President Obama apologizes
  ... but not for lying about how well socialized medicine would work, when he must have known it wouldn't.  No, he offered a half-hearted apology — for political purposes only — to the millions of people whose insurance plans have been cancelled due to the law he and the Democrats rushed into existence.

Obama's "Apology" — Substituting New Lies for Old.  On November 7 President Obama was forced to "apologize" to the millions of Americans who are losing their health insurance because of ObamaCare, something he repeatedly promised would never happen — "no matter what."  "Period."  He was forced into a public display of faux contrition by a convergence of political realities, including a panic in his own party, led especially by the 21 Democratic senators who are facing reelection battles next year, in the vortex of the growing ObamaCare maelstrom.

The Upton Bill Is No Small Matter.  Some 3 to 4 million people have already received notices from their insurers that their policies have been terminated, effective January 1, 2014, due to the provisions of Obamacare.  These cancellations make it absolutely clear that the president's signature Obamacare pledge — that no one will be forced out of insurance plans they like — is not true.  The broken pledge has been made worse by the utter mismanagement of the Obamacare enrollment system.  People with cancelled plans can't even find out what their options are under the new law.

All These Lies And Incompetence, Too.  'It is so bureaucratic and so cumbersome that a whole bunch of it doesn't work or it ends up being way over cost."  No, that wasn't some hard-core Tea Party lawmaker calling for a radical downsizing of the federal government.  That was Obama attempting to explain how it is that his administration could fail to build a working website despite spending 3½ years and hundreds of millions of dollars on it.

Barack Obama's Pants are on Fire.  Irreparable damage on the national level aside, after hawking the Affordable Care Act like a snake oil salesman, barking "Step right up, if you like your insurance plan you can keep your insurance plan," some gravely ill Americans are finding out that the cure-all the merchant of "Hope and Change" peddled was pure quackery.  Now, after a panicked realization has set in, the president, doing what he does best, decided he should at least make believe that he's sorry and that he's diligently working toward rectifying the catastrophic situation he caused.  Appearing remarkably serene, Obama chose to share his remorse with NBC anchor Chuck Todd.

Obamacare Is Running Out of Bullets.  Conservatives may complain that the apology was inadequate, since the president did not admit that he'd misled people.  But this is the first time I can remember this president apologizing like this.  It may be sincere.  It is also a sign that his administration is backed into a corner.  It can't deny that this is happening, nor can it blame anyone else.  What's left to it are expressions of regret.

The Editor says...
I disagree with the statement that Obama's apology "may be sincere."  Mr. Obama is not known for sincerity, and this "apology" of his was obviously constructed by his lawyers and then rehearsed over and over.

Krauthammer On Obama's Apology: "The President Now Is Toxic".  ["]The thing is called Obamacare.  There's no running away from it.  It's got his name on it.  You see the president, you think about the policy and you know it's a disaster.  And the problem for the Democrats is, they are hostage to a bunch of geeks working right now late into the night trying to fix a system which is not just the glitches we talked about.  The architecture, the underlying structure of it is wrong.  I think the likelihood of it being fixed, working like you would expect from any normal commercial private website normally by December 1 is pretty small.["]

Obama: I'm Sorry for Obamacare (Sort Of).  Apologizing is all well and good, and yet Obama still finds himself in a tough position.  It is one thing to apologize for the disaster that has been the technical rollout, and quite another to apologize for your own dishonesty.

Sorry your insurance got canceled! Here, let the taxpayers make it up to you.  A round of applause for anyone who guessed that President Obama would deal with a rising tide of public outrage over his phony "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan" promise by throwing other people's money at the problem!

Obama Burns Media Supporters with Apology.  Many were hurled under President Barack Obama's bus on Thursday night [11/7/2013] when he told NBC News reporter Chuck Todd that he was "sorry" those who were losing their health insurance coverage were shocked by this eventuality because of repeated "assurances" he made to the contrary.  The president's supporters in the media were first among those to take a dive under the wheels of the president's forward-moving signature policy achievement.

Media Pans Obama's "Apology".  The president's passive-voice expression of vague regret was so half-[heart]ed and self-serving that conservatives can simply sit back and let the mainstream media tee off on its inadequacy.  He's not sorry for lying repeatedly in furtherance of his political goals, and he's certainly not sorry that people are losing their coverage.  His law required that outcome.  His promise was an intentional lie.

The lowest low of the Obama presidency.  Here's what President Obama really wanted to tell NBC's Chuck Todd about the implementation of the health-care law in an interview Thursday:  "Look, Chuck.  We're talking about 5 percent of the population who can't keep their plans.  Five percent.  And once the Web site starts working right, they will realize they can get better plans anyway."  Of course, when you're president of the United States, you don't say that — unless you don't want to be president much longer.  Time and time again during the interview with Todd, Obama kept running into the political reality that the 5 percent of the country who can't keep their health-care plans isn't all that big a deal unless you are part of that 5 percent.

The Editor says...
People have always been able to get "better plans" if they were willing to pay more for their insurance.  In a free country, the insurance customers make those decisions on their own.  Under a left-wing dictatorship, such as the one Mr. Obama apparently seeks to establish, the citizens have no choice but to buy more than they will ever use, in order to pay for the medical bills accumulated by society's dead weight.

Obama is sorry Americans aren't smart enough to grasp what he really meant.  First, what Obama didn't do.  He didn't apologize for misleading the entire country for three-plus years by saying without qualification dozens of times that if Americans like their existing health insurance plan, they can keep it.  "Period."  The Real Good Talker didn't admit any mistake there, not even an inadvertent one based on his enthusiasm for what he believes is best for his countrymen.  Such bald statements, which documents show he knew were false in mid-2010, played a key role in calming latent fears about his massive federal government plan to reshape nearly a fifth of the country's economy.

Fact-Checking The President's Kind-Of Sort-Of 'Apology' For Obamacare-Driven Insurance Cancellations.  Yesterday [11/7/2013], in an interview with NBC's Chuck Todd, President Obama addressed the problems caused by his incessantly-repeated pledge to the American public that "if you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period.  No one will take it away, no matter what."  As millions of Americans receive cancellation letters in the mail, however, that pledge looked increasingly strained.  "I am sorry that they, you know, are finding themselves in this situation, based on assurances they got from me," the President said last night.  In the course of his interview, however, Mr. Obama made several other misleading statements that don't accurately reflect Obamacare's impact on pre-existing health insurance plans.

Obama offers fauxpology for 'situation'.  Using lawyerly care in choosing passive-construction words, President Obama last night apologized for something, but most definitely not for lying to the American people in order to sell his health care plan on false promises and get re-elected.  Here are the words he uttered to Chuck Todd, White House correspondent for NBC, friendliest news agency among the progressive media toadies.

The aggressive marketing of Obamacare

There must be something wrong with a product that requires such agressive mass marketing.  And you can bet that if President Bush (41 or 43, take your pick) had people spreading out to churches and schools to sign up participants in for his pet project, we'd be hearing howls about "separation of church and state" and "using public schools as indoctrination centers."

Biden pulls out all the stops to boost Obamacare, HHS to spend $100 million to promote in 2023.  The Biden administration said Friday it is investing more money than ever — $100 million — in "navigators" who will raise awareness about Obamacare and link persons with coverage on the portals during the 2023 open enrollment period from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15.  The money exceeds the $80 million spent on in-person assisters during the last enrollment season and will help the program retain its 1,500 navigators and add more, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.  "This is a historic investment to connect people to high-quality, affordable health care," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said.  "Last year, our investments helped result in the lowest uninsured rate in our nation's history.  This year, we're doubling down on our efforts to ensure people get the insurance they need."

Obamacare Recruiters Get $1.2 Billion Under Proposed Law.  A fraud-infested Obamacare "outreach" program will get an astounding $1.2 billion from American taxpayers if legislation introduced by a veteran congresswoman becomes law.  The preposterous measure, introduced by California Democrat Maxine Waters a few week ago, aims to recruit customers for the health insurance exchanges set up under Obama's disastrous healthcare overhaul.  The 14-term congresswoman, investigated by the House Ethics Committee for steering federal funds to her husband's failing Massachusetts bank, crafted the law because the Trump administration slashed Obamacare outreach funding by more than 90%.

Trump accused of "sabotaging" Obamacare.  Obamacare has been around long enough to sell itself to those to whom it can be sold.  If Obamacare is a good deal, and I'm sure it is for some, word of its virtues will have spread by now.  The left may regard Americans as sheep in need of herding, but there's no reason why the rest of us should.  The famous push to enroll Americans ("Pajama Boy" and all that) made sense when Obamacare was rolled out in 2013, though I always had reservation about using leftwing activists for this purpose.  Four years on, it makes sense to cut back substantially on this effort.  In addition, there is a strong case that Obamacare is a bad deal is a bad deal for young, healthy Americans.

IRS involved in $5 million push to press Americans to buy ObamaCare.  The Internal Revenue Service was involved in a $5 million push to pressure Americans to buy Obamacare coverage, according to documents obtained from the watchdog group Judicial Watch.  Under former president Obama, the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House's Behavioral Sciences Team created a $5 million program to target and pressure those who refused Obamacare and either decided to pay a penalty instead or were exempt from being forced to purchase coverage.

Trump admin. slashes funding for Obamacare promotion.  The Trump administration announced Thursday [8/31/2017] it will dramatically slash taxpayer spending on Obamacare promotion next year, cutting its advertising budget by 90 percent and tying grants for "navigator" groups to how many people they signed up last year.  President Obama set up the Navigator program to help people understand their options on web-based markets established by his signature overhaul, yet the Trump administration says the nearly 100 nonprofits, health centers and other in-person assistants are tapping federal coffers with little accountability.

Obama Administration Shelled Out $77 Million In 2016 To Shove Obamacare Down Our Throats.  Six years into the nightmare that is Obamacare, you would think that most Americans would be painfully aware of the regulation that mandates the purchase of insurance, raises premiums through the roof, and often threatened faith-based institutions.  The ubiquity of Obamacare didn't stop the Obama administration from spending $77 million (you read that figure right) in 2016 to promote the former president's pet domestic project.

Obama admin spent $77M to hype ObamaCare in 2016.  The Obama administration doled out more than $77 million to promote the former president's signature health care legislation in what could be its final full year of existence, contracts obtained by The [New York] Post on Sunday [3/12/2017] reveal.  They show the federal government contracted with Democratic-leaning p.r. firm Weber Shandwick to spend $74.15 million on July 28, 2016, and another $3.69 million on Sept. 9, 2016, promoting the plan.  Of that, $64 million funded an advertising blitz — including TV, digital and radio — $4 million went to creative development and production, $5 million to direct response marketing, $2 million to campaign strategy, $1 million to branding and $1.5 million to encourage small business enrollment.

Obamascare: 60% of online Obamacare defenders 'paid to post' hits on critics.  A majority of online and social media defenders of Obamacare are professionals who are "paid to post," according to a digital expert.  "Sixty percent of all the posts were made from 100 profiles, posting between the hours of 9 and 5 Pacific Time," said Michael Brown.  "They were paid to post." [...] Brown said that social media is used to manipulate opinion, proven in the last presidential election.

Bill Murray Golfs with Obama in Oval Office to Promote Obamacare.  The White House has enlisted veteran actor Bill Murray to get the word out during the final days of open enrollment to receive health insurance next year under the Affordable Care Act.  In a video tweeted by the official White House account Sunday evening, Murray and President Obama take turns putting into a glass in the Oval Office as the president reminds viewers that open enrollment for the health care exchanges ends on December 15.

Obama Admin Used Tax Return Info To Market Obamacare, Cause Of Action (CoA) Says.  Cause of Action Institute (CoA) filed a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request Monday [11/7/2016] in efforts to ascertain if the Obama administration was marketing ObamaCare to young adults by using their IRS tax returns.  CoA filed the FOIA request with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a key government agency charged with carrying out provisions of the Affordable Care Act.  Additionally, CoA is requesting investigation with the office of inspectors general from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice.

Obama Steps Up Marketing Campaign As Ocare Continues Its Slow Death Spiral.  Nothing like getting a mailer or seeing an add for a product that is going to cost you more each year while seeing the available usage decrease[.]

Obama administration wants to use IRS to hawk Obamacare.  The administration wants to use the IRS to hawk Obamacare, drawing fire from Republicans, who fear President Obama is turning the tax agency into part of his political operation by enlisting it in the health care effort.  Administration officials want to use IRS files to identify and contact the millions of Americans who have refused to sign up for insurance and are instead paying the "individual mandate" tax for going without coverage.  Officials say it makes sense to harness the IRS because the tax agency knows who hasn't signed up and would be good candidates for outreach.

McConnell demands answers on new Obamacare PR campaign.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding answers from the Obama administration about the cost of a proposed campaign geared towards promoting healthcare exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act.  "I am interested in knowing what resources the administration believes it has for such a campaign," McConnell wrote in a Friday [8/19/2016] letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell.

Feds Asking Gay Men to Post Selfies From the Gym to Promote Obamacare.  The Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with an advocacy organization that is asking gay men to send selfies from the gym to promote Obamacare.  The agency announced Tuesday [12/8/2015] it was joining with several lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender groups to encourage the LGBT community to enroll.  "As part of LGBT Week of Action from Dec. 7-11, Out2Enroll and other organizations will hold enrollment activities and provide in-person assistance across the country," the department said.  "Additionally, partners will leverage social media campaigns to ask their members and affiliates to sign up for an affordable health plan for 2016 through the Health Insurance Marketplace."

'The Thing Is Working': Obama Launches New Website to Promote Obamacare Legacy.  President Obama launched a new website this morning to promote Obamacare, posting a previously unpublished personal letter he received after the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy.  In an effort to highlight the historic nature of the law, the website features a timeline of previous presidents working for health care reform, positing that Obamacare was the product of "nearly a century of work."  The website also hails the unpopular law as "an improbable piece of legislation with a lot of heart behind it."

HHS Pushes Church Talking Points, Bulletins to Promote Obamacare.  In an effort to sign up as many consumers as possible for insurance under the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare), the Obama administration has gone to extraordinary lengths to partner with churches and other faith-based groups, even publishing sample church bulletin inserts, flyers, and scripts for announcements, as well as "talking points." These materials are part of the "Second Sunday & Faith Weekend of Action Toolkit," which is available on the website of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Also posted under the one-sided separation of church and state.

Pelosi: For Valentine's Day 'Take Your Loved One to Sign up for the Affordable Care Act'.  During her weekly briefing, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reminded everyone Valentine's Day was coming up and to "take your loved one and sign up for the Affordable Care Act"

Obama 'selfie stick' video: End of Western civilization or hip marketing?  BuzzFeed got President Obama to make a video.  In it he uses a hand-held camera extender known as a selfie stick, makes a "thanks, Obama" joke when his cookie won't fit in a glass of milk, and mugs in front of a strangely dirty mirror. [...] This isn't the first time the president has used an unusual video appearance (or debased himself, depending on your point of view) to promote ACA sign-ups.

Between two mirrors, Obama touts health law sign-up.  President Barack Obama made a comic online video — complete with silly faces and several shots with a selfie stick — that reminds Americans that they only have through Sunday to sign up this year for Obamacare. [...] "In many cases, you can get health insurance for less than $100 a month," Obama said, following several instances in which he trips up on the pronunciation of "February."

HHS Secretary stumps for Obamacare at MLK Day breakfast hosted by Al Sharpton.  Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell used a 'King Day' speech at a breakfast hosted by Al Sharpton to promote Obamacare.  Burwell, who was one of two Obama administration officials to speak, asked attendees of the National Action Network breakfast to 'tell your neighbors and tell your friends' to sign up for health care insurance.  'In the spirit of Dr. King, we're asking you to help us again, in big ways and small,' Obama's health czar told the activist organization, calling on them to help HHS sign up as many African Americans as possible before the Feb. 15 close of the current open enrollment period.

