The Obamacare enthusiasm gap
Irony alert: The Democrats biggest challenge this fall is to get their voters excited about a law that they asked for.
Obamacare will be a huge voting issue for Republicans thats already clear. Theyll turn out in droves because they hate the law. Whats less clear is how Democrats will get their supporters to the polls to say, hey, thanks for health reform.
And yet, the Affordable Care Act only exists because Democrats and their supporters had pushed for health reform for decades. Republicans didnt ask for it. Independents didnt demand it. It was liberals who wanted coverage for the uninsured, and a better system for sick people, to plug what they saw as the last remaining hole in the social safety net.
(Also on POLITICO: The Obamacare report card)
Now its here, and as clumsy as the rollout was, its the law they wanted. So the task for Democrats is to figure out how to close the enthusiasm gap and convince their voters that Obamacare should be a voting issue for them, too.
The reality is, its probably going to be a negative message rather than a positive one. Most Democrats believe they can motivate voters by shifting the conversation to the GOP repeal efforts warning voters about all the things theyd lose if the law went away.
In their view, the best campaigns will be laser-focused on how bad the old health care system was for many patients, and hammer away at Republicans as defenders of the old status quo.
Democrats will turn out to prevent Republicans from giving insurance companies the power to raise health care costs, raising the costs of prescription drugs for seniors, and leaving kids with pre-existing conditions out in the cold, said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel. We win by reminding voters of the catastrophic costs of repeal.
The rapid surge of last-minute signups will help it will make it easier for Democrats to prove theres real interest in the law. At some point, though, theyll have to deal with the awkward part thats on everyones minds: How much do you actually talk about the botched website and the canceled policies?
(CARTOONS: Matt Wuerker on Obamacare)
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