The Origins of Obamacare
Who deserves the blame for Obamacare? The answer is in the name, and that is the redeeming beauty of a word that sounds as unpleasant and bureaucratic as the law it describes.
In The New York Times, there is an article about how Democrats, who have long lamented the name Obamacare, have realized they have no choice but to accept it. Americans will never call the law by its official name, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, perhaps because, as many have pointed out, it neither protects patients nor makes care affordable.
While the expression Obamacare pins the blame, the question remains who deserves credit for popularizing the name. Of course, it owes something to the wordsmiths who coined Hillarycare during the 1990s. But according to The New York Times article, a writer at The Atlantic magazine has isolated the first time a politician uttered the word Obamacare. It happened in September 2007, and the man was "none other than former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, the Republican then as now running for president."
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Nov '11
Re: The Origins of Obamacare
That's incredible.
May '12
Re: The Origins of Obamacare
I always wondered why it got named Obamacare. I guess it is convenient, but the reality is he made little if any input to the legislation. It should've been called Pelosicare. Obama just rubber stamped it.
Re: The Origins of Obamacare
I found it incredible, too. The article says that writers began "generally" using Obamacare to describe candidate Obama's health care proposals in 2007, but Romney was the first politician to pick up the phrase.
Edited on August 4, 2012 at 8:17pmDec '11
Re: The Origins of Obamacare
Perhaps because he was burdened with "Romneycare." But was it in 2007?
Edited on August 4, 2012 at 8:30pmJul '10
Re: The Origins of Obamacare
Sounds like partisan hackery, to me. The republic and the West itself stands on the edge tottering into the abyss, and this is what they focus their time and attention on. I would take the time to sort out which corner of Dante's Inferno best suits these bozos, but that will come in its own good time and I have good works to pursue.
Nov '11
Re: The Origins of Obamacare
And if Romney succeeds with his promise to "repeal and replace," we already know what will be the name of that replacement. No surprise there. What is surprising is that conservative wizards can't seem to realize that all the opprobrium currently attached to Obamacare will be transferred to Romneycare. And in 10 years, you will not be able to tell the difference between Romneycare and Obamacare, except that Romneycare will possess a bipartisan "legitimacy" that will make it impossible ever to repeal. Romneycare will give conservatism a bad name, undeservedly since Romney is no conservative. For future reference, please place this comment in the file labeled "be careful what you wish for."
Apr '11
Re: The Origins of Obamacare
You say this a lot, but I've not seen you backed it up with a detailed prediction about how the Ryan-Wyden and Romney's healthcare manifesto become indistinguishable from Obamacare.
Dec '10
Re: The Origins of Obamacare
That's fun, as to the naming. However, we should be aware that the text, most of the 2,700 pages, was written at Think Progress and the Tides Foundation. Little of this came from the Congress, itself. It came from foundations primarily funded by George Soros and Theresa Heinz.
I try not to like Heinz ketchup, but I just can't. It's my favorite. Even after toodling over to the old waterfront factories where my daddy worked and finding them abandoned and crumbling into the river. Seventy five percent of Heinz' products are now made overseas.
When we buy Heinz products, we pay for John Kerry's yachts and we pay the salaries for the authors of Obamacare. But I like Heinz ketchup and I don't choose products, based upon the politics of the owners.
Except for underwear. Hanes gives to the left, whereas Fruit Of The Loom leans right. So I wear FOTL underwear, even though my old Hanes stuff is still better than new FOTL stuff. I take a stand where my personal comfort matters and no one that isn't close to me will ever know.
Basically, I am a cowardly poser.
Nov '11
Re: The Origins of Obamacare
James Of England
You say this a lot, but I've not seen you backed it up with a detailed prediction about how the Ryan-Wyden and Romney's healthcare manifesto become indistinguishable from Obamacare.
Yes, we have had this exact conversation before. Details are a problem, since Romney won't provide important ones--such as how he plans to cover pre-ex. Instead Romney gives bureaucratic vapidities, such as "Ensure flexibility to help the uninsured, including public-private partnerships, exchanges, and subsidies," and "Prevent discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions." But even these vapidities reveal enough to know Romney's ideas are big and disruptive to the healthcare market and will inevitably expand with the usual bureaucratic inertia.
Aside from that, your choice of the grandiose word "manifesto" tells all.
Edited on August 6, 2012 at 9:06pm