Millionaire Seattle Seahawks stars urge fans to sign up for Obamacare — but don't mention they have 'Cadillac plans'.  NFL players get medical, dental and life insurance.  The medical coverage has a contract-mandated maximum $800 annual deductible for families, and $400 for individuals.  That out-of-pocket cost pales in comparison to some Obamacare plans.  CBS News reported in December 2013 that some 'bronze'-level plans offered at Healthcare.gov saddle policyholders with deductibles as high as $12,700.

Obamacare PR push goes silent.  Health care reform advocates who struggled for decades to pass Obamacare left the job half-undone.  They failed to sell it.  They also underestimated the unrelenting intensity and duration of the opposition that makes the law so vulnerable to legislative and legal challenges even now, nearly five years after its passage.  The White House and its allies are trying fresh messaging strategies for 2015 enrollment, including a lower-key sales pitch and narratives from real people who are happy with their coverage.

It's the Branding, Stupid.  Kathleen Sebelius sees Obamacare as "working."  It just suffers from "a very bad brand."  The former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services told Politico, "Obamacare, no question, has a very bad brand that has been driven intentionally by a lot of misinformation and a lot of paid advertising."

New way to promote ObamaCare: 7-Eleven.  ObamaCare ads will now appear on 7-Eleven receipts at more than 7,000 stores nationwide as government health officials expand their outreach in the second year of healthcare sign-ups.  Information about ObamaCare sign-ups will appear on the bottom of receipts for anyone using a mobile payment company called PayNearMe, which allows bank-less customers to pay in stores like 7-Eleven and Family Dollar.

Stephen Colbert Lets Obama Take Over His Show to Promote Obamacare.  Fans of the Colbert Report who tuned in late Monday night [12/8/2014] to see President Obama were shocked to see that the venerable fake-conservative host abandoned his chair so that Obama could take over.  As Colbert queued up his traditional segment "The Word," Obama came on the set "early" and demanded that Colbert let him take over the show.

WebMD Has Received $13.9M to Promote Obamacare.  WebMD has received nearly $14 million to promote Obamacare, as part of a government initiative designed to get Americans to turn to "official information" on the health care law.  The contract amount is much higher than was previously known, new documents revealed on Tuesday.  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a "limited source justification" to extend WebMD's contract through September 2015.  The government has obligated a total of $13,932,914 for the "Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Health Care Priorities Educational Initiative" thus far.

White House: Obamacare Made This Mother's Day 'Particularly Special'.  Rahm Emanuel famously declared early in the Obama administration that "you never want a serious crisis to go to waste."  Apparently the White House feels the same about holidays.  On Sunday, a blog post appeared on the official White House website entitled "Happy Mother's Day, from the ACA".

Obama Throws Obamacare Party at White House for Athletes, Celebs.  On Thursday [5/1/2014], President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama threw an Obamacare party at the White House for athletes and celebrities who helped the administration push the law.  According to Time, the "Obamas cracked open the champagne" for about 300 people and some of the attendees included:  ["]labor leaders, Democratic operatives and health care activists, as well as celebrities who helped the Administration promote the law, [..."]

Pro-Obamacare group will go clubbing to troll for new enrollees.  On a call outlining its strategy to get people to sign up for Obamacare over the summer, leading Obamacare advocacy group Enroll America said it will get more creative with its outreach tactics — including hitting up night clubs — now that only certain groups of people remain eligible to sign up for health coverage.

John Cornyn calls for broad probe into Obamacare spending, fundraising.  Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is calling for a broad investigation into spending and fundraising to help promote Obamacare after a report released Monday [4/21/2014] raised new questions about the White House's involvement in persuading private entities to donate to the effort.  The Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, released a report Monday on Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' fundraising on behalf of Enroll America, a nonprofit founded by former Obama campaign and White House staffers, to help boost enrollment in the federal exchanges.

Keywords:  stooge, shill, phony crying act.
Rachael Ray Tears Up in Obamacare Pitch.  Bringing on Joe Biden in a last-ditch effort to boost Obamacare enrollment numbers on the last day to sign up, a noticeably emotional Rachael Ray thanked the vice president for the health-care law and pleaded with young people to enroll during her show on Monday [3/31/2014].  "It is such an important resource for Americans, and I just thank this administration for doing this," she said as her voice broke.

ObamaCare Twitter pitches intensify even as deadline extended.  The administration has blown through another ObamaCare deadline, extending the federal exchange sign-up for some to mid-April from March 31.  With just five more days until the original sign-up window would close, supporters are inundating my feed with last-minute pleas to join in or lose out.

White House turns to cat pictures to sell Obamacare.  With the deadline for enrolling in the Obamacare exchanges just days away, the White House is scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas — including turning to cat GIFs, or animated videos made of multiple still photos.  The cats are just some of the goofy GIFs the White House has posted, according to the Florida Times-Union, which said the White House is trying to catch the latest retro Internet craze.

Ellen Thanks Obama for Obamacare: 'Everyone's Very Grateful You Did This'.  If President Barack Obama found the perfect adversary in Bill O'Reilly when the two men sat down for a pre-Super Bowl interview last month, he may have found the ideal ally in Ellen DeGeneres.  With 10 days to go before the March 31st Obamacare deadline, the president brought his message to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where the host did her best to stress the importance of affordable healthcare for all.  "It's doing very, very well," DeGeneres said of the Obamacare enrollment process.  "It had a rough start, but you've got 5 million people that have signed up so far, which is an enormous amount of people.  So it's successful."

Obama Taps Local TV Anchors to Send ACA Message.  It began during the weekend with a surprise email from the White House:  Six local TV anchors and camera crews from around the country discovered they'd been invited to interview President Obama on Wednesday, and receive VIP briefings from top Obama advisers.  They had not requested the interviews.  But Obama wanted to spend four minutes with each reporting team to discuss the minimum wage and the March 31 deadline for Affordable Care Act enrollment. [...] On a rainy day in Washington, the TV crews from Boston, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Dallas, Phoenix and San Diego earned red-carpet treatment from the president's aides and top advisers.

Obama admin spending $17 per head on Obamacare ads.  In the final push before the end of open enrollment on March 31, the Obama administration has spent millions to promote Obamacare.  From January to the end of March the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is administering the president's signature health-care law will have spent $52 million on paid media for Obamacare.  Meaning, if all goes according to the most recent plan and the administration reaches its revised enrollment goal of six million, taxpayers will have spent nearly $9.00 per signup on advertising alone.  With an average pay out of $17.3 million a month on advertising alone, past months have already seen higher average costs per signup.

The Hard Sell.  Add LeBron James to the ranks of Obamacare pitchmen:  The basketball star is featured in new ads urging his fans to sign up at HealthCare.gov.  "You can go there to find an affordable health plan that's part of the health care law."  The ads are just the latest in the ongoing marketing barrage for Obamacare.

President to Visit Ellen DeGeneres' Show to Sell ObamaCare (Again).  President Barack Obama has had years to promote his signature health care reform.  Now, with a near daily barrage of bad news tied to ObamaCare, from skyrocketing premiums to bald-face lies about its true nature, the president is reduced to working the talk show circuit like a B-lister promoting a cable pilot.

The many faces of an Obamacare 'angry mom'.  Ronnie Hooks is the "angry mom" featured in a new ad for health care.  But Hooks, of Baton Rouge, said Sunday [3/16/2014] she had no idea her photo, bearing a stern expression and arms folded, would be used in the ad, which urges people in their mid-20s to sign up for the health care system.  "It's really crazy," Hooks, 50, said from her kitchen Sunday afternoon.  "Wake up one morning, and boom, you're the new face for the ad for Obamacare."

White House's March Madness-Themed Obamacare Pitch Is a Circus.  In the first weeks of March, President Barack Obama sat down with comedian Zach Galifianakis for his online interview program as part of a comedic effort to convince young people of the benefits associated with health coverage.  Days later, a slew of celebrity moms joined the first lady as part of the ACA pitch, "#YourMomsCare."  "We nag you because we love you," Michelle Obama said to the camera in what has to be the most misguided effort to appeal to young people in the history of advertising. [...] Expect more of this kind of flailing desperation as the end of the open enrollment period nears.

With nod to March Madness, White House promotes Obamacare bracket.  The White House on Monday will release a "16 Sweetest Reasons to Get Covered" bracket, hoping to use March Madness to promote Obamacare two weeks before the deadline for Americans to obtain health insurance.  According to a White House official, two top college basketball coaches Monday will make an Obamacare sales pitch in a web video aimed at fans of the sport.

Obamacare enrollment push glosses over next year's fines, some say.  At Obamacare enrollment events around the state, recruitment organizers emphasize the positive reasons for buying coverage on the insurance marketplace, like staying healthy and getting financial assistance to help pay their monthly premiums.  But there's also the punitive side of the law:  how much those who don't enroll will have to pay at tax time next year.

Nudity, humor used to get youth sign up for health care in Maine.  Advertising executives didn't need a scientific study to surmise what would draw young adults to ads that encourage people to buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.  They went with skin — lots of it.  "He may not be naked.  He could be wearing a Speedo," Wendy Wolf said with a laugh, referring to an ad showing a young man who is otherwise unclothed but covered by a strategically placed laptop computer.

President Obama is now the most powerful insurance salesman in the free world.  President Obama's approval rating is at or near record lows.  His foreign policy has been feckless.  And his recent budget proposal was virtually ignored because his domestic agenda is going nowhere in Congress.  So with 2014 looking like an increasingly grim year for Democrats seeking re-election, the role of the most powerful leader of the free world has been reduced to that of an insurance salesman.

Planned Parenthood announces 500-plus events to promote Obamacare.  As the March 31 Obamacare sign-up deadline nears, Planned Parenthood is going to bat for the White House, hosting more than 500 events in 18 cities to get Americans into the health insurance system.  In eight states, officials from the women's health and abortion provider will go to grocery stories and even indoor soccer fields to enroll people.  It also plans to dispatch 500 canvassers to knock on 20,000 doors.

Emails raise questions about White House knowledge of Kathleen Sibelius fundraising.  Emails obtained by the Washington Examiner through a Freedom of Information Act request raise new questions about how much the White House knew about Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' fundraising for Obamacare and whether she solicited donations from entities she regulates.  White House officials have said they did not sign off on calls made by Sebelius to solicit donations from private entities for Enroll America, an outside nonprofit with close White House ties that promotes enrollment in the health law's insurance exchanges.  Officials say they were only generally aware Sebelius would be seeking support from outside groups.

Obama To Latino Families: 'You Are Punishing Yourselves' By Not Signing Up For Obamacare.  Issuing a last call for health care, President Barack Obama assured Latinos on Thursday [3/6/2014] that signing up for new insurance exchanges won't lead to deportation for any relatives in the U.S. illegally.

First Lady To Obamacare Counselors: 'You Are Doing God's Work'.  With just weeks left to sign up for health care under the Affordable Care Act, Michelle Obama zeroed in on recruiting the crucial young adult demographic during a visit to a Miami community health center Wednesday [3/5/2014].

Stars discovering Obamacare is box office poison.  Obamacare has become so unpopular that entertainment industry stars are discovering that speaking out in favor of it comes at a cost.  Take Will Ferrell for example.

Will Ferrell Promotes Obamacare on Facebook, Feels Web's Wrath.  Will Ferrell is the latest celebrity enlisted to help pitch the Affordable Care Act to the so-called "young invincible" crowd that needs to sign up in large numbers for the law to function:  But Ferrell's #GetCovered post on Facebook on Monday [2/24/2014] led to an acidic sea of comments — over 4,000 and counting at press time, almost all of them negative.

Michelle Obama: 'Young people are knuckleheads'.  On the "Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon, First Lady Michelle Obama explained that it was more important than ever for young people older than 26 to sign up for health insurance.  "A lot of young people think they're invincible, but the truth is young people are knuckleheads," she laughed, pointing out that they often cut themselves while cooking or injure themselves by dancing on bar stools.

Obamacare signs of desperation.  After enduring gales of laughter in response to the Pajama Boy Gambit, the folks at Organizing for Action, aka my.barackobama.com, have turned to the stalest cliché possible in an effort to put lipstick on the healthcare.gov pig.

Is Obamacare Adorable?  For Valentine's Day, the Obama administration decided to promote Obamacare in a manner less macho than its "Pajama Boy" campaign. [...] Makes Pajama Boy look like a stroke of marketing genius.

Democrats: Speed-date for Obamacare.  First they seized on Thanksgiving, then Christmas dinner, and now Democrats and progressives want Valentine's Day to be about Obamacare.  Washington's Network for Progress is hosting a mixer and speed date night for "Hope Mongers" this week to raise money for the organization that is helping Americans sign up for Obamacare.

Where Is the Democratic Party's Pro-Obamacare Campaign?  No headline candidate or big-money advocacy group, not even OFA, is running political ads touting the health law's successes.  Instead, they're trying to change the message.

White House Writes NFL Players' Pro-Obamacare Tweets.  Obamacare got a boost from current and former National Football League players on Super Bowl Sunday after the White House sent suggested language for laudatory tweets to a representative of the league's players union. [...] The Ravens received a $130,000 contract from Maryland Health Connection, the state's Obamacare exchange, last year to promote Obamacare.  The NFL decided to forego an agreement with officials in charge of the Obamacare rollout.

Sebelius: Observe MLK Day by signing up for Obamacare.  Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is using the memory of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to encourage Americans to sign up for the troubled Obamacare system.  "As we celebrate the inspirational life of Dr. King, please join us in this historic effort by helping your friends, neighbors, and loved ones get covered through the Marketplace," Sebelius said of the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Magic Assists Obamacare.  Magic Johnson sold millions of Converse sneakers and hundreds of cans of Slice to young people during the 1980s.  Now, the fifty-four-year-old retired Los Angeles Laker sells ObamaCare to that healthy demographic.

Richard Simmons Performs a Bizarre Dance-Off to Get You to Sign Up for Obamacare.  There are no words to describe what happened Friday during a live event held by Covered California designed to increase interest among young people in the Affordable Care Act.  Actually... there are words:  insane, perplexing, inexplicable, and psychologically scarring come to mind.  What was billed as a "live celebration of the 35 million Americans who now gain access to affordable health insurance under the Affordable Care Act," the six and a half hour event rapidly — almost immediately — devolved into a celebration of the offbeat and eccentric.  And it was fitness guru Richard Simmons who took us there.

Republicans Clueless in Obamacare Message to Young Americans.  In December, reeling from surprising unpopularity among millennials, Obama returned to his trademark pied-piper "movement" rhetoric, likening healthcare policy to women's suffrage and the civil rights crusade.  You mustn't get discouraged when you're out to change the world, Obama said, because "change" and leadership take time and hard work!  It's a clever angle because young voters are easily seduced by two things which ordinarily would appear in tension:  altruism and self-importance.

Showbiz's Obamacare Boosters to Hold 6-Hour Livestream Event to Promote Insurance Coverage.  With another set of deadlines looming to enroll in a healthcare plan, a group of Hollywood supporters of Obamacare are staging a 6-hour livestream event on Thursday [1/16/2014] aimed at getting young people covered.  Funny or Die, Maker Studios and YouTube Studios are partnering with Covered California and other state insurance exchanges for the event, to be held at YouTube Studios in Playa Vista.

Magic Johnson stumps for Obamacare.  NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson is featured in a new Web video from the White House promoting the Affordable Care Act.  In the video, Johnson, who was diagnosed with HIV in the early 1990s, says he likely would be dead right now if he didn't have quality health insurance.

