Republicans Look to Capitalize on Obamacare Woes
Nov. 21, 2013--The trouble-plagued rollout of Obamacare/the Affordable Care Act is providing a boost to Republican efforts to defeat vulnerable Democrats in 2014 races.  Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus invited forty Democratic Senators and congressmen to a "We're Running On ObamaCare" press conference.  None of the officials showed up.  Priebus declared, "We will make 2014 about Obamacare, and yes we will tattoo Obamacare on each of their foreheads, and that will be what 2014 is all about.”
Priebus suggested open pricing (hospitals and doctors posting the prices of their services), health care pooling, and countering junk lawsuits as ideas which should be tried instead of Obamacare.  He stated,

"What's happening in this country under Obamacare is not what's been promised, it's not working for this country, it needs to be repealed and there's plenty of things that we can do in the meantime to try and address access and affordability."

The rocky launch of the HealthCare.gov health insurance marketplace on October 1 and the fact that under the ACA not all Americans will be keep their health plans as President Obama promised (+) have helped push his approval ratings to their lowest point. 

The Republican national committees are using the mess to tar vulnerable Democratic members.  For example the NRCC echoed the theme of today's RNC press conference in press releases aimed at 28 members.  A release headlined "Will Rick Nolan Run On ObamaCare In 2014?" stated "If Nolan Is So Intent On Running On ObamaCare, It’s Time For Him To Come To Today’s Press Conference."  The NRSC website features a couple of clips of Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) on its front page ("See Mark Begich Run" and "In The Own Words: You Can Keep Your Plan.")  Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are using oversight hearings to draw attention to the problems with ACA.  Headlines from a sampling of today's newspapers show that the ACA will likely continue to be a headache for Democrats heading into 2014:

New York Times  "G.O.P. Maps Out Waves of Attacks Over Health Law"
The Washington Post  "Health costs cut by limiting choice"
The Hill  "GOP on ObamaCare: Let it self-destruct"
Politico  "House GOP Coordinates ACA Push"

Memos: DNC  |  RNC
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