The Obamacare PR Campaign

Haven't seen enough of Obama lately? Well, good news! He's getting ready to start a massive new PR campaign to try and sell the steaming pile of crap that is Obamacare to you the ignorant public: 

Politico and the New York Times are reporting that the Obama administration and key interest groups with a stake in the recently enacted health-care law will soon launch a massive orchestrated publicity campaign to try to persuade voters that the law is not as bad as they think. It will include ads, events, and various publications aimed to make the Democrats’ case. And today, the President will be speaking in Maryland about the $250 “rebate” checks the government will soon send to some Medicare beneficiaries to make them feel better about the legislation.

The massive and expensive operation is another indication of the Democrats’ view that their problem in the health-care debate has been a matter of communication. Unfortunately for them, the real problem is and always has been the actual legislation and its consequences. The facts are not with them. People understand that an enormous new entitlement program, together with mountains of taxes, mandates, and regulations, do not offer a solution to the problem of health-care costs, which is the source of all our other health-care problems. And every analysis of the law, including those by the Congressional Budget Office and the Obama administration’s own Medicare actuary, confirm that costs will rise, not fall, and that a slew of other problems will follow. There are already clear indications that many employers will drop employee health coverage once the law is implemented, that premiums in the individual market will rise significantly even before that, and that the cost of implementing the law would be enormous.

The reason for the massive PR campaign is to hide or overwhelm the torrent of bad news that has followed the enactment of Obamacare. Those who want to see the law repealed to make room for an effective and meaningful health-care reform therefore need only to keep track of the facts and make them known to voters. And as of today, they’ve got a great new tool in that effort. My Ethics and Public Policy Center colleague Jim Capretta, together with the excellent new economic research institute e21, has launched a new website called obamacarewatch.org. The site will keep track of news about the law’s implementation from around the country and offer a clearinghouse for facts, stats, and analysis. It will be an absolutely essential resource in the continuing health-care debate.

Democrats are desperate to turn the public opposition to Obamacare around before the November elctions. They know that with 58% of the public wanting the whole thing repealed the issue will be an anchor attached to their reelection campaigns unless they can fool more of the people.

Acting against the will of the voters has its drawbacks, as Democrats are discovering.