The Editor says...
This is a disingenuous means of marketing socialized medicine, because (1) a millionaire does not need health insurance, and (2) I think it is fair to say that Mr. Johnson brought his medical problems upon himself.  [1] [2] [3]

The President who stole Christmas.  Today, while you're singing about Santa Claus, celebrating the end of the year and opening gifts with your family, you should know:  You might be ignoring your presidential homework assignment.  Your celebration is probably wasting valuable time that could be spent shilling for his "signature legislation." [...] Christmas is the perfect time to discuss Obamacare with your family.  Rather than simply letting you plan a Yuletide get together you hope will devolve into a nightmare of political arguments, the caring folks at Organizing for Action have put together a handy guide that will let you cut to the chase.  Follow their simple plan and you can rest assured that your day will be as miserable as possible.

Obamacare outreach hits the clubs.  Washington's new health insurance exchange dispatched a sign-up envoy to one of the city's gay clubs one recent night to get out the word about Obamacare. [...] Like other health exchanges and coverage advocacy groups across the country, DC Health Link is reaching out to people wherever they may be, including bars.

Out2Enroll video has men in holiday undies promoting subsidized healthcare.  The Obama administration has teamed up with a campaign called #Out2Enroll, the brainchild of the Sellers Dorsey Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that focuses on "improving the health of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community," according to their website.

D.C. to tout Obamacare among youth waiting for Air Jordans.  The D.C. health exchange says it is launching an Obamacare blitz this weekend and knows where to go to find "young invincibles" — in line to buy the latest edition of Air Jordan sneakers.  D.C. Health Link announced on Thursday [12/19/2013] it will seek out shoppers this weekend — the last retail spurt before Christimas — to educate them about enrollment options under the Affordable Care Act on its city-run health exchange.

Drag Queens Promote Obamacare.  A group of drag queens in Louisiana has decided to use their cross-dressing talents to help promote Obamacare.  Wednesday Night Tea — "a unique, interactive drag queen show held every Wednesday at Central Station in Shreveport, Louisiana" — has partnered up with the non-profit Out2Enroll to help market Obamacare to the LGBT community.

Obamacare Panders To Gay Community.  President Obama is now hoping that the gay community will "come out" and sign up for the embattled Obamacare plan, as a new video pandering to "the boys" has just been released to help with enrollment.

Obama encourages moms to 'tell stories in the grocery store' about Obamacare.  In a meeting with "eight moms from around America," according to a White House pool report, President Obama encouraged the mothers to sing the praises of Obamacare while they're out shopping at grocery stores.  Obama, speaking to the moms in the Oval Office, acknowledged that there have been problems with the roll-out of his signature health legislation, but insisted that a solid P.R. campaign will rescue Obamacare.

First lady: Signing up for Obamacare should be New Year's resolution.  The administration is scrambling to sign up consumers in insurance exchanges after the glitch-ridden launch of the healthcare.gov website in October led to lower than expected sign-ups and undercut public support for Obama's signature domestic achievement.

'Pajama Boy' Makes Obama a Laughingstock Online.  The point of the ad is to promote Obamacare among young adults.  "Wear pajamas.  Drink hot chocolate.  Talk about getting health insurance," says the ad copy.

Pajama Boy Nation.  Somehow we as a nation went from the iconic Marlboro Man to Pajama Boy — from the noble individual with a bad habit to the ignoble without a good habit — without a blink in between.  There are lots of revolting things in the Pajama Boy ad.  After all, how can you top all at once a nerdy-looking child-man dressed in infantile pajamas while cradling a cup of hot chocolate with the smug assurance that he is running your life more than you his?

Obamacare's 'Pajama Boy' was accused of racism, anti-Semitism.  Ethan Krupp, the little man who played "Pajama Boy" in a widely-mocked Obamacare ad, was accused in college of racism and anti-Semitism.  Krupp, an Organizing for Action (OFA) content writer who became the face of progressive America when he sipped cocoa and smirked while wearing a onesie pajama suit in a recent Obamacare ad, is also a failed comedy writer whose work was not appreciated in his own time.

Meet Ethan Krupp: Pajamacare boy and Organizing for Action employee.  Pajamacare boy is Ethan Krupp, an Organizing for Action employee and the subject of ridicule after OFA created a social ad encouraging everyone to sign up for Obamacare.

Obamacare 'pajamas boy' gets roundly mocked.  The White House is trying to get families to spread the word about Obamacare coverage options ahead of the holidays.  Relatives will gather around a common table, and key deadlines loom for enrollees who want to select a plan and be covered by the new year.  The Obama administration wants young people — like the man in pajamas, say — to sign up for coverage in state-based exchanges so that healthier people balance out risk pools when sicker consumers with preexisting conditions enter the market, because they cannot be denied.

Pajama Boy, An Insufferable Man-Child.  Pajama Boy's place in Internet infamy was secured as soon as the insufferable man-child was tweeted out by Organizing for America.  He is the face of a web ad that is the latest effort by the Obama team to leverage the holidays for conversation about Obamacare.  "Wear pajamas," the ad reads.  "Drink hot chocolate.  Talk about getting health insurance.  #GetTalking."

Pajama Boy: The Obama Machine's Id.  The Obama administration isn't doing very well with putting an empathetic face on its calamitous health-insurance law, is it?  First, we had Julia, the creepy, eyeless, vision-of-horror from Brave New World whose life was run from cradle to grave by the federal government.  Then, we had Adriana, the painfully neutral and carefully ambi-racial stock-model-from-everywhere whose face became so synonymous with HealthCare.gov's hilarious launch that she had to be replaced with a graphic plugging an 800 number.  And now, courtesy of Organizing for Action, we have Pajama Boy, a metrosexual hipster in a plaid onesie who wants you to spend your precious Christmas days talking to him about the president's vision for health insurance.

Pajama Boy: The Obama Machine's Id.  OFA, and its various offshoots, are staffed by third-growth McGovernites who have come of age at the exact point that the radicalism of the 1960s finally won out.  As David Burge of "Iowahawk" fame likes to joke, perhaps it wasn't "a good idea to turn the most successful country in the history of the world over to the grievance faculty at Harvard."  Still, that is what we have done.  And we have ended up with a parade of over-educated and under-experienced perpetual children who don't think twice before dressing a grown man up in footie pajamas.

ObamaCare enrollment effort moves to shoe stores, restaurants.  Health Links officials are spending this weekend going to shoe stores where the latest Nike Air Jordans are debuting and Denny's restaurants trying to convince so-called 'young invincibles' to sign up for DC's health exchange.

First lady to go on radio blitz for ObamaCare.  Michelle Obama will sit for a trio of interviews with urban radio stations as part of a coordinated White House blitz intended to promote ObamaCare coverage among mothers and minorities.  The first lady will be interviewed Wednesday evening by Yolanda Adams, Al Sharpton, and Joe Madison, three of the nation's most popular African American talk radio hosts.

The Editor says...
Mrs. Obama only speaks to black radio hosts.  But if you criticize that trait, or even notice it, you're a racist.

Sexiest Man Alive Embraces Obamacare to Boost Enrollment.  Pop singer Adam Levine, who won the designation from People magazine last month, is among the celebrities who'll be promoting enrollment in online health insurance exchanges as part of a social media campaign kicking off tomorrow [12/12/2013].  With enrollment totals behind administration projections after the botched start-up of the federal exchange, 17 state exchanges joined by an advocacy group are drawing on Obama administration allies in entertainment and sports to promote sign-ups, using social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Obamacare, where the liberal dream crashes and burns.  On Wednesday afternoon, a bunch of twentysomethings were summoned to the White House to hear an infomercial from Barack Obama himself.  He was pitching health insurance. [...] Mr. Obama desperately needs healthy young people to sign on to Obamacare in order to subsidize the old and sick.  But the salesman-in-chief can't close the deal.

A healthcare navigator in unfriendly waters.  [Quinetta] Rascoe is one of thousands of foot soldiers hired nationwide to sign Americans up for coverage under President Obama's Affordable Care Act.  Her task is made all the more challenging because she works in one of the Republican-led states openly hostile to the act.  The GOP-controlled Legislature ordered state health officials not to cooperate with the federal program.

A Roll of the Dice.  President Obama is back selling his health-care law with the manic intensity of a late-night-infomercial pitchman who knows that if he doesn't move the product, it could be discontinued.  Here's Obama aiming his comments at young people this Wednesday:  "The product is good.  It's affordable.  This is a big deal, to quote Joe Biden.  And if you're a student-body president, set up a conference on campus.  If you're a bartender, have a happy hour."

Obama compares health reform struggles to civil rights movement.  President Obama on Wednesday [12/4/2013] compared the challenges of health care reform to the civil rights movement as he urged young people to do "whatever they can" to help boost enrollment in Obamacare.  In an address to a youth summit hosted at the White House, Obama urged young supporters to not get "discouraged" amid the health care law's rocky rollout and with polls showing declining support for the president's signature achievement.

Obama embarks on new health-care push after Web site fixes, urges Americans to sign up.  President Obama on Tuesday embarked on the difficult task of persuading Americans to reconsider his landmark health-care law after its botched launch, imploring people to sign up as part of a major push to publicize the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.  Republicans immediately lampooned the effort — coming more than three years after passage of the law and two months after its disastrous rollout — and conservative activists vowed to wage a counterassault publicizing the law's downsides.

Video called 'Forget About The Price Tag' wins HHS grand prize for promoting Obamacare.  The Department of Health and Human Services has crowned a YouTube video entitled "Forget About The Price Tag" as the grand prize winner in a contest meant to encourage young people to sign up for Obamacare.  The video contest, announced in August — in partnership with a group called Young Invincibles — encouraged participants to produce clips filled with pro-Obamacare messaging.

And the winner of the HHS video contest to promote Obamacare is....  [Scroll down]  The huge irony is that she won by posting a video urging her fellow youth not to worry about the price tag, when she herself is getting her insurance paid for by the taxpayers.

Another Day, Another Obamacare Propaganda Session.  On Tuesday afternoon, in yet another example of Barack Obama's inability to start a presentation (much less a giant website) on time, the president defended the disastrous health care law that is colloquially named for him and asked for help to "spread the word" about the law's purported benefits.

President leads the cheers for himself.  Finally, after two months of horror, President Obama heard cheering when he discussed ObamaCare.  OK, so the cheering came from members of his own staff, who were assembled in the White House briefing room to hear him speak Tuesday afternoon [12/3/2013].  But listen, the guy has had a hard time since Oct. 1; he can use all the cheering he can get.  The speech was promoted as part of an aggressive new effort to promote ObamaCare following the repairs (far from completed) made to the HealthCare.gov Web site.  If that was the intent, it was a colossal failure.

Obama calls on bartenders to host happy hours for Obamacare.  During today's White House Youth Summit, President Obama called on young people to do whatever they can to promote his signature health care law — including plying their customers with cheap booze.  "If you are a bartender, have a happy hour," Obama said as the crowd laughed.  "And also probably get health insurance because a lot of people don't have it."  Obama also encouraged young people who are student body presidents or workers at nonprofit organizations to help people get enrolled.

Pop-up Affordable Care Act enrollment center opens near S.C. Aquarium.  A new pop-up health insurance enrollment center near the South Carolina Aquarium was crowded during its first hour of business Monday morning [12/2/2013] — but not with residents eager to sign up for a policy under the Affordable Care Act.  The small storefront, provided by the city of Charleston free of charge, was mainly full of volunteers and paid navigators.  They were busy organizing pamphlets, answering cellphones, setting up a Christmas tree — all preparing for the rush of residents they hope will walk in over the next three weeks.

The Editor says...
A state-sponsored Christmas tree is okay as long as it is used to promote the leftist agenda.

Allen West: White House 'sounds like a very cheap retailer' hawking Obamacare.  Former Florida congressman Allen West mocked the news that the Obamacare website would be down for maintenance the night of its long-awaited Dec. 1 fix, warning that the White House's repeated excuses make it sound "like a very cheap retailer."  On Fox News Channel's On The Record Friday night [11/29/2013], West told Harris Faulker that the Obama administration's decision to delay the website fix further was "incredible."

In the Trenches With the ObamaCare Army.  How's it going?  Not well, to judge from a visit with navigators in North Carolina, one of 34 states that decided not to open their own health-insurance exchanges.  Durham is a relatively low-income city — nearly 19% of the residents are below the poverty level — that is 41% African-American and 14% Hispanic.  It is the type of place that the White House expects to benefit most from ObamaCare.  Yet the navigators I spoke with there earlier this month say interest has been sparse.

Hard Sell.  I've come to Florida to go door-to-door with the foot soldiers of Get Covered America, the boots-on-the-ground division of Enroll America, which bills itself as a "nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to maximize the number of uninsured Americans who enroll in health coverage made available by the Affordable Care Act."  These Obamacare evangelists are very serious about the "nonpartisan" nature of their business.  Nearly every Enroll America staffer I speak to emphasizes it, often repeatedly.  And while it might strain credulity that an organization is nonpartisan which seeks to make sure people are Obamacared for by setting $100 million fundraising goals for itself, and conducting $5 million ad campaigns, and targeting 10 different states, 9 of which are coincidentally run by Republican governors, I choose to take them at their word.

Obama's Orwellian Thanksgiving.  President Barack Obama and outgoing New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have both tried to nudge their way into America's Thanksgiving (or Thanksgivukkah) dinners, with talking points about Obamacare and gun control, respectively.  Not only is introducing contentious political issues into a family holiday a recipe for unhappiness, but it also reflects the disturbing Orwellian ambitions of Obama's big-government liberalism.

White House returns to Obamacare sales mode.  President Barack Obama will launch a coordinated campaign Tuesday by the White House, congressional Democrats and their outside allies to return attention to why the Affordable Care Act passed in the first place.  After two months of intense coverage of the botched HealthCare.gov rollout, the president will host a White House event kicking off a three-week drive to refocus the public on the law's benefits, senior administration officials told POLITICO.

Obama sets out to save his legacy — will it work?  President Obama has begun a new 20 day effort to sell the Affordable Care Act.  And while his press conference on Tuesday was less defensive and more forward looking than his previous comments, it very much remains to be seen whether this new initiative will help sell the law or assuage very real concerns about its efficacy and viability.

Obama Begins ObamaCare PR Tour Amid Fresh Trouble.  Maybe the 10th time will be the charm for President Obama and his health care law.  "The bottom line is this law is working, and will work into the future," Obama said Tuesday [12/3/2013] in a speech kicking off a month-long PR blitz for his signature legislation.  "We're not going back."  Obama went on to highlight benefits he regularly touts, such as free preventive care, prescription drug savings for seniors, and the like.  And he attacked the GOP for pushing for repeal.

Why is President Obama trying to politicize the holidays?  The administration knows many people will be unfamiliar with the etiquette of discussing national health care at Thanksgiving.  So Organizing for Action, the president's political committee, has created a strategy sheet and suggested talking points.  "Take advantage of downtime after meals or between holiday activities to start your talk," OFA advises.  It's especially important, the tip sheet says, to use special circumstances that might arise during a family celebration to press the case for health care.  For example, one OFA tweet showed pictures of a young man wielding a big knife to carve a turkey.  That was followed by a picture of the man with a bandage on his hand.  "Food-related injuries happen a lot this time of year," the message said.  "It's a good time to talk about getting coverage."

