Amidst plunging poll numbers for the Democratic Party as a
whole, President Obama will be “launching a campaign on Tuesday to once again
sell the benefits of ObamaCare to the public, and try to head off a backlash in
2014. This comes, however, at a time when the president is losing his
influence—Ed Rendell has been quoted as saying that he does not “know any
Democrat running for governor [who] would like the president involved.”
This past weekend we saw the ObamaCare website’s relaunch—a drastically
important moment for Democrats. While initially starting out well, performance
got worse with time, and a queue system was introduced in order to allow
current shoppers to complete their purchase. The website’s success has been
tied to the Democrats’ degree of success in the 2014 midterms.
It does not come as a surprise that I am vehemently opposed
to ObamaCare and this website is only indicative of a far larger issue. If the
federal government cannot so much as manage a website, why should we expect it
to competently manage our health care system? As Ted Cruz has recently said,
there is only one solution: full repeal.
I believe that this whole healthcare.gov failure has been blown out of proportion and is being read into to an extreme degree by the GOP in order to "support" the claim that Obamacare is a waste of tax dollars and to further their arguement that it should be repealed. Personally, I don't find it that surprising that the website failed and has been malfunctioning; it's that same old story with every website that has a lot of traffic. Probably, as the traffic goes down, the website will be less glitchy. However, I hope that this website "scandal" hasn't ruined the potential success of this program because I believe socialized healthcare is an extremely beneficial program because it allows those people who otherwise couldn't afford health insurance access to some sort of coverage. Somehow I don't think those people against Obamacare would be so scathing if they seriously required its services...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emily. ObamaCare is far too important a program for it to be ended just because of a malfunctioning website. While, obviously, the program would be going better if the website had been ready to go on October 1, we can't just repeal the bill and write a new one just because of a glitchy website as McConnell suggested. It was hard enough getting the first bill passed; I cannot imagine a positive outcome of the bill being completely scraped and thrown away. Besides, ObamaCare has yet to prove itself (positively or negatively) as a healthcare plan option. I wish the White House the best of luck as they attempt to erase the faulty website from the public memory and remind the American people why affordable care is necessary in the United States.
ReplyDelete(Also, if anyone else has a problem with Andrew's link, if you type in the title on google it's the first article to pop up.)
I agree with the Emilys. Should we get rid of all our iPads because we experience technical difficulties every now and then? No. The same goes with this law. Sure the problems have been a pain and warrant a few grumbles here or there, but nothing to this degree. The website is not a reflection of the potential of ObamaCare. Also, I think Mitch McConnell greatly exaggerates the problems of ObamaCare which he claims is "broken beyond repair" and that repeal "is the best fix." How can he reach such a conclusion when the law was just been implemented? He hasn't given ObamaCare enough time to take root and show what good (or bad) it can do. It makes sense that the Democrats are worried about President Obama's firm support of this law since they need to appeal to the ideological center of the electorate to win elections. All the negative press surrounding ObamaCare could be enough to push moderates to vote Republican during the next election.
ReplyDeleteI will be the third Emily to agree with the Emily's, and Olivia. I like how Olivia compared this situation with the iPads. There has never been anything quite like Obamacare so they are starting from scratch. I give them credit for all they have done despite these glitches. Sure the road is starting out rocky, but things will hopefully steady out. Using a website to sign up for healthcare is an awesome idea to keep up with the modern world. I think the idea of complete repeal is ridiculous. McConnell has his head up his butt; he needs to just calm down and let Obamacare play out for a little while.
ReplyDeleteSame story, different article. The website had and still has some problems, get over it. I keep hoping that the Republicans come up with something else to say, but it's always the same thing. I think that what John Boehner said about the bill was utterly selfish. Instead of thinking about how someone is going to have to change their healthcare providers, think of all the people that are actually getting healthcare. I can't wait for the website to be completely fixed so Republicans can stop complaining about something that will better the lives of so many people.
ReplyDeleteAll too quickly, the debate over Obamacare has become more about using it to win elections than getting into the details of its merits and deficiencies. I maintain that the law is extremely important; having uninsured Americans hurts the well-being of our country, both on the level of individual health and on a national economic level. The law has become incredibly politicized, to the point that articles like this one are written, focusing solely on the effect of the law's popularity on elections. I know it's wishful thinking at this point to hope for a clear, issue-based debate over Obamacare, but politicians seem to be more ignorant than usual of the fact that their primary goal should be not to keep their job, but to serve their constituents.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Obamacare website launched, it was obviously a pretty big failure. This does not mean however, that Obamacare itself is a pretty big failure. The website's glitches have been worked out, for the most part, so now it is time to see if the plan really works. That part of the argument is still up for debate.
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