Battle Lines Are Drawn In Messaging War Over Obamacare Repeal
Both parties claim the high ground as the protectors of Americans' health while casting their opponents' positions as dangerous.
The New York Times:
Trump Takes On Democrats And Health Law In New Twitter Blitz
President-elect Donald J. Trump lashed out at Democrats early Thursday over their efforts to preserve President Obama’s health care coverage law, insulting their top legislative leader and denouncing the measure as a “lie” as he called for a less expensive and more effective system. “The Democrats, lead by head clown Chuck Schumer, know how bad ObamaCare is and what a mess they are in,” Mr. Trump wrote in the first of three early morning posts on Twitter. (Davis, 1/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
GOP’s Health-Law Attack Spurs Messaging Battle
The new Congress is moving swiftly to decide the fate of the ACA, and both sides appeared to be as mindful of the political stakes as of how any changes would affect consumers. While opponents of the law point to sharp premium increases on the ACA insurance exchanges, the latest government estimates indicate about 20 million previously uninsured people have obtained coverage under the law. (Nicholas, Peterson and Armour, 1/4)
The Washington Post:
Democrats: Trump Will Make America Sick Again
Democrats can’t stop the Republicans from gutting the Affordable Care Act so they want to make sure Donald Trump and the GOP take the full blame for any blow-back of and when the health-care system comes apart. Their message: Trump wants to Make America Sick Again. (Snell, 1/4)
Bloomberg:
Republicans Want To Kill Obamacare Without The Blame
Republicans have a problem. They’ve vowed to repeal Obamacare, but they don’t want to take the blame when some of the 20 million people who get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act lose it. The GOP strategy is to argue that they aren’t actually killing Obamacare; all they’re doing is giving it a proper burial. (Coy and Kapur, 1/4)
As the political rhetoric heats up, news outlets provide some fact checking —
NPR:
As Republicans And Democrats Argue Over Obamacare Repeal, Facts Are Stretched
Both sides are trying to position themselves as the protectors of Americans' health care, while branding the other party as a dangerous threat. As usual, the truth may be somewhere in between. Here we take a closer look at some of the claims being floated by both parties. (Horsley, 1/4)
The Associated Press:
AP Fact Check: Trump’s Hit-And-Miss ‘Obamacare’ Tweet
Taking a swipe at “Obamacare” on Twitter, President-elect Donald Trump correctly identified two of its most pressing problems — a spike in premiums and high deductibles. But he failed to acknowledge the subsidies that soften the hit for many consumers, though not all. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/4)