Michelle Obama's idea of Thanksgiving table talk: Push the Obamacare.  So this is how first lady Michelle Obama imagines Americans should spend their Thanksgiving dinner:  Talking about Obamacare.  That's her call to supporters, via an email invitation to Democratic Party backers, The New York Post reported.  "As you spend time with loved ones this holiday season, be sure to talk with them about what health care reform can mean to them," she said, in the email that contained 14 talking points that could be raised. [...] Mrs. Obama's tips are posted on an Internet site operated by Organizing for Action, called "Health Care for the Holidays."

Charity received $1.1 million grant to 'produce' Obamacare success stories.  A self-described non-partisan organization promoting affordable health care has received a $1.1 million grant to create a database of Obamacare success stories, it was revealed today [11/28/2013].  The Washington, DC-based non-profit group Families USA was awarded the grant October 4 by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. [...] On its website, Families USA asks users to share their stories relating to the Affordable Care Act in an effort to illustrate 'the human need for health reform.'

The Spectacular Collapse of Obamacare's Holiday Propaganda Blitz.  The Affordable Care Act's Hindenburg-like debut has been characterized a series of spectacular failures, the latest being an attempt by President Barack Obama's political arm, Organizing for America, to furnish their followers with effective pro-ACA talking points.  This army of true believers was instructed to bombard their unsuspecting kin with counterpoints to deflect the unceasing stream of bad ACA news screaming at them from the television set.

OFA: Be sure to use Thanksgiving dinner to convince relatives to buy a plan on the ObamaCare exchange.  Believe it or not, these soulless robots have prepared an actual talking-points memo for the occasion replete with tips on how to plan your "talk."  My favorite:  "Integrate the talk into family time."  Good advice — and for my money, the more dramatic the integration, the better.

How not to market insurance.  It's an old marketing maxim — sex sells.  And since nothing else is helping Obamacare sell (fewer than 27,000 people have successfully signed up for health insurance through the dangerously insecure federal Obamacare website), supporters in Colorado have decided to give this notion a try.

Provocative new pro-Obamacare ads urge single women to enroll in exchanges.  From the folks who brought you the "brosurance" campaign that promotes the affordable care act comes a new line of ads aimed at reminding young women the new law will subsidize their birth control. [...] The new round of ads don't leave out the boys altogether.  Why doesn't the guy have any pants on?  Who cares!  He has insurance.

Talk of Penalty Is Missing in Ads for Health Care.  New York's health exchange slogan is "Today's the Day."  Minnesota has enlisted Paul Bunyan.  Oregon held a music contest, and California stresses the "peace of mind" that will come with insurance.  The state and federal health insurance exchanges are using all manner of humor and happy talk to sell the Affordable Care Act's products.  But the one part of the new system that they are not quick to trumpet is the financial penalty that Americans will face if they fail to buy insurance.

Hollywood Receives Grant to Promote Obamacare on TV Shows.  The California Endowment, a foundation spending big bucks to promote Obamacare, has just delivered a $500,000 grant to TV writers and producers to sneak Obamacare promotions into their programs.  "The aim is to produce compelling prime-time narratives that encourage Americans to enroll, especially the young and healthy, Hispanics and other key demographic groups needed to make the overhaul a success."

Celebrities who promoted ObamaCare now quiet in wake of website debacle.  In the heady days after the October 1 launch of the Affordable Care Act — better known as ObamaCare — Lady Gaga, Amy Poehler, Nina Dobrev, Rosario Dawson, Sarah Silverman, Olivia Wilde, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Pearl Jam, Lance Bass, John Legend, Alyssa Milano and Kerry Washington joined the President to encourage Americans to #getcovered.  Since then, technical glitches and website snafus have so marred the ObamaCare website that the team who built it has been called to testify before Congress on Thursday [10/24/2013].  But there will be no celebrities flanking them on Capitol Hill, as the stars that helped launch the initiative are now being advised to walk away.

Super Bowl champ Baltimore Ravens getting paid $130,000 to promote Obamacare.  Despite a decision by the NFL to ignore the administration's pleas to promote Obamacare, the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens have decided to go all in — in exchange for a $130,000 contract, according to documents unearthed by a public watchdog group.  Judicial Watch told [the Washington Examiner] that the team was recruited by Maryland state officials to help it sell Obamacare, the new health care insurance program that has run into mammoth computer and bureaucratic troubles in its first three weeks.

If there's one thing I don't like, it's an uninvited insurance salesman.
President embraces role as 'salesman' for Obamacare.  President Obama in his weekly address Saturday [10/26/2013] said he was proud to be a "salesman" for Obamacare despite criticism over the glitch-filled rollout of the law's insurance exchanges.  "Some people have poked fun at me this week for sounding like an insurance salesman.  And that's okay," said Obama.  "I'd still be out there championing this law even if the website were perfect."

Obamacare Ads Push 'Brosurance'.  President Obama's Obamacare "navigators" are proving to be a troublesome lot, with one navigator having an outstanding warrant for her arrest, and others having shady backgrounds.  Obamacare navigators are supposed to help Americans sign up for Obamacare exchanges.  But some navigators in Colorado are doing their jobs by creating advertisements directed at college students.

Oprah Winfrey gave 'unequivocal no' to selling Obamacare: report.  Oprah Winfrey downright refused an invitation to the White House and the opportunity to join a host of celebrities to sell Obamacare over the summer, sources told the New York Post.

The Obamacare software mess.  The success of Obamacare depends on getting lots of people to sign up.  So nonprofit groups, insurers and some states are energetically promoting the exchanges.  Enroll America, a group run by a former White House employee, is mining data to find the uninsured, then going door to door to urge them to buy coverage.

More Celebrities Stage Star-Studded Effort to Sell Obamacare.  The clip is just one example of the star-studded White House effort to deploy artists, actors and content creators to help sell the president's signature health care overhaul, the Affordable Care Act, especially to younger Americans.

Keywords:  bribery, coercion.
Obamacare phones offered to health insurance buyers.  In Tennessee, those shopping on the new health insurance co-ops could end up with more than just some health insurance.  They might even walk away with a free smartphone.  The Nashville Business Journal is reporting that Community Health Alliance, Tennessee's Obamacare health insurance co-op, is using the prospect of a free phone to encourage folks to enroll.

More about Obamaphones.

Creepy Propaganda: High School Bands To Play Obamacare Songs.  In the sort of creepy move you'd expect to see in Saddam Hussein's Iraq or Kim-Jung-Il's North Korea, high school bands in Oregon are being used as propaganda organs for Obamacare.

Obamacare ad agency asks high school marching bands to play pro-Obamacare songs.  The point of asking high school bands to play the Obamacare anthem is to create more attention for Cover Oregon.  It's not clear if the ad agency has asked the high school bands to play pro-Obamacare songs at football games or at other venues.  A primary reason the ads have generated national buzz is because they fail to provide any detail whatsoever concerning the Affordable Care Act.

More about using schools as indoctrination centers.

The One Word Missing From All Those ObamaCare Ads.  In a speech at a Maryland community college last week promoting his namesake health reform law, President Obama mentioned the word "benefits" 10 times.  Free preventive care, coverage for children up to age 26, a better drug plan for seniors.  "We're giving more benefits and protections," he said.  But there was one word Obama didn't mention once in his entire 51-minute talk.  And that word was "mandate."

The Obamacare sales effort is this desperate.  Apparently, people are not looking like they will sign up for Obamacare at anywhere near the levels necessary to sustain the illusion of public acceptance.  We know this not because any data has been released, but rather by the self-evident desperation of the sales effort.  Just as a desperate drowning man flails his arms about, seeking to hold onto something that can save him, so has the Obamacare marketing team seized upon the cheapest of cheap tricks.

Obamacare ad agency asks high school marching bands to play pro-Obamacare songs.  The point of asking high school bands to play the Obamacare anthem is to create more attention for Cover Oregon.  It's not clear if the ad agency has asked the high school bands to play pro-Obamacare songs at football games or at other venues.  A primary reason the ads have generated national buzz is because they fail to provide any detail whatsoever concerning the Affordable Care Act.

The mysteries of Obamacare.  State officials visited the [Chicago] Tribune editorial board Tuesday [9/24/2013], equipped with charts and graphics and website mock-ups.  They spelled out how people will get information.  They offered some favorable price comparisons to other states and some highs and lows for insurance plans.  We appreciate their outreach effort.  But the fact is that, five days before the launch of this massively ambitious redesign of national health care, the insurance policies to be offered in Illinois are still a mystery.  Copays?  Deductibles?  Premiums?  Still a mystery.  Will your doctor and your hospital be included in the insurance networks?  Still a mystery.

Sebelius asks mayors, health care providers to help with Obamacare education.  Eleven days before push comes to shove for the federal health insurance marketplace, the nation's top Obamacare official on Friday [9/20/2013] used a Kansas City forum to seek help from local officials.  There are bound to be some glitches Oct. 1, the first day that consumers can shop for individual pricing information on the federal health insurance marketplace, said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Obama looks to Hollywood to help promote his healthcare law.  [Mike] Farah's drive stems from a series of White House meetings, culminating in a July session in the Roosevelt Room in which the president asked for help promoting the law from a conference table full of artists, entertainers and creative executives including Farah, Amy Poehler, Jason Derulo, Michael Cera and Jennifer Hudson.  Farah, Funny or Die's president of production, was shocked by the challenges facing the White House.

Creepy Obamacare ad hits college campuses and your nightmares.  As the Republican dream of repealing President Barack Obama's health care law in Congress crumbles, the fight over the law's future shifts from Washington to college campuses, where the new challenge for Obamacare proponents lies in convincing young people to sign up for coverage mandated by the law.

Massive Targeted Obamacare Ad Buy May Hurt Vulnerable Democrats.  This ad buy may grow, by the way, as government programs tend to do.  Politico reported on September 5 that the administration awarded a $41 million contract to the PR firm Weber Shandwick for Obamacare promotion.  Again, this is money that we don't have, to promote a law that most Americans don't want.

Flying carrot, winged guitar, not health care, featured in new $3.2m Obamacare ad.  New Obamacare ads targeting Oregon residents never mention health care reform or the system's new health care exchanges opening Oct. 1, and instead feature psychedelic Images of people flying through the air singing, "Long live Oregonians, we're free to be healthy."  The so-called "Free" ads cost $3.2 million.  What's odd about the ads for Cover Oregon is the lack of information about Obamacare [...]

Florida: No ObamaCare 'Navigators' Allowed in County Health Clinics.  After concluding Florida citizens shouldn't be giving sensitive information to people who know little or nothing about insurance coverage, Deputy Health Secretary C. Meade Grigg issued the order to 60 health departments across the state.  Clinic employees can hand out brochures to consumers but only if requested.

Florida bans Obamacare navigators from county health departments.  The state of Florida issued a directive late Monday prohibiting the so-called Obamacare navigators from working on the premises of county health departments.  Deputy Health Secretary C. Meade Grigg issued the order to Florida's 60 local health department directors, according to the Miami Herald.

Navigating ObamaCare Outrage.  With ObamaCare scheduled to launch on October 1, Democrats seem more than a little anxious about their ability to execute.  That's the only fathomable explanation for their nervous breakdown over a routine House inquiry.  The Affordable Care Act is paying for "navigators," or non-government groups that received federal dollars in August to help people figure out and enroll for subsidies.  That such a program even exists explains a lot about the complexity of the new entitlement.

Rubio accuses Sebelius of 'misappropriating public funds' with Obamacare ads.  Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is railing against what he calls the Obama administration's "blatant misuse of federal dollars to promote a fundamentally flawed law."  In a letter sent to Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday [9/3/2013], the Republican lawmaker called on the department to cancel a planned $8.7 million advertising campaign promote President Obama's health care law using taxpayer dollars.

Bill Clinton sells Obamacare.  With less than a month before the Obamacare exchanges open, the administration dispatched former president Bill Clinton to tout the unpopular law.  Speaking at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas on Wednesday, President Obama's "Secretary of Explaining Stuff" offered up a practical sell for Obama's signature law.

The Editor says...
Maybe Mr. Clinton should be appointed as Apologetics Czar.

Rubio blasts $9M ObamaCare advertising campaign.  A proposed $8.7 million TV advertising campaign to promote ObamaCare in the lead-up to a key launch date is being targeted by Sen. Marco Rubio, who calls the effort a "blatant misuse of federal dollars."  The Florida Republican said Tuesday that such spending is "unconscionable," considering the uncertainty of the law and urged the Department of Health and Human Services to halt the spending.

Baltimore Ravens to aid Obamacare enrollment effort in Maryland.  The team has signed onto efforts to market the health law to Marylanders, according to an announcement from Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and officials running the state's Obamacare insurance exchange, known as Maryland Health Connection.

Illinois Offering $9-An-Hour Jobs To Have Workers Sign People Up For 'Obamacare'.  Working on a tight timeframe, Illinois is building an 800-person army of temporary workers to help people sign up for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.  The "in-person counselor" jobs, located in every corner of the state, range from a $9-an-hour part-time evening job in Clinton County to a $45,000-a-year project coordinator position in Chicago for someone with experience in community organizing and public speaking.

ObamaCare Navigators And A Reform Already Gone Bad.  With questionable legal authority, the Obama administration has already had to postpone two major aspects of the complex legislation, despite three full years of preparation time.  Also, we now know health care will not be cheaper; premiums have already gone up.  You probably won't get to keep your existing plan if you like it.  Big business, Congress and White House folks got special delays and waivers.  But we regular people still must follow every letter.

HHS Launches Video Contest to Attract Young Obamacare Subscribers.  The "Healthy Young America" video contest announced on Monday [8/19/2013] offers a $30,000 prize pool, with a maximum award of $6,500.  HHS said it is seeking videos — skits, music or animation — that describe the circumstances in which young people need health insurance because of an accident.

Now hiring ObamaCare 'navigators'.  With questionable legal authority, the Obama administration has already had to postpone two major aspects of the complex legislation, despite three full years of preparation time.  Also, we now know healthcare will not be cheaper; premiums have already gone up.  You probably won't get to keep your existing plan if you like it.  Big business, Congress and White House folks got special delays and waivers.  But us regular people still must follow every letter.

Navigators and Salespeople.  It isn't easy getting people to buy something they neither understand nor particularly want to own.  An example being Obamacare.  But the Department of Health and Human Services has a solution.  First, find some money — there is some, for instance, earmarked for prevention that is just lying around and not, at present preventing much of anything.  Then, spend the money to sell the program and employ "navigators" to assist people who find it complex bordering on incomprehensible.

Obama Administration Slashes Obamacare 'Navigator' Training Requirements.  The problems keep stacking up for the partial implementation of Obamacare on October 1.  The Wall Street Journal reports this week that the Department of Health and Human Services has cut back on the number of training hours required for the Obamacare "navigators," federal workers who under the health care law are tasked with helping consumers purchase insurance through the state exchanges.

Despite Cuts, Sebelius Prioritizes Travel For Officials To Promote Obamacare.  The Department of Health and Human Services is beginning a public effort to educate and train Americans about health insurance ahead of the implementation of parts of Obamacare this fall.  USA Today reports that HHS and Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have launched a new website and videos (including this one about the Obamacare exchanges) and will include travel by government officials to promote the law.

The Town Hall Outrage Over Obamacare Has Begun.  Getting healthy young people involved is critical for its success, which is why the president made a strong push to that end last month. (Efforts to encourage that enrollment by Organizing For Action, the advocacy group that picked up the reins from Obama's 2012 campaign, have gotten a slow start.)

21 federal agencies working to implement Obamacare, but who are they?  Thirty-nine Republican senators want to know who the 21 federal agencies helping to implement Obamacare are and what those agencies are doing to promote the program.  A leaked April 2013 slideshow from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said 21 federal agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture and Education, are working on an educational program to implement Obamacare.  That reference prompted the senators' curiosity.

