March 31, 2012 by David K. Sutton
Obamacare: Attempting To Redefine A Once Pejorative Term
On the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, the Obama campaign launched the “I Like Obamacare” slogan and website. President Obama himself has used the term in speeches to say he “cares” while the other side does not. An article on NPR says: ‘Obamacare’ Sounds Different When Supporters Say It.
Until recently, “Obamacare” was a word mostly used by opponents of President Obama’s health care law. Now, supporters of the law are attempting to claim it as their own.
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During the 2009 health care debate in Congress, the word was almost exclusively used by Republicans. Obamacare became shorthand for big, bad government. By 2010, the word was all over Republican TV ads.
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At a speech in Atlanta earlier this month, Obama embraced it.“You want to call it Obamacare? That’s OK, because I do care,” he said. “That’s why we passed it.”
He made a similar point all the way back in August: “If the other side wants to be the folks who don’t care, that’s fine with me,” he said.
dks
