Defend 'Obamacare' unabashedly, some Democrats say

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140417/DAD7NQVO2.html

Apr 17, 3:06 AM (ET)

By CHARLES BABINGTON and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

WASHINGTON (AP) - With enrollments higher than expected, and costs lower, some Democrats say it's time to stop hiding from the president's health care overhaul, even in this year's toughest Senate elections.

Republicans practically dare Democrats to embrace "Obamacare," the GOP's favorite target in most congressional campaigns. Yet pro-Democratic activists in Alaska are doing just that, and a number of strategists elsewhere hope it will spread.

President Barack Obama recently announced that first-year sign-ups for subsidized private health insurance topped 7 million, exceeding expectations. And the Congressional Budget Office - the government's fiscal scorekeeper - said it expects only a minimal increase in customers' costs for 2015.
Over the next decade, the CBO said the new law will cost taxpayers $100 billion less than previously estimated.


In this March 6, 2013 file photo, Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. The political climate for “Obamacare” suddenly looks brighter, possibly giving Democrats a chance to fight back on the GOP’s top issue this fall. Democrats in at least one tight Senate race are openly embracing the new health law’s popular features, but several others are holding back. Republicans say the somewhat upbeat news _ higher enrollments, and lower cost projections _ won’t do much to change Americans’ negative view of the health care law. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)



Republicans already were pushing their luck by vowing to "repeal and replace" the health care law without having a viable replacement in mind, said Thomas Mills, a Democratic consultant and blogger in North Carolina. Now, he said, Democrats have even more reasons to rise from their defensive crouch on this topic.

FULL story at link.

[caraher]

1. AKA the smart Democrats

I'll never understand creating distance from the signature accomplishment of Obama's first term. Yes, I don't think we're done until we separate profit from health care and I would have preferred a single payer system (or at least a public option), but to echo Joe Biden, this was a big f'in deal!