Groups go door-to-door to encourage enrollment in Obamacare.  In recent weeks, President Obama's signature health-care law entered a new phase as hundreds of advocates began the arduous task of identifying the uninsured and coaxing them, one by one, to sign up for coverage.  For the law to succeed, groups such as Enroll America, whose officials include several veterans of Obama campaigns, will need to cajole millions of Americans, including many healthy ones, to enter the insurance market.  It could be a tough sell.

'Obamacare' National Marketing Campaign To Cost Nearly $700 Million.  As President Barack Obama's health care law moves from theory to reality in the coming months, its success may hinge on whether the best minds in advertising can reach one of the hardest-to-find parts of the population:  people without health coverage.

Dems Offer Free 'I ♥ ObamaCare' Stickers.  Democrats seem to be making peace with the probable "train wreck" of ObamaCare's implementation.  The DCCC, which assists Democrats running for the House, is offering free "I 'Heart' ObamaCare bumper stickers.  The organization even took to twitter to advertise and promote its efforts.

Celebrity sales force recruited to sell Obamacare to the young.  Pitching expensive health insurance policies to young, relatively healthy adults who require little health care in order to subsidize the costs of relatively older people who require more care is a tough sell.  So it should come as little surprise that the Obama administration is recruiting a force of celebrity pitchpersons to make the sale to the critical mass of young Americans needed to make the economics of Obamacare's new health insurance exchanges work.

Obama meets with celebs who want to promote Obamacare.  President Barack Obama, hoping to pitch his signature health care law to younger Americans, will get some help from a cadre of Hollywood stars who have volunteered to help promote Obamacare's insurance exchanges that open on October 1.

Obama Lines Up Celebrities To Promote Obamacare.  Obama stopped by a private White House meeting Monday [7/22/2013] with celebrities including singer Jennifer Hudson and actors Amy Poehler, Michael Cera and Kal Penn.

Obamacare, Simplified.  With open enrollment in Obamacare's exchanges set to start in fewer than three months, the law's supporters are attempting to change the subject from Obamacare's many delays and glitches.  Instead, they're mounting a campaign to sell the unpopular measure to the public.

Obamacare Grants Will Help California Get The Word Out About Health Care Changes.  Funded by $37 million in state grants, four dozen diverse groups from around California — including labor unions, civil-rights advocates, medical clinics and the Los Angeles Unified School District — are preparing to launch education programs promoting Obamacare, the national health-care plan set to take effect in January.  The 48 recipients were selected from about 200 that applied for the grants, chosen for their access and ability to reach the estimated 5.3 million Californians in underserved communities who will be eligible for the subsidized or guaranteed health coverage.

The Editor says...
You may have already noticed that "get the word out" is a phrase that means, "sign up everyone in the lower class for lifetime dependence on the government."

Obamacare Funds to Sponsor Bourbon Festivals.  One day after The Washington Post reported that federal taxpayer dollars could be used to promote Obamacare through porta-potties, the same outlet posted this e-mail from a Kentucky state official on how the Commonwealth plans to use federal funds to promote Obamacare.

New Obamacare plan: Porta-john ads are gonna get this thing right back on track.  Well, the nanny state wants to do everything else for us, why shouldn't it write the jokes for us, too?  Obamacare will be advertised on porta-potties.  In an attempt to reach young adults without insurance, that's just one of the ideas being tossed around by supporters.  And, yes, you're paying for all of this.

The ObamaCare Spin Machine Revs Up.  There's been a recent flurry of activities attempting to boost the Affordable Care Act.  In mid-June, for example, President Obama's "Organizing for Action" group reportedly spent seven figures on TV ads (in California, Florida and Texas) claiming, "Americans are already seeing the benefits" of health-care reform.  Also in June, the administration and an allied nonprofit, Enroll America, described how hundreds of thousands of community organizers will sign up seven million uninsured people for health coverage, once registration for subsidized insurance starts Oct. 1.  Then on July 2, the administration dropped a bombshell, delaying the employer mandate for a year.  Even Democrats were taken aback.

And Then a Miracle Happens.  Pay no attention to the absurdity of using Hollywood and sports celebrities, none of whom will ever be caught dead in an ObamaCare clinic, to sell young, healthy people on the idea that it's cool to spend money (that they don't have because they can't find jobs in Obama's economy) on inflated health insurance premiums to subsidize their older, sicker compatriots.

NFL: we'll pass on pimping Obamacare, thanks.  Kathleen Sebelius isn't having a stellar week in terms of getting groups on board to promote Obamacare.  Yes, she had something of a win with librarians earlier, but her more recent efforts seem to be falling on deaf ears.  One place where she's pushing to find public opinion movers is in major league sports, looking for these highly visible organizations to begin "promoting the health law's opportunities" as she did with the librarians.  The most highly rated of these groups — the National Football League — has apparently read the writing on the wall and decided to take a pass.

NFL says no to promoting ObamaCare; teachers, librarians take up the slack.  Following public uproar — and a warning letter from Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) — the National Football League has apparently decided not to help the Obama Administration promote the joys of ObamaCare to the young, healthy suckers whose money is desperately needed to keep the President's health care plan afloat.  But there are still plans to draft other sports, perhaps including soccer leagues, into the effort.  And if sports teams won't play ball, the Administration and its allies have other channels for reaching young people.  Teachers, for example.

Libraries enlisted to deliver Obamacare information.  The White House is turning to the network of public libraries to deliver Obamacare information and advice to the nation.  As it begins promoting the program that will require all Americans to have health insurance or pay a fine starting next year, the administration is dealing with the biggest hurdle in its effort:  Where Americans go to get information on the new program.  Enter public libraries, already the go-to site for many Americans looking for tax forms every April.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which is in charge of Obamacare, has teamed with the Institute of Museum and Library Services to get librarians ready to help citizens learn about the new system.

The story of LA teachers indoctrinating kids on ObamaCare goes national.  Millions of people are having second or third thoughts as they get new health insurance bills with steeply hiked rates, as employers cut work hours to save on insurance coverage or as companies drop the coverage plans and leave workers to go on the government's version.  In desperation, the Obama administration is seeking any way it can to promote ObamaCare to the uninformed.  California's health insurance clearinghouse got $37 million in taxpayer funds just to push the plan in the Golden state.

Newest foot soldiers for ObamaCare: Librarians.  Growing up, I had an aunt who became a librarian because she dreamed of one day helping liberals push a ruinous boondoggle on a broke America. [...] Per Gallup's latest, fully 43 percent of the uninsured have no idea that they're now stautorily required by Hopenchange to seek coverage.  If you're trying to reach the poor to let them know that they qualify for health insurance subsidies — or, rather, that they don't qualify — then this is a no-brainer.  Coming soon, presumably:  Deputizing the postal service, another institution that's being laid to waste by technology, to start selling policies door to door.

NFL says it has no plans to help promote Obamacare.  Under pressure to promote President Obama's health care law, the administration is in talks with the National Football League to form a marketing partnership during the upcoming season.  The Department of Health and Human Services has reached out to the NFL — along with the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball — in hopes of reaching a key demographic of younger Americans.  It would be a big mistake for any sports league to inject itself into the contentious political battle over Obamacare, but I'd like to just focus on the NFL for now.

'Wellness Wonder Team' teaches people to love Obamacare.  "Wellness Wonder Team members will let people know about new preventive care and consumer protection opportunities, and also educate people about how they can sign up for new health care coverage under the ACA," the group, a project of MomsRising, announced in a statement.  The Wellness Wonder Team includes some partner organizations, such as ACORN, Artsy Mamas, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Feminist.com and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.

California schools are turning into government indoctrination centers.  So, in a desperate attempt "the Obama administration created a marketing campaign for Obamacare that made it cool and hip" by "reaching out to the NFL, the NBA and Hollywood for help, and counting down the days to Oct. 1, when enrollment in the exchanges officially begins."  Further, "The administration is in a good position to secure splashy endorsements, as Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns had a deep bench of celebrity surrogates."

L.A. schools use your tax dollars teaching students to sell ObamaCare at home.  With great excitement, the Los Angeles Unified School District has designed a nearly $1 million program to train teenagers to promote the glories of ObamaCare to parents, relatives and friends at home.  The state's health insurance exchange, Covered California, is handing $990,000 to LA schools, along with federal grants totaling 36-million more U.S. taxpayer dollars to districts around the most populous state.  The goal is to train millions of student messengers statewide to sell the idea of government-subsidized health insurance to parents and relatives at home and to get more people enrolled in ObamaCare.

California Schools to Train Kids to Sell ObamaCare.  The Los Angeles Unified School District will use a state grant to train teens to promote ObamaCare to family members.  Covered California, the state's health insurance exchange, announced grants of $37 million on May 14 to promote the nationally unpopular law.  LAUSD will receive $990,000.  The district listed as a primary outcome for its project, "Teens trained to be messengers to family members."

More about schools being used as indoctrination centers.

Congressman Asks NFL, NBA for Details of Any HHS Pressure to Promote Obamacare.  Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) is asking the commissioners of the NFL and NBA for details of any pressure the HHS has put on them to help promote Obamacare.  In a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NBA Commissioner David Stern, Rep. Scalise today [6/27/2013] asked for further details on conversations between the leagues and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding plans to cheer on and help facilitate the implementation of President Obama's health care law.  Recent media reports highlight that the Department of Health and Human Services has begun talks with the NFL and the NBA to promote President Obama's health care law.  "I would caution you against being coerced into doing their dirty work for them," Rep. Scalise says.

White House recruiting Hollywood stars for ObamaCare rollout.  The White House is working to recruit Hollywood celebrities to help promote ObamaCare, a top celebrity political adviser told The Hill.  Trevor Neilson, a veteran of the Clinton White House, said he's in talks with the Obama administration and that his clients are "looking at ways to be involved."

White House launches website, enlist NFL as part of Obamacare blitz.  President Obama and his political allies are furiously touting the Affordable Care Act less than 100 days until Oct. 1, when state-by-state health "exchanges" will start to enroll Americans without employer-based health insurance.

Sebelius in talks with NFL on promoting ObamaCare insurance plans.  Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday [6/24/2013] she is in talks with the NFL to help promote new insurance options under ObamaCare.  Sebelius said the football league has been "very actively and enthusiastically engaged" in discussions about a partnership to encourage people to enroll in newly available insurance plans.

The Editor says...
Why wasn't I told about this sooner?  Sure, if a football player comes to my door selling Obamacare, of course I'll drop all my opposition!

California Schools to Train Kids to Sell ObamaCare.  The Los Angeles Unified School District will use a state grant to train teens to promote ObamaCare to family members.  Covered California, the state's health insurance exchange, announced grants of $37 million on May 14 to promote the nationally unpopular law.  LAUSD will receive $990,000.  The district listed as a primary outcome for its project, "Teens trained to be messengers to family members."

Obamacare sales pitch to flood schools, churches, cell phones, computers.  Here comes the great Obamacare sales pitch.  Enroll America, a group dedicated to helping the administration sell the nation on Obamacare, is planning to make their pitch of encouraging Americans to sign up in schools, churches, and even personal cellular phones.  The nonprofit group with ties to the president's team is poised to become the president's unofficial Obamacare marketing team, announcing this week that it will put its message in every corner of American life.

If Obamacare is so wonderful, why is it necessary to enlist celebrities to sell it?
Report: White House seeking help from the NBA to enroll people in ObamaCare.  The Obama administration has reportedly contacted the National Basketball Association (NBA) about a role in promoting healthcare reform around the country.  Efforts to sell ObamaCare are ramping up ahead of October, when people can begin signing up for the new insurance exchanges, and January, when the exchange coverage kicks in.  Many have speculated that the enrollment campaigns would benefit from a celebrity endorsement or partnership with a major sports league.

Obama admin puts the heat on the NBA to help sell Obamacare.  The Obama administration has reportedly tried to enlist the NBA in helping it sell Obamacare to the American people.  It's unclear whether a potential marketing partnership would put big-name players at the center of ad campaigns or if it would be as simple as putting the NBA trademark on marketing materials, Politico first reported today [6/19/2013].

Selling of Obamacare underway.  The Obama administration is reaching out to Democrats and Republicans in Congress as it gears up to try to sell Obamacare to the public this summer.  For the Democrats, the meetings are part of a substantial messaging effort that will get under way to encourage people to sign up for health coverage through the new Obamacare exchanges starting on Oct. 1.  They've involved high-level officials and lawmakers.  The message?  Rely on the facts, not the politics, of the health law.  Now is the time to give Obamacare a constituent outreach touch, à la other government programs such as Medicare and Social Security:  Help people sign up, participants say.

State senators hold public meetings on proposal to nullify Obamacare in S.C..  A group of state senators will host three public meetings this week, including one in North Charleston, on proposed legislation that would nullify Obamacare in South Carolina.  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, but S.C. House Bill 3101, also called the "Freedom of Health Care Protection Act," would make enforcing parts of it illegal in South Carolina regardless of the high court's decision.

'Obamacare' mandate delay will cost $12 billion, affect 1 million workers.  President Barack Obama's decision to delay implementation of part of his healthcare reform law will cost $12 billion and leave a million fewer Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance in 2014, congressional researchers said Tuesday.

More States 'Just Say No' To Obamacare Insurance Exchanges.  As I and others have pointed out before, any state that creates an ObamaCare insurance exchange is getting suckered into footing the bill for a federal program.  The latest state to reject this scam is New Jersey, whose governor just vetoed a state-run exchange proposed by his legislature.

States Give ObamaCare A Massive Vote Of No Confidence.  If ObamaCare is such a great idea, why are so many governors — including several Democrats — refusing to play along?  What do they know that the administration isn't telling the rest of us?  So far, not one part of ObamaCare has worked as planned.

If ObamaCare is such a great deal ... why aren't more states going for it?  Maybe they know a bad deal when they see it.  Partisan politics can't explain all of the reluctance, especially not with the Democratic governors who are balking at the plan.  The unfunded liabilities in Medicaid expansion alone in the outer years have to be daunting, especially for states who already can't cover their current obligations.

Most Governors Refuse to Set Up Health Exchanges.  The Obama administration said Friday [12/14/2012] that more than half the states had rejected its pleas to set up their own health insurance exchanges, dealing a setback to President Obama's hopes that Republicans would join a White House campaign to provide health insurance to all Americans.

Only 15 States Establish Obamacare Exchanges.  State officials are very smart not to set up their own exchanges since any costs beyond what the Feds offer to help pay is on their taxpayers' dimes.  Moreover, since the Obama Administration has centralized control of setting minimum coverage standards — see the Free Birth Control Rule — the flexibility of states to regulate in this area is severely compromised.

Governor Says PA. Won't Set Up Health Exchange.  Pennsylvania will not set up its own health care exchange under the federal Affordable Care Act, at least not for now, Gov. Tom Corbett said Wednesday [12/12/2012], putting the state on a course to join others led by Republicans that will let President Barack Obama's administration run its exchange.

Four and Counting: Another State to Consider Obamacare Nullification.  Since the Supreme Court rendered its opinion on the constitutionality of a mandatory federal health care system last summer, many Americans consider the matter settled.  But others recognize that despite the pronouncement of five robed federal employees, the Constitution still does not delegate Congress the power to create and run a health care system for all 300-plus million Americans.

Don't Make an Exchange.  The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was a milestone in many ways, marking previously uncharted territory in federal arrogance and overreach.  As health-insurance policy goes, it promises to prove catastrophic, but its constitutional implications are more worrisome still in that it is among the most insidious attempts yet to reduce the states to mere administrative subdivisions of the federal government.  Led by Oklahoma, many states have pushed back by declining to comply with the law's demand that states create health-insurance exchanges.

