Sixth Anniversary Of ObamaCare, The Third Great Social And Economic Reform, Alongside Social Security And Medicare!

It was six years ago on March 23, 2010, that the Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare, was signed into law by President Obama, after a year long fight, with only three Republican Senators early on giving any support, and no House members.

The fact that ObamaCare was just like the Heritage Foundation–Newt Gingrich–Bob Dole program of 1993, designed as an alternative to HillaryCare, was ignored.

Also, the fact that Mitt Romney accomplished much the same thing in Massachusetts as RomneyCare was denied, even by Romney himself when he ran for President in 2012!

The hypocrisy and pure obstructionism of Republicans and conservatives was so obvious, and is obvious, to anyone who looks at the subject dispassionately!

Today, six years later, ObamaCare, while having its definite quirks and shortcomings, is a success, in the sense that it covers 20 million people who did not have health care before; has lowered the uninsured from 14 percent to 9 percent of the population; and has saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives of people who, without coverage, would have died in the past six years!

This is the ultimate Pro Life movement, the acceptance of the idea that ALL Americans should be entitled to health care as a basic human right, especially considering that every other modern industrial nation in Europe, along with Canada, Australia and New Zealand have it, and all of them way ahead of us!

So this is a time to salute Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, for having accomplished one of the three greatest economic and social reforms of the past century, alongside Franklin D. Roosevelt and Social Security (now 81 years old), and Lyndon B. Johnson and Medicare (now 51 years old)!

Try to imagine America in 2016 without Social Security and Medicare, and yet, if left up to the right wing Republican Party, they would not only repeal ObamaCare without any replacement for the 20 million Americans who have gained health care coverage, but also would repeal both Social Security and Medicare, “privatizing” both of them, and giving useless “vouchers” to millions of elderly, poor, and disabled people!

This is why the Republican Party, as it now is constituted, is doomed to be in the dustbin of history!

6 comments on “Sixth Anniversary Of ObamaCare, The Third Great Social And Economic Reform, Alongside Social Security And Medicare!

  1. D March 24, 2016 11:43 am

    I received a mailing which is the “Official 2016 Democratic Party Survey.”

    I am on the list because I donated to President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and to the party in 2009.

    In reality, I self-identify as independent with a Lean Democratic advantage.

    One question from the survey asks, “Which potential actions by congressional Republicans most concern you?” [Please choose up to three.]

    Options are: Dismantling the Affordable Care Act; Restricting women’s reproductive rights; Rolling back equal marriage rights; Forcing a government shutdown; Blocking President Obama’s judicial appointments; Opposing a minimum wage increase; Obstructing immigration reform.

    My No. 1 is with equal marriage rights.

    The Affordable Care Act is just about my last concern.

    This should have been single payer. But, at the same time, we may heading there anyway. I remember when this came through, in 2010, that former President George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum came down on his party by saying that it pretty much handed the Republicans a major legislative defeat.

    From “Waterloo,” on March 21, 2010, there was this wise observation from David Frum: @ http://www.frumforum.com/waterloo/

    “No illusions please: This bill will not be repealed. Even if Republicans scored a 1994 style landslide in [the midterm elections in] November [2010], how many votes could we muster to re-open the “doughnut hole” and charge seniors more for prescription drugs? How many votes to re-allow insurers to rescind policies when they discover a pre-existing condition? How many votes to banish 25 year olds from their parents’ insurance coverage? And even if the votes were there – would President Obama sign such a repeal?”

    The Affordable Care Act is here to stay. In whatever shape and form.

    (In case one is curious: My No. 2 is with regard for women’s reproductive rights. That is greatly concerning.)

  2. Rational Lefty March 24, 2016 4:30 pm

    I think all are equally important issues. The issue that most affects me is my reproductive rights.

  3. Pragmatic Progressive March 24, 2016 4:52 pm

    Rational Lefty brought up a good point. What one feels is their top issue depends on what most affects one personally.

  4. Former Republican March 24, 2016 5:29 pm

    Whenever I heard the word “public option” I tuned out. I figured that there would be adjustments to the bill over time. After all, progress is incremental.

  5. Princess Leia March 24, 2016 5:32 pm

    Quite right Former Republican. Canada’s took 30-something years of provincial models, legislation, stakeholders fights, doctor strikes, and lots of citizen advocacy to get there.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.