Video: House Democrats double down on ObamaCare

DNC chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz claimed last fall that Democrats would run on ObamaCare in the 2014 midterms and win. Many probably consider that an exercise in hyperbole, considering the scope of the disaster from the rollout of ObamaCare, and the widespread recognition that Democrats lied about its impact on previously-insured Americans. However, the DCCC has rolled out a new ad campaign attacking Republicans for their pledge to repeal ObamaCare if returned to power, with new web ads filled with anecdotes about the beneficence of the ACA:

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Democrats are expanding their Obama-Care offensive with Web ads in 12 competitive districts that feature people touting the benefits they’ve seen from the healthcare reform law, according to information shared first with The Hill.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s new online ads direct viewers to FacesOfRepeal.com, a standalone site that outlines the stories of Americans helped by the law.

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“I take insulin and 12 other medications, and my daughter’s medicine costs $700 a month. We couldn’t afford it without healthcare reform,” Diane, from Denver, says in the ad.

The new spots are an expansion of the DCCC’s campaign launched in mid-December against 44 vulnerable Republicans.

Appealing to anecdotes was how Democrats shoved ObamaCare through in the first place — while pledging repeatedly that those who liked their insurance plans would not be impacted at all. Millions of cancellation letters later, that’s been exposed as the Lie of the Year in 2013, and by implication for 2008-2012 as well.

That’s the limitation of appeal by anecdote — it only works when there are no competing anecdotes. The rollout of ObamaCare and the upending of the individual-policy marketplace have created millions of anecdotes in the other direction, including this one from Oregon (via Stephen Green of PJ Media):

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Then there are people like a 33-year-old married mother of an 18-month-old. The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, is a freelance yoga instructor whose husband works for a local non-profit that pays for his health insurance.

But to add her or their son onto the plan would cost more than the couple can afford.

So she turned to Cover Oregon. She has been without health insurance since she was 21. But as a mother, she needs it.

“I’ve been a cheerleader for the Affordable Care Act ever since I heard about it and I assumed that it was designed for people in my situation,” she told KOIN 6 News. “I was planning on using the Affordable Care Act and I had done the online calculator in advance to make sure I was going to be able to afford it.”

Even though her and her husband’s combined income should qualify her for a subsidized health care plan, she’s been told she does not qualify, and the private plan options are still too expensive.

Besides, after telling the Lie of the Year for five straight years, why would anyone believe these Democrats? Winning an anecdote war requires people to believe you. Democrats blew their credibility on a shabby lie, one they knew would be proven false eventually, and their argument is trust us again? Just wait until the employer mandate upends that market in the late summer and early fall, and see how willing middle-class voters will be to trust them again.

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Duane Patterson 11:00 AM | December 26, 2024
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