans win the senate in 2014.
What Obama doesn’t seem to know or be willing to acknowledge is that the debate is continuing in spite of his wishes.
George E. Condon Jr. recently wrote in National Journal…
The Debate Over Obamacare Is Hardly Over
President Obama opened his press conference Thursday with a bold proclamation that “the repeal debate is and should be over.” But his declaration of victory in the long-running war over his health care overhaul did not last long. Only five questions later, he was forced to offer a softer, almost wistful acknowledgement of the reality that there are many more battles to wage and the debate could go on for years.
It was one of the fastest backtracks at any presidential press conference. From optimist to realist in less than 45 minutes. Obama the Optimist cited the sign-up numbers for the Affordable Care Act, the revised numbers for premium costs, and the good news on the expected life of the Medicare trust fund. Almost in awe, he declared, “This thing is working.” But Obama the Realist admitted the Republican opposition has been unchanged by every statistic he cited. The GOP, he suggested, is going through the stages of grief. “Anger and denial … we’re not at acceptance yet,” he said, though he added hopefully that his critics may get there “at some point.”
Jeffrey H. Anderson of The Weekly Standard was even more to the point…
The Debate Will Be Over When the American People Say It’s Over
Shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision on Obamacare, the CBO projected that 9 million people would buy Obamacare-compliant insurance through newly established government-run exchanges. Now, after an enrollment period that his administration expanded by about two months—to more than half a year—President Obama says that 8 million people have “signed up” for (but in many cases haven’t actually bought) insurance through those exchanges.
The Obama administration’s stated goal was to have 39 percent of those who bought such insurance be between the ages of 18 and 34. Now Obama says the actual percentage is 28 percent.
Only in Washington, D.C. could someone put up numbers like these and then brag about them.
The president can try to end the debate on Obamacare as many times as he likes but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. The 2014 midterm elections, like all others, will have consequences.
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Comments
Ha! President Blamey McBlamey hopes he has caused grief to his opponents.
Reality is that he has caused grief to his supporters and everyone else who might remember this come election time when Democrats come weaseling for votes.
His enemies …. never had denial of the insult and remain rightfully angry. The next step in this (if you are not a RINO) is action. That action will be to make the Democrats pay.
How about just repealing the stupid law and replace it with something that is cheaper and works better?
“Stop Debating Obamacare”, Says Obama
“Screw you”, says I.
Well said!
I agree, we should stop debating ObamaCare.
It’s a disaster. It can’t be fixed. The science is settled. Repeal it.
Happy now, Mr. Obama?
There’s also the matter of what kind of actual medical care people can get with their spiffy new government-approved policies. Apparently the Dems didn’t see that as an important part of the picture.