GOP's Obamacare Nightmare Is Coming True: It's Working
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The politics of the health care law have undergone a sea change since its disastrous rollout last fall, when many conservative operatives were salivating at the prospect of a GOP wave in the midterm elections due to an Obamacare "train wreck."
But the train never wrecked. The law rebounded, surpassing its signups goal and withstanding a flurry of attacks. The issue seems to have mostly lost its power as a weapon against Democrats, and a growing number of Republican governors even in conservative states are warming to a core component of Obamacare, the Medicaid expansion.
To get a sense of why this is worrying for Republicans in the long run, look no further than conservative strategist Bill Kristol's 1993 memo "Defeating President Clinton's Health Care Proposal" warning that reform would paint Democrats as "the generous protector of middle-class interests" and strike a "punishing blow" to the GOP's anti-government ideology.
"But the long-term political effects of a successful Clinton health care bill will be even worse much worse. It will relegitimize middle-class dependence for 'security' on government spending and regulation. It will revive the reputation of the party that spends and regulates, the Democrats, as the generous protector of middle-class interests. And it will at the same time strike a punishing blow against Republican claims to defend the middle class by restraining government," Kristol wrote.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obamacare-is-working