It is not often that I write more than 140 characters at a time. It is even less often that I would consider associating the word "stupid" with the name "Obama". In fact this is the only time. But allow me to explain why the name "Obamacare" is just plain stupid.
We all know where the name originated. It originated as a Tea Party "Conservative" soundbite. Let us consider the "meaning" among the obsessed radicals of our new "mainstream" political party. It means "Obama's Marxist Invasion". It means "Shariacare". It means "President Obama". Conservatives had to create a distraction from the policy itself. They had to distract the media as well. By summing up the regulations in one "entity" or name, the focus is removed from the related regulations and placed squarely on this "thing" called Obamacare. "Got Blue Cross? Say goodbye because "Obamacare" is the new Health Insurance provider!" That dire warning doesn't sound the same when you say The Affordable Care Act, does it? Even if the false premise of losing your access to Blue Cross insurance is allowed, the "Affordable Care" part is quite inviting. It would be almost as accurate to say "The Heritage Foundation Healthcare Act", but that is getting into the tit-for-tat of messaging wars and falls into the snark category, despite it's inherent truth.
We all recognize the effectiveness of "Obamacare" as a messaging device within the bubble of Hate Nation. In the heat of the campaign in 2012 someone came up with the shortsighted idea that "Obamacares" is a great way to spin out of the negativity. That "someone" totally miscalculated and I literally exploded when the President, in the heat of the campaign, granted permission to all of media to use the term "Obamacare" because somehow it can only reinforce the vague notion that "Obama cares" and this Federal Act of Law is really just like Romneycare...which is rarely called Romneycare outside of Democratic circles. As media pundits strain their shrinking envelopes of credibility by forcing the issue that, "No, really, the name Obamacare is a good thing. We really WANT this complex Act reduced to one President and one website", I grind my teeth and wonder if any of these people can project consequences beyond a two week time frame. Yes, it would be oh-so-fun to gloat and scream "Obamacare WORKS!" when the day comes that health care costs bend into a deflationary curve (which has been deemed "impossible" by conservative think-tanks), but it would be just as satisfying to say the Affordable Care Act works. It would be far more permanent to say the Affordable Care Act is about affordable care...not about the President. By using "Obamacare", it reinforces the false premise of self-absorption (when Conservatives get personal about it). There are just so many negatives...
Of course, the obvious argument is to say that using the term "Obamacare" in a positive manner reinforces it as a positive. Really? In politics? In BBQ conversations? And may I ask, is it worth all of that effort when there is no mention of Obamacare anywhere in the law? That said, I'm done saying any more. I've said my piece and I will stick with "the ACA" and avoid the other name because my hope for Americans, with regard to this particular issue, is affordable health care, not scoring political points.