A Resistance Movement Rises Against ObamaCare.  With the election over and no chance President Obama will sign legislation repealing the law, implementation is proceeding.  But the ObamaCare Resistance Movement has begun.

The Sebelius Coverup.  Many states are wisely signaling that they aren't interested in doing the Obama administration's bidding on Obamacare.  As a result, many if not most of Obamacare's insurance exchanges — the heart of the beast — will have to be set up and run by the Obama administration at the federal level.

ObamaCare: 21 States Reject Exchanges On Cost, Rules.  ObamaCare's subsidized insurance exchanges are supposed to be up and running in little more than a year, putting a key piece of the federal health care law into action.  But it's unclear that will happen, especially with a growing number of states saying they don't want the cost and regulatory headaches.

Michigan Joins Growing List of States Not Gullible Enough to Implement an ObamaCare Exchange.  A key committee in the Michigan legislature has voted down a proposal to create one of ObamaCare's health insurance "exchanges."  The Speaker of the Michigan House pronounced a state-run Exchange dead.

Hope and Exchange.  Liberals wanted government to re-engineer the entire health-care system and rammed the Affordable Care Act through on a party-line vote, not stopping to wonder whether it would work.  Now that implementation is proving to be harder than advertised, they're blaming the states for not making their jobs easier.

Could Oklahoma unravel Obamacare?  With the judicial and political options for voiding Obamacare now apparently off the table, the final hope to defeat the DMV-ization of the best medical system on the planet may be the vast law's inherent contradictions.  Hastily and sloppily put together, there are loopholes in the law that may be big enough to drive all of Oklahoma through.  But only if Oklahoma's elected officials continue to exercise their options under the law not to implement certain policies.

Will GOP Governors Really Try "Nullifying" Obamacare?  After a majority of Americans reelected President Obama on November 6, ensuring that his signature health care reform remains what even House Speaker John Boehner acknowledged is "the law of the land," several Republican governors — Rick Scott (FL), Bobby Jindal (LA), Sam Brownback (KS), Rick Perry (TX), Nikki Haley (SC), Nathan Deal (GA) and Robert McDonnell (VA) — announced they would nonetheless refuse to implement the state-based health care marketplace "exchanges" that are key to reducing health care costs and expanding access.

Will GOP governors kill ObamaCare?  President Obama's health law survived the Supreme Court, but some Republican governors who have long opposed ObamaCare say they won't implement any of it.

The States Resist Obamacare.  One of the few bright spots in the Supreme Court's ruling on Obamacare was its 7-2 decision striking down the Obama administration's attempt to blackmail states into going along with a massive and costly expansion of Medicaid.

States are Resisting Obamacare.  After the Roberts Court handed down the Obamacare decision, people in the states immediately taking steps to reject the act — and what they see as a supreme court ruling in violation of the Constitution.  As we reported last week, John Lynch, the Democratic Governor of New Hampshire, signed into law HB1297.  The new law declares, "No New Hampshire state agency, department, or political subdivision shall plan, create, participate in or enable a state-based exchange for health insurance under the Act, or contract with any private entity to do so."  A number of governors are lining up to follow New Hampshire's lead.

Georgia Legislature, Governor Deal: Nullify Obamacare!  As Thomas Jefferson and James Madison advised — when the federal government violates the constitution, it's up to US — in our states — to stand up and say NO.  To the Affordable Care Act — we say Nullify It!

Maine's Governor LePage Refuses To Implement Obamacare Exchanges.  Maine Governor Paul LePage issued a letter yesterday [11/15/2012] to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, declaring that Maine will not implement the healthcare exchanges created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

LePage Issues Letter to Feds: No Obamacare Exchanges for Maine.  Because the guidance issued in the August 13, 2012, request of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is not legally binding, the State of Maine will not be submitting a Declaration Letter.  Instead, Gov. LePage, in a letter to U.S. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, noted that the State of Maine has repeatedly stated that the law has severe legal problems, is bad policy, and overreaches into the lives and pocketbooks of fellow Americans.

Montana Voters Nullify Obamacare Mandates.  The "Montana Health Care Freedom Act" otherwise known as Referendum 122, prohibits the state and federal governments from requiring the purchase of health insurance or imposing any penalty, tax, fee or fine on those who do not purchase health insurance.  The prohibition does have some restrictions, but the good thing about this [is] these rules are being set by the state of Montana, not the the Federal Government.

Carts, Horses, and Secession.  Asking the White House to comment on the secession of one or more states won't move the President, Congress, the courts, or the military. But it is symbolic of the exhaustion many people feel as they watch the crony political class squander their treasure and their liberty.

Perry Tells Feds Texas Will Not Set Up Health Care Exchange.  Texas Gov. Rick Perry officially notified the federal government on Thursday that the state will not set up an exchange to help people buy health insurance.

Republican governors decide against setting up ObamaCare insurance markets.  Several Republican governors, in what could be their last symbolic stand against ObamaCare, announced Friday that they will not set up a state-based marketplace for selling health insurance.  The governors of Wisconsin and Ohio joined Texas Gov. Rick Perry and others in confirming that they will not establish so-called "health insurance exchanges," which are set to launch in January 2014.

York: GOP governors brace for fights over Obamacare, drilling.  As they hold their annual meeting here in Las Vegas, Republican governors are quick to point out that they now preside in 30 states, with a population of about 180 million people.

Will multiple states' non-cooperation be too much for ObamaCare?  The answer, of course, is an emphatic yes, since by its very nature, ObamaCare is too much for ObamaCare, but individual states' freedom to opt out of designing their own state-specific health insurance exchanges is turning out to be yet another flaw in the oh-so-masterful plan.

States Should Absolutely Refuse to Set Up Obamacare Exchanges.  Proponents of Obamacare are making one argument that some conservatives may find appealing — namely that it is much better, from a states' rights point of view, to set up state-based exchanges than to let the feds come in and do it themselves.  This argument is absolutely wrong.  Allowing your states to be deputized as instruments of federal policy is just as bad as bowing to federal commandeering of state agencies, which is unconstitutional.

Surprise! GOP Governors "Stonewall" Key ObamaCare Provision.  Talking Points Memo is shocked, shocked!, that Republican governors would leave the job of setting up the exchanges to the Central Government Planning Office.  ["]Late last week more than a dozen Republican governors declared that they will not build the insurance market exchanges called for by the Affordable Care Act, including prominent names like Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, John Kasich of Ohio, Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Rick Perry of Texas.["]

Obamacare is political poison

The Supreme Court's Healthcare Decision Will Hurt Democrats in the Fall.  rom the beginning, nearly every Republican and most Democrats knew that the Affordable Care Act (ACA), passed in 2010, would need to be changed.  The Republicans always thought a complete repeal and replacement would be necessary, while Democrats thought they could tweak the law over time.  The United States Supreme Court, however, has just dealt a knockout punch to the Democrats when it comes to their ability to write a replacement health care law.

Joe Biden's Obamacare Retread.  Watching the Democratic Presidential candidates debate the best way to fix health care, it's difficult to escape the impression that they suffer from collective amnesia.  Their party had its shot at reforming the system a decade ago and blew it by passing a slapdash "reform" program that clashed so violently with the laws of economics that it became a symbol of big government overreach, bureaucratic ineptitude, and broken campaign promises.  Ten years on, two of the top contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination have tacitly admitted this by pledging to replace it with some version of single-payer.  The leading candidate in that contest, however, wants to retread Obamacare.

Here's Something Obama Actually Deserves Credit For.  The American people may not believe that Barack Obama deserves credit for the current economy, but they do say he's largely responsible for the state of health care, thanks to ObamaCare.  It's not a compliment.

Ted Cruz:  Beto O'Rourke Voted 67 Times to Keep Obamacare.  Sen. Ted Cruz called for keeping pre-existing condition coverage during Friday night's debate while slamming Democrat opponent Rep. Beto O'Rourke for voting to keep Obamacare despite rising insurance premiums.  Moderators at the Dallas debate asked Cruz about his fight to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly referred to as Obamacare.  "I believe Obamacare has hurt millions of Texans," said Cruz.  He said millions of Americans have had their insurance plans canceled against their will since Obamacare took effect.  He cited people who say they cannot afford health insurance.

The Democrats' Unforced Errors.  The good news for us conservatives and Republicans — even in California — is that the progressive Democrats are not anywhere near as smart as they tell us they are.  They have made key unforced strategic errors in the past decade which have caused them to lose half of their legislative seats and governor's mansions across the states, significant chunks of their agenda and of course the Grand Prize of them all, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  One major unforced strategic error was forcing ObamaCare down the public's unwilling throats at midnight on Christmas Eve 2010 before passing their beloved Comprehensive Immigration Reform, or at least doing something about the ailing economy.

Monkey Trap.  A "monkey trap" is sprung when a victim is so reluctant to surrender a temporary gain it fixes him in place allowing his enemies to inflict long term destruction.  He can escape by letting go but it never occurs to him; and so 'the monkey is trapped not by anything physical, but by an idea, unable to see that a principle that served him well has become lethal'.  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, has been death on political monkeys.  Its first victim was the Democratic Party which having hailed it as a step on the road to a single payer health care system, were so blinded to its financial and practical faults that they let it drag them to oblivion in the 2014 midterm and 2016 presidential elections rather than letting it go.  But its lethal career may not be over.

Ted Cruz Pulls Out Surprise Map During Debate With Sanders to Make a Point About Trump & Obamacare.  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) pulled out a surprise map during his town hall debate with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on CNN Tuesday night [2/7/2017] to make a point about the problems facing Obamacare.  Cruz argued that in 70 percent of counties in America, consumers have a choice of one or two health insurance plans on the Obamacare exchanges.  "It's interesting, you look at this map, this also very much looks like the electoral map that elected Donald Trump," Cruz said, holding up the map of the counties.

What's in a Name?  Obamacare May Not Have Been Such a Hot One.  'Obamacare' was such a catchy nickname for the 2010 healthcare reform law.  Headline writers love it and President Barack Obama decided to embrace it when his Republican enemies coined the term.  But the memorable handle may have done more harm than good for Obama's signature policy, now in the process of being repealed before he even leaves office.  It's provided an easy scapegoat for people suffering problems in a health care system that was a mess long before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed Congress in 2009 without a single Republican vote.  "Obama screwed up when he adopted it," said George Lakoff, a cognitive linguist at the University of California Berkeley who takes a special interest in political messaging.  "It allows people to say that if you have got a problem with your health system, it's because of Obamacare."

Incurable Obamacare.  Democrats are addicted to Obamacare.  It has performed poorly, alienated far more people than it has aided, and been a political disaster.  Yet Democrats can't shake it.  In 2010, it was the issue that delivered the House to Republicans.  In 2014, it gave them the Senate.  In 2016, it was one of the keys to Donald Trump's capture of the White House.  After all this, a rational party would want to scrap Obamacare or modify it significantly.

Obama Helped Pave the Way for Clinton's Defeat.  Particularly thanks to Obamacare, which has never been popular, the Democrats lost the House in 2010.  In 2014, they lost the Senate.  In 2009, Democrats held 60 seats in the Senate.  They have 48 now.

Obamacare premium hikes could push swing state voters to Donald Trump, Republicans.  Six years after passage, Obamacare is still cropping up on the campaign trail, as Mr. Obama turns to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to build on his signature achievement in lieu of Mr. Trump, who's vowed to tear it down. [...] A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found voters were far less likely to cite health care as the most important issue in their vote for president — just 9 percent of Democrats and 5 percent of Republicans — than issues such as the economy, foreign policy and social issues.

Obamacare Collapsing Nationwide One Week Before Election Day.  A look at what happened in Arizona shows the cascading effects of problems with the design and implementation of the ACA, combined with early missteps by insurers.  Some priced plans aggressively, angling for market share and betting special programs built into the law would protect them from losses.  Those protections didn't work as expected.  Enrollees' health-care expenses repeatedly overshot the projections of nearly all Arizona's insurers.  The result: a flood of red ink, then withdrawals and premium increases.

ObamaCare hikes leave Dems exposed.  Democrats are increasingly acknowledging that the Affordable Care Act has an affordability problem.  Former President Bill Clinton said recently that people who are ineligible to get subsidies to buy ObamaCare insurance are "getting killed."  Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said this month that "the reality is the Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable to increasing numbers of people."  Even President Obama said in a speech last week that "there are going to be people who are hurt by premium increases."

MSNBC: 'Democrats Are Going to Have to Answer' for Obamacare Premium Spikes.  MSNBC's Kasie Hunt said on Tuesday that Democrats are going to be in trouble for the coming spikes in Obamacare premiums.  Host Stephanie Ruhle was speaking with Hunt, who is covering Hillary Clinton's campaign, about the recent reports on how health care premiums under Obamacare are expected to skyrocket next year.  "'Nasty women' also have to provide their families with health care," Ruhle said.  "Can you talk about these Obamacare headlines?  With premiums set to go up double digits, this has got to be a problem for the Clinton campaign."

Two Clips That Show Why Ted Strickland Had An Awful Debate.  First, Ohio has been hit hard by Obamacare's many failures.  This year Ohio's Obamacare co-op collapsed, leaving 22,000 Ohioans without their health insurance.  Aetna also announced that in 2017 they were leaving the state's Obamacare exchange.  Those awful developments make's Strickland's statements in support of Obamacare extremely tone deaf: [...]

Over 250,000 to Lose Health Insurance in Battleground North Carolina Due to Obamacare.  More than 250,000 people in North Carolina are set to lose their healthcare plans under Obamacare due to two of the state's three insurers dropping out of the exchange.  The insurers' departure from the exchange means that only one insurer will be available for people to purchase plans from, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, and they are raising their rates by nearly 25 percent, the Washington Post reported.

Hillary Clinton goes silent on Obamacare.  The Affordable Care Act is Barack Obama's signature achievement as president.  It is the Democratic Party's most important legislative accomplishment in two generations.  It is something Hillary Clinton, although she left the Senate by the time ACA became law in 2010, worked for all her adult life.  So why doesn't Clinton at least mention this great achievement as she campaigns for president?  A look at transcripts of Clinton stump speeches since she kicked off the general election campaign on Labor Day finds the Democratic candidate almost never talks about Obamacare.  She doesn't promise to expand it.  She doesn't promise to protect it.  She doesn't extol its benefits.  She just doesn't mention it.

Hillary's Worst Health Problem May Be Obamacare.  When Hillary Clinton held a seemingly insurmountable lead in most national and state polls, she didn't need to worry about the health insurance sticker shock that much of the electorate is about to experience.  Her edge was large enough to ensure victory even if she lost a couple of points due to voter anger over skyrocketing premiums caused by Obamacare.  Those halcyon days are gone.  Her national lead has all but evaporated, and she is behind Donald Trump or clinging to tenuous leads in crucial swing states whose voters will learn of huge rate hikes one week before Election Day.

It's time to kill the ObamaCare penalty.  President Obama promised his law would provide an array of affordable health plans.  In 2017, consumers will get neither choice nor affordability.  In nearly a third of the nation, only one insurer will offer coverage — that's no choice at all.  And insurance premiums are skyrocketing across the country.  ObamaCare is broken.  Slapping ObamaCare refuseniks with hefty penalties (averaging almost $1,000) for not signing up would be unfair, like enforcing a parking ticket when the meter's broken.  Consumers will be clobbered starting Nov. 1, the beginning of the open-enrollment period.  They'll want to know what Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton intend to do about it.  In swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and New Hampshire, premiums are rising 30 percent and even as high as 40 percent.

