President Obama obliterated the great Republican lie. The president said that the ACA isn’t about a website. It’s about giving millions of Americans the same chance to get affordable healthcare.
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PRESIDENT OBAMA: Now, let me close by addressing some of the politics that have swirled around the Affordable Care Act. I recognize that the Republican Party has made blocking the Affordable Care Act its signature policy idea. Sometimes it seems to be the one thing that unifies the party these days. (Laughter.) In fact, they were willing to shut down the government and potentially harm the global economy to try to get it repealed. And I’m sure that given the problems with the website so far, they’re going to be looking to go after it even harder. And let’s admit it — with the website not working as well as it needs to work, that makes a lot of supporters nervous because they know how it’s been subject to so much attack, the Affordable Care Act generally.
But I just want to remind everybody, we did not wage this long and contentious battle just around a website. That’s not what this was about. (Applause.) We waged this battle to make sure that millions of Americans in the wealthiest nation on Earth finally have the same chance to get the same security of affordable quality health care as anybody else. That’s what this is about. (Applause.) And the Affordable Care Act has done that.
People can now get good insurance. People with preexisting conditions can now afford insurance. And if the launch of this website proves anything, it’s that people across the country don’t just need that security, they want that security. They want it. (Applause.) And in the meantime — I’ve said many times — I’m willing to work with anyone on any idea to make this law perform even better. But it’s time for folks to stop rooting for its failure, because hardworking, middle-class families are rooting for its success. (Applause.) And if the product is good, they’re willing to be patient.
Republicans have been trying to make Obamacare all about the website not working as well as it should. They have adopted this talking point to try to discourage people from signing up for the ACA, and to distract from the real purpose of the health care reform law, which is to provide the uninsured with access to affordable health care.
The Republican Party doesn’t want to have a serious discussion about health care. A serious discussion would require their own ideas for reforming healthcare, and a consensus within their own party to actually pass legislation. Neither one of those things exists. The Republican idea for improving the health care is to make sure that tens of millions of Americans can’t see a doctor, or afford to get sick.
President Obama should be out in front of the cameras every single day reminding people what this is really about. The mainstream press is mostly lazy bunch that will happily attach themselves to any ready made story that Republican Party is willing to sell them, so it is up to President Obama to take the lead and force the media to put the message out there that the ACA isn’t about a website. It is about improving healthcare for all Americans, and allowing tens of millions of our citizens affordable access to lifesaving and prolonging care.
The new great Republican lie is that the ACA is failing because of the website, but Obamacare is about so much more. Republicans aren’t trying to kill the ACA because it is bad. They are trying to destroy it because it is good.
The media will keep repeating the great Republican lie, but the numbers tell a different story. If the ACA is so bad, why are so many people trying to sign up?
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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