How to Escape Obamacare.  When open enrollment starts Nov. 1, the public will see they're going to be paying lots more for health insurance in 2017 and getting less.  Across the country, state insurance departments are announcing double digit premium hikes, often as high as 20 percent and occasionally even 40 percent.  People who earn too much to qualify for a subsidy will be forced to pay as much as a fifth of their income for health insurance.  And they'll get less choice of doctors and hospitals and less prescription drug coverage.  Annual enrollment begins eight days before voters go to the polls.  Donald Trump is vowing to repeal Obamacare.  Hillary Clinton is doubling down on keeping and expanding it.

Are Democrats Bailing On ObamaCare, Too?  In the three-plus years since the ObamaCare exchanges opened, the law is teetering on the edge of the abyss.  Enrollment is well below expectations, not enough young people are signing up, insurers are failing or dropping out of the program, and, by all appearances, premiums are set to spike even higher than last year.  Now a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released late last week shows that the public is far from satisfied with what Obama claimed was the be-all and end-all of reform.

For Democrats, the Politics of Obamacare Are Still Dismal.  Understanding the politics of the president's health care law has never been complicated.  It was barely passed through Congress despite huge Democratic majorities in 2009, became the driving force behind the GOP's takeover of the House in 2010, and again was the leading issue Republicans campaigned on to retake the Senate in 2014. Nearly 15,000 advertisements aired about Obamacare in the last week of last year's midterms, and 94 percent of the messaging was negative.  One week later, Republicans won nine Senate seats and netted their largest House majority since the 1920s.  For Republicans, it has been the political gift that keeps on giving.

Why the Obamacare Train Wreck Must Be Stopped.  As of this month, Obamacare has undergone not fewer than 50 substantial changes since its enactment in March 2010.  One wonders what is worse:  the law and its economically destructive mandates or that US President Barack Obama initiated 31 of these changes without legislative approval.  Such wholesale changes on the fly, by the law's own architects, demonstrate the Affordable Care Act's resounding failure better than any critic ever could.  Many of those responsible have now admitted the error of their ways, resigned, or inadvertently revealed the dishonest manner of its passage.  Political proponents such as former Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana have also suffered swift dismissals from their constituents.

Dems run away from Obamacare penalty they imposed.  The Democrats who wrote and passed the Affordable Care Act were sure of two things:  The law had to include a mandate requiring every American to purchase health insurance, and it had to have an enforcement mechanism to make the mandate work.  Enforcement has always been at the heart of Obamacare.  Now, though, enforcement time has come, and some Democrats are shying away from the coercive measures they themselves wrote into law.

Democrats Keep Running Away From ObamaCare.  If ObamaCare is so great, why do Democrats repeatedly try to hide its more unpleasant features?  The latest example is their desperate effort to grant still more exemptions to the law's individual mandate.

Obamacare vote to test Democrats' resolve under Republican majority.  House Republicans will hold a vote this week to change Obamacare's definition of full-time work from 30 hours a week to the traditional 40, setting up an early test to see how many Democrats are willing to buck President Obama and his signature overhaul now that they are in the minority.

Sorry, but these Democrats are 5 years late on Obamacare.  We learned today [12/5/2014] that Obamacare premiums are going up in 2015.  We also learned that there are lots of Democrats having second thoughts about Obamacare.

Fox News Poll: Record 58 percent would repeal ObamaCare.  Few American voters feel their family is better off under ObamaCare, and a record number would repeal the law if they could.  In addition, if comments by one of the health care law's authors about lying to "stupid" Americans are true, over half of voters think President Obama or other administration officials are responsible for that deception.  These are just some of the findings from a Fox News poll released Wednesday [12/10/2014].

Civil War Erupting Among Democrats Over Obamacare.  With half of all Senate Democrats who voted for Obamacare no longer in office, top Senate Democrats Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and outgoing Tom Harkin (D-IA) have begun trashing Democrats' decision to embrace the deeply unpopular Obamacare program.  Indeed, even progressive New York Times columnist Tom Edsall now concedes that Obamacare is partly to blame for working-class Americans' all-time low 27% approval rating of Democrats, which Edsall says has now nosedived to "dangerous levels."

Rx for ObamaCare: Republicans must perform radical surgery.  GOP Senate candidates campaigning against the health-care law captured at least seven seats, giving their party control of the Senate.  These new senators better live up to their pledges and put bills on the president's desk to repeal the worst parts of ObamaCare.  Don't throw us mere crumbs, such as repeal of the medical-device tax.

100% of Newly Elected GOP Senators Campaigned on Repealing Obamacare.  Every new GOP senator who won in last night's election campaigned on repealing Obamacare.  Senators Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) all ran on a platform of repealing Obamacare.  Gardner touted patient-centered care and a full repeal and replacement of President Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare.

Senate wins give GOP momentum for O-Care repeal.  The GOP will take control of the Senate with fresh momentum to dismantle the president's signature healthcare law.  All 10 newly elected Republican senators have campaigned on the promise to repeal and replace ObamaCare, and five have already voted against the health law while serving in the House.

McConnell unveils plan to dismantle ObamaCare.  Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is planning to make ObamaCare a priority in his first weeks as leader of the Senate, vowing a sustained effort to dismantle the law piece-by-piece.  McConnell said the GOP will tackle unpopular aspects of the law such as the individual mandate, the medical device tax and the 30-hour workweek requiring employers to provide insurance.

Exit polls: Don't care for Obamacare.  Nearly half of voters on Tuesday said Obamacare went too far, according to exit polls.  Forty-seven percent of those who cast ballots in the midterms said the 2010 health care law, which opened for enrollment a year ago, went too far.  On the other hand, 26 percent said the law didn't go far enough, CNN exit polls reported.  Only 22 percent said Obamacare was just about right.

The ObamaCare Senate.  Just as critics had predicted, ObamaCare has again proved itself a job-killer.  Especially for Democratic senators.  Even before the full results were in last night, it was clear ObamaCare had again retired more of those whose votes brought us ObamaCare.  That's no surprise, given how most Democrats did everything they could to avoid even uttering the word "ObamaCare" during their campaigns.

These Senators Deserve To Be Fired.  What would happen if you ignored multiple requests from your employer to stop wasting time on your pet project and instead concentrate on a higher priority task?  You would be fired, of course.  There are six U.S. Senators up for reelection tomorrow who richly deserve to lose their jobs for that very offense.  Throughout 2009 and early 2010 they refused to listen when their employers — the voters — demanded that they stop meddling in health care and focus on the economy.  With the voices of protest reverberating in their ears, these cynical pols voted to foist Obamacare on an unwilling electorate.

Democrats will pay the price for Obama in November.  Americans can't help but notice that Obama has consistently placed his ideology and political interests above the national interests and routinely resorted to partisan sniping and scapegoating instead of accepting responsibility (and accountability) for his decisions and considering a change of course.  More disturbingly, voters must notice that Obama's words are increasingly unreliable and that he expects them to believe his version of reality over the reality itself.  His response to a question from a steel plant manager at a town hall meeting last week in Indiana concerning rising healthcare costs was particularly revealing.

Man with 42% approval rating:  This midterm election is all about my policies.  A study released a few days ago found that barely more than a third of the Democrats running for Congress this year have expressed support for ObamaCare.  The GOP made more noise yesterday about the one-year anniversary of the federal O-Care exchange opening for business than the White House did.

Voter Intensity Strongly Against Obamacare.  A new poll from Public Opinion Strategies, commissioned by Independent Women's Voice, finds that people who care about the issue of Obamacare really don't like Obamacare.  On the flip side, people who like Obamacare really don't care about it very much.  That's a bad combination for pro-Obamacare candidates.

Alaska Senate Dem Under Fire for Obamacare Rate Hikes.  With insurance rates set to spike in Alaska, a new ad faults Senator Mark Begich, one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country, for supporting Obamacare and missing votes.

Health Care Law Is Obama's Gift to Republicans for 2016.  In 2010, of course, passage of the law powered the Republican gains of 62 seats in the House of Representatives and pickups of more than 700 state legislative seats across the nation.  The law didn't go into effect in time to hurt the president's re-election bid in 2012, but it is making life extremely difficult for the president's party in 2014.

Democrat Harkin says Hillary Clinton's 'fingerprints are all over' Obamacare.  I'm not sure if Tom Harkin did this on purpose, but he might have single-handedly disarmed Hillary's presidential run by tying her intimately to the passing of Obamacare.

Dems struggle to get out from under ObamaCare in Senate races.  The politically divisive legacy of ObamaCare has vulnerable Democrats trying to downplay their past support of the legislation ahead of Election Day — by criticizing the president's execution of the law or by sidestepping the issue altogether.  Lately, Democrats in tough Senate races have been slamming President Obama for breaking his pledge that everyone could keep their health plans and doctors "no matter what."

Kay Hagan: Look, I didn't realize people would lose their health plans 'til a few months ago.  During last night's North Carolina Senate Debate, incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan responded to criticism over her obliterated 'keep your plan' Obamacare pledge by claiming she didn't hear about cancellations until "last fall:" [...] Hagan didn't just vote for the provision that triggered mass cancellations; when Republicans offered a resolution to spare consumers from that rule's consequences, Hagan voted in lock step with her fellow Democrats to bury it.  She was warned explicitly about this issue at the time and chose to side with Barack Obama and Harry Reid against North Carolinians.

Democrats Concede They Can't Run on Their Record.  Democrats do not want to be judged on their results, to be held accountable, to be assessed on their governing record.  And no wonder.  The economy remains weak, the Affordable Care Act highly unpopular, and the mood of America sour.

Left-footed Democrats try to dance to the right.  It's not new for Democrats to pretend to be moderate when they're back at home and then turn around and act completely differently in Washington.  [Senator Mark] Pryor and his fellow senators all overwhelmingly supported the Obama agenda in Washington, but now, six months from November, they are awkwardly attempting to reconnect with their constituents in an election year that is looking more and more positive for Republicans.

ObamaCare Remains a Bust with the Public.  [M]y guess is that Democrats will continue to convince themselves that the Affordable Care Act isn't a burden, and may even be a benefit, until around mid-day Tuesday, November 4, 2014, when the election returns will begin to come in and Democrats will learn just what a political disaster ObamaCare is.  We'll then see how many of them connect the dots and accept that it's a political catastrophe because it's a substantive catastrophe.

GOP establishment strikes back in primaries.  The North Carolina Senate nomination was by far the highest profile race, in part because incumbent Democrat Senator Kay Hagan is extremely vulnerable, with her approval ratings under water, and her vote for Obamacare a cement overshoe.  Tillis had millions of dollars in backing from Karl Rove's American Crossing and the Chamber of Commerce and endorsements from establishmentarians Mitch McConnell, John Boehner and Mitt Romney[.]

The Obamacare Opportunity.  [T]hese early months of implementation have made Obamacare's flaws clearer to the electorate.  The president said the middle class would share in the benefits of his reform plan, with lower costs and more secure coverage.  Instead, millions of middle-class families have lost the insurance plans they liked and are now paying higher premiums for coverage they consider inferior.

New Obamacare Fix Is Bad News for Democrats.  A little-known proposed change to the president's health care law could result in a new political nightmare for Democrats who are vulnerable in the 2014 midterm elections.  Vox.com says the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposal in March that would prohibit insurers from selling fixed-benefit insurance plans as stand-alone policies.  Fixed-benefit plans are so bare bones they don't even qualify as actual health insurance under the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate — so people who are covered by these plans only are still subject to the penalty unless they qualify for an exemption.

Just 8% Say Obamacare Lowered Their Health Costs.  Despite President Barack Obama and Democrat's bold promise that Obamacare would lower the typical American family's health insurance premiums by $2,500, a devastating new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds that just 8% of Americans report lower health care costs because of Obamacare.  Worse for Democrats, 47% of Americans say their health insurance costs have gone up because of the president's signature legislative achievement.  As Breitbart News reported on Sunday, the "Where is my $2,500?" question stands to upend vulnerable Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.

Sorry Democrats, Obamacare is still electoral kryptonite.  A recent poll found that independents are more likely to back an anti-Obamacare candidate by a 54-29 percent margin.  Softening opposition to Obamacare is not a path to electoral victory for the GOP in 2014.

Fear stalks Democratic senators up for re-election.  Fear, like fire, is an effective teacher, and grades on a sharp curve. [...] Some Democrats are looking in all the wrong places to find good news, or at least some not-so-bad news.  They're even, like The New York Times, making up encouraging poll numbers as they whistle past the congressional graveyard.  The fear of graveyard haints and boogermen is real.

The Obamacare Question That Has Democrats Terrified.  With just 191 days until the Nov. 4 midterm elections, nervous Democrats are scrambling to find an effective answer to the Obamacare question they may fear the most:  "Where is the $2,500 in health insurance savings President Obama and Democrats promised me?"

Obamacare Advocates Try Lewinsky Tactic.  You can always tell when the Democrats and their media supporters are losing an important political argument — they suddenly announce that the public wants to "move on" to more pressing issues.  It is a strategy they first devised in an attempt to prevent President Clinton from being impeached.  Indeed, one of their most important front groups, MoveOn.org, was created for the explicit purpose of promoting this meme.  The tactic failed, of course.  Yet, in their panic concerning the upcoming midterms, congressional Democrats have resorted to it once again in a desperate effort to extricate themselves from the fatal Obamacare debate.

For vulnerable Democrats, #Obamacare has become a 'four-letter word'.  In spite of high profile Dems like former President Bill Clinton urging their party to talk up Obamacare during the 2014 election cycle, The Hill reports this weekend that for many running for election or re-election, the so-called "Affordable Care Act" they once enthusiastically supported is now little more than a "four-letter word".

Poll: Independents more likely to back anti-ObamaCare candidates.  Most voters say ObamaCare will play an important role in their vote in this year's elections, and over half are more inclined to back the candidate who opposes the health care law.  That's according to a Fox News poll released Monday.  The new poll asks voters what they would do if the only difference between two congressional candidates is that one promises to fight for the health care law and the other promises to fight against it.

Don't Believe the Spin, Obamacare Is Still a Loser.  Democratic candidates across the country still see the health care law as a drag on their campaigns in the midterm elections.  After four years of trying, there is still no evidence that the president's signature piece of legislation has become popular.  If the law was really working, and voters were excited about it, Democratic candidates would be talking about it all the time, rather than trying to change the subject.

Wasserman-Schultz: Midterm Election 'Absolutely Not' A Referendum on Obama.  "No, absolutely not," the November midterm election is not a referendum on President Obama and his policies, Democrat Party Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.  "[T]hese elections, particularly the Senate elections, are referendums on the candidates running," she said.  Asked about vulnerable Democrats who have criticized President Obama's flawed healthcare law, Wasserman Schultz said they are running their own race.

Dem Rep: Obamacare will bury us.  Steve Lynch is a Democratic Rep. from Massachusetts who doesn't hesitate to buck the party line from a centrist point of view, and to speak openly about problems in the party and with party positions. [...] Lynch recently was interviewed by The Boston Herald about upcoming Obamacare problems and how devastating they will be for Democrats.  That runs contrary to cut current news cycle Democratic spin that (allegedly) meeting sign up goals means electoral problems related to Obamacare are over.

Democrat: Voters 'Frustrated and Embarrassed' by Obamacare.  Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI) says her constituents are "frustrated and embarrassed" by Hawaii's failed Obamacare exchange, which cost taxpayers $204 million and signed up only 8,000 people.  On Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced it will launch an investigation into Hawaii's busted Obamacare program.

Howard Dean: Dems would win back House if not for health-care Web site woes.  Former Vermont governor Howard Dean (D) says Democrats would be in strong position to win back the U.S. House majority this year if not for the troubled rollout of the federal health-care Web site last fall.

The Editor says...
The web site was the least of it, Howard.  The American people don't like to have their insurance cancelled or their rates increased without a very good reason.  Voters are also tired of high unemployment, and sick of hearing about a long string of Obama's scandals.  The Democrats' only hope is to get as many people dependent on government handouts as they can, and then run as the party that will perpetuate those handouts.

As November disaster looms, Dems forming circular firing squad.  Having rammed through a disastrous transformation of health care, a lot of congressional Democrats and many more down the ticket suspect that voters will vent their anger at the party that foisted the travesty on us.

The Website Is only a Symptom.  President Obama's flagship healthcare legislation now enjoys adismally low 26% approval rating, Democrats just suffered a substantial defeat in a Florida election that was all too obviously hinging upon the Democratic support of and Republican opposition to ObamaCare, and many Democrats in flyover country are, out of apparent necessity and in a desperate bid for survival, roundly distancing themselves from ObamaCare.  All reasons which would, for any reasonable person, suggest that Republicans are currently winning the larger healthcare debate, not losing.

Louisiana Senate race a battle of pork, policies and political legacies.  The conventional wisdom is that the Senate race between three-term Democrat Mary Landrieu and Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy will be about Obamacare.  Will Landrieu's vote for the president's national health care scheme — the decisive vote, as Republicans often point out — finally end a storied Louisiana political career?  There's no doubt Obamacare will play a big role in the campaign.  It's hugely unpopular here in Louisiana — 33 percent approve, 53 percent disapprove in a recent poll — and Landrieu, as much as any other Democrat, is responsible for it.

Obamacare Architect: 'This Is Bipartisan Once We Get Past the Election'.  Obamacare's first open enrollment period technically has ended, but efforts to improve the Affordable Care Act and the entire health care system aren't over — and Republicans eventually will join the effort to fix things, says former White House health adviser Ezekiel Emanuel.  "This is bipartisan once we get past the election, or whenever the Republicans are going to say all right, we're going to move off health care and onto something else."

The Editor says...
Even if that were true, and it isn't, the Democrats have to get past at least twoi> elections — the mid-term election in 2014, and the presidential election in 2016 — hoping that the general public doesn't remember who dumped Obamacare on them.

Obamacare Is a Fitting Noose Around Democrats' Necks.  Pollster Celinda Lake's advice to fellow Democrats to take a midway position in the 2014 congressional campaigns is flawed because it can't be sold as honest.  Reacting to results from her bipartisan Battleground Poll that show Obamacare to be a political loser, Lake said:  "Don't defend it.  Say it was flawed from the beginning and we're going to fix it."  Note that she didn't advise to reject it outright, apparently because she knows that's never going to fly with Obama and the Democratic establishment and probably because it would be tantamount to an admission that the party has failed in its central policy "achievement."

Dems' Obamacare 'fixes' are just Washington wink-winks .  These "mend it, don't end it" proposals are meant to allow Democrats to triangulate between blind support for the increasingly unpopular health care law and Republicans vowing to repeal and replace it if voters give them control of the Senate as well as the House in November.  Warner, Landrieu and Begich will probably talk about these proposals more frequently than the others because the three face formidable Republican challengers this fall.

Chicago's Rahm Emanuel Runs from Obamacare.  In a March 27 interview on cable business network CNBC, Emanuel claimed that he offered the President a "contrary opinion" on Obamacare but his advice was not heeded. [...] Emanuel, who was President Obama's chief of staff during the 2008-09 debate over Obamacare, refused to elaborate on just what his plan would have looked like.  Instead he fell into rote praise of Obama and his healthcare scheme.

Democrats push for new changes to ObamaCare amid midterm fears.  Several Democratic senators moved Thursday to "improve" parts of ObamaCare, proposing numerous changes to the law amid concerns that it could cost Democrats House seats and possibly the Senate in November.  The proposals came from a half-dozen senators, some of whom are facing reelection in the fall and most of whom represent moderate-to-conservative states.

Top Dem pollster: 'Don't defend' Obamacare, call it 'flawed from the beginning'.  Celinda Lake, whose firm Lake Research Partners provided the Democratic analysis of the new George Washington University Battleground Poll released Tuesday morning [3/25/2014], summed up her advice to Democrats when it comes to Obamacare:  "Don't defend it."  In unveiling the poll, she said that the new Democratic strategy should be for candidates to promise to fix the troubled system while pledging to help keep Americans out of the claws of greedy insurance firms.  "In terms of Obamacare, don't defend it, say it was flawed from the beginning, and we're going to fix it," said Lake at a poll briefing hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

Obamacare turns four.  The legislation squeaked out of Congress two days before Christmas 2009, without a single Republican vote.  Smartly, Democrats heavily back-loaded the new law, making sure its most painful effects wouldn't be felt until after the next presidential election in 2012.  But many Americans were furious about the government's takeover of the best health care system in the world.  The Tea Party was suddenly born, and its angry members promptly replaced 63 House Democrats with Republicans in the 2010 mid-term elections, the largest seat pick-up since 1938.

Did zombies eat 41.6 million Americans?  If there were 47.6 million Americans waiting to be insured, Obamacare would be a godsend and Democrats would rule for 1,000 years.  Instead, Congressman Nick Joe Rahall is scrambling to hang onto a job that he has held for 38 years.

Pelosi chides reporter for referring to ObamaCare: 'It's called the Affordable Care Act'.  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., chided a reporter on Thursday for referring to President Obama's health care law as "Obamacare."  [Video clip]

Nancy Pelosi Annoyed That People Won't Stop Calling Affordable Care Act 'Obamacare'.  In response to a reporter asking a question about Obamacare being a political winner or loser, Pelosi said, "By the way, it's called the Affordable Care Act.  It's called the Affordable Care Act.  I know you didn't intend any compliment or derogatory — it's called the Affordable Care Act."  She said she would gladly tell Obama the same thing, and continued to repeat herself to hammer the point home.  "There's a reason.  Affordable.  Affordable.  Affordable.  Affordable.  Affordable.  The reason they change the name of it is because they want to get away — the opponents — from the word 'affordable.'"

Van Hollen: Dem Caucus Told 'Don't Run Away from the Affordable Care Act'.  The past chairman of the Democratic National Campaign Committee predicted "Democrats are going to be increasingly on the offense on the Affordable Care Act even as we talk about other critical issues" heading toward the midterm elections.  Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told MSNBC that "the number one issue, of course, on the minds of American people, jobs and the economy, but the Affordable Care Act will get people more economics certainty." [...] Van Hollen echoed DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) in saying that anyone who thought the Florida special congressional election last week was a referendum on Obama "misread" the results.

The Democrats' Obama trap.  Thanks to Obamacare, Democrats just lost a special election in a Florida House district that President Obama won in 2012.  So what do you think vulnerable Democrats in states and districts Obama lost in 2012 are thinking today?  Answer:  Run away!  The problem is Democrats can't run from Obama or Obamacare.  Yes, the president is electoral kryptonite in 2014.  But Democrats are caught in the Obama trap — unable to either embrace or repudiate their unpopular president and his unpopular health law.

Why this week was 'screaming siren' for Democrats. Obamacare effect?  Several factors have played into the Democratic skittishness, including President Obama's persistently low approval ratings and the emergence of two viable Republican Senate candidates in states Democrats had hoped to hold fairly easily this fall.  But it was the volume on the doomsday chatter that went up noticeably with the victory of Republican Richard Jolly over Democrat Alex Sink in the special election for Florida's 13th Congressional District this Tuesday.  The election to replace the late Rep. Bill Young was cast as a referendum over Obamacare, and the Democrat lost even when polls indicated she was favored to win.

Obama Factor Adds to Fears of Democrats.  Democrats are becoming increasingly alarmed about their midterm election fortunes amid President Obama's sinking approval ratings, a loss in a special House election in Florida last week, and millions of dollars spent by Republican-aligned groups attacking the new health law.

Both Obamacare and Obama himself are political poison.
Democrats: Obama Becoming 'Poisonous' to Midterm Candidates.  A Democratic lawmaker told the New York Times that President Barack Obama is becoming "poisonous" to Democratic candidates who are facing an uphill battle in the Nov. 4 midterm elections.  Driving Democratic fears are Obama's low approval ratings and the unpopularity of Obamacare.  The latest Gallup poll finds that Obama's approval rating now stands at just 39%.  The same poll shows that 55% of Americans now disapprove of the job Obama is doing as president.  And according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, just 38% of Americans support Obamacare.

Progs start to realize the disaster ahead, but still are in denial.  The progressive dream, of a benevolent state led by the best and the brightest caring for a grateful population unable to fend for itself, is dying a painful death.  And it is starting to dawn on some of the smarter Democrats — people like David Plouffe — that they face an electoral Armageddon in November. [...] Plouffe just cannot get himself to admit the obvious:  that Obamacare, the Great Progressive Project, sold with lies and bribes, has become the Waterloo of the Left.

Pelosi: Dems Won't Run From Obamacare in Midterms.  Nancy Pelosi said her Democratic colleagues should not shy from the Affordable Care Act in their 2014 midterm campaigns, arguing that Republicans "are wasting their time using that as their electoral issue."  The House minority leader's comments came in the aftermath of a two-point special election victory for Republicans in Florida's 13th Congressional District.  Some observers believe the win forecasts difficulties ahead for Democrats, as their opponents are sure to use the unpopular health care law and the president's poor approval rating as campaign issues.

The Editor says...
That's a bold prediction; let's wait and see if it was accurate.

Florida loss exposes Democrats' disarray on Obamacare.  Democrats can't even agree whether Obamacare was the reason for their crushing loss in a Florida special election Tuesday.  Now picture how their messaging plan for the health care law is shaping up for 2014.  Republican lobbyist David Jolly's victory over Democrat Alex Sink has many Democrats privately worried and publicly split about how to talk about Obamacare.

White House: Sink's Loss Not Tied to Obamacare.  Democratic congressional candidate Alex Sink did not lose a Florida special election Tuesday because she supports President Obama's health reform law, the White House maintained Wednesday [3/12/2014].  "Any fair assessment of the role that the debate about the Affordable Care Act played reaches the conclusion that, at best for the Republicans, it was a draw," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.  "And I think that's evidenced by the fact that the Republican candidate himself didn't even mention it in his victory speech."

The Editor says...
Here we see the White House spokesman boasting that Obamacare wasn't mentioned in the Republican's victory speech, therefore it must not have been a factor.  Note to Republicans:  Always mention Obamacare in your victory speeches.  And there will be many victory speeches.

Democrats Hung by Obamacare in Florida Congressional Special Election.  In a crucial referendum on how harmful the highly unpopular Obamacare legislation will be to democrats in the 2014 midterms, GOP candidate David Jolly defeated a much better-funded and more well-known pro-Obamacare Democrat, Alex Sink, in Florida's special election to replace the late Rep. Bill Young.  The Republican Jolly won despite being outspent on TV ads by a margin of almost 4 to 1.

ObamaCare not to blame for election loss, says White House.  ObamaCare is not to blame for the loss that Democrats suffered in Tuesday's special election in Florida, according to the White House.  Press secretary Jay Carney said the healthcare law was "not the decisive factor" in the narrow defeat of Democrat Alex Sink to Republican David Jolly in the race for a seat left vacant by the late Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.).  "Any fair assessment of the role that the debate about the Affordable Care Act played reaches the conclusion that at best for the Republicans, it was a draw," Carney said.

MSNBC's Todd: Dems Can't Run From Obamacare, 'Voters Will Know You're Full of It'.  During a diagnosis of Democrat Alex Sink's defeat in a Florida special election yesterday, MSNBC anchor Chuck Todd told a Morning Joe panel Wednesday morning [3/12/2014] that midterm Democrats would gain nothing by distancing themselves from Obama and the Affordable Care Act, as it would come off as a transparent campaign ploy.

Another Illegal Obamacare Edict?  President Obama is planning to break the law, once again, in an effort to protect vulnerable Democrats in the Senate. [...] In the absence of this "directive," health insurance companies would have to cancel millions of health policies just a few weeks before November's congressional elections.  Obama's edict would theoretically forestall, until after those crucial midterms, a tsunami of voter outrage that would inevitably drown the reelection prospects of many Democrats.  It's not clear, however, that another delay of this Obamacare provision will save the Democrats.

Dems can't run on Obamacare and can't hide from it either.  Some Democrats hope to minimize the importance of Obamacare as a political issue by focusing on other topics in this November's midterm elections.  Some hope to win by promising to fix the flawed national health care plan they passed in 2010.  And others hope to turn the issue on Republicans by appealing to voters who have been helped by the law.  The problem is, none of that will work.  The importance of Obamacare as an issue in November 2014 cannot be controlled by either political party.  It will be determined by just one thing, and that is the performance of Obamacare as a law in the months preceding the election.

The President's Devious ObamaCare Delays.  A lawless and politically transparent Obama administration just became more so on both counts.  The "imminent" decision to implement yet another delay of ObamaCare, reported by The Hill on Tuesday, became reality Wednesday [3/5/2014]. [...] The Hill provided an accurate assessment of just why the administration is making these changes:  "The White House is intent on protecting its allies in the Senate, where Democrats face a battle to keep control of the chamber," the website stated.  Why should they need protection?

Obama to delay Obamacare AGAIN to protect Democrats in 2014.  If Obama's health care law is so [...] good, then why does he keep delaying it to protect Democrats from losing elections?

ObamaCare delays show that the law isn't worth the pain.  As vulnerable Democrats press for another unilateral delay of a key provision of ObamaCare, surely many in the party have come to wonder if the law is really worth all of this trouble.  If it's not worth enacting, is it really worth losing the Senate over?  But that's exactly what's happening as President Obama tries to placate panicking Senate Democrats by carving up his own law.  The likely result is less ObamaCare and less Democratic Senators.

Democratic Governors Deeply Worried About the ACA.  It's not just Democratic Senators up for reelection who are worried about being dragged down by the ACA.  Even Democratic Governors are concerned about how the law is playing out in their states.  Politico reports that Jay Nixon, Jack Markell, and Deval Patrick (Missouri, Delaware, and Massachusetts, respectively) have communicated their concerns about Obamacare to the White House.  And no wonder, with stories like this: [...]

Democratic whip urges vulnerable Democrats not to 'hide' from Obamacare.  House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., reminded vulnerable Democrats that they can't "hide" from the Affordable Care Act in the 2014 elections, after a fundraising trip on behalf of one colleague whose allies portrayed her as an Obamacare whistleblower in a recent campaign ad.  "The Affordable Care Act is ours," Hoyer told the Arizona Republic.  "You're not going to hide.  You're not going to duck.  It is ours.  We promoted it.  We believe in it.  Sell it.  It is good for the country.  It is good for Arizona."

President Obama: Obamacare is the best thing John Dingell ever did.  Retiring Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., has served in the House for 58 years, but his greatest accomplishment in all those years came to fruition very recently, according to President Obama who hailed his support for health care reform as Dingell's most "remarkable" achievement.  "[O]f all John's accomplishments, perhaps the most remarkable has been his tireless fight to guarantee quality, affordable health care for every American," Obama said of Dingell in a press statement on his retirement. "

The Rube Goldberg Democrats.  As American voters watch ObamaCare continue its Godzilla-like rampage across the national health-care landscape, it's worth considering the collateral damage this political monster may be doing to the Democratic brand itself.  What if ObamaCare's problems become a metaphor for the modern Democratic Party?

US Rep. Holt, D-NJ, says he won't seek re-election.  Democratic U.S. Rep. Rush Holt announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election in November and will retire from Congress when his term ends next year, meaning New Jersey will have at least three new members of the House come January.

Democrats in Denial Over Obamacare.  In a memo leaked to the press, Democrats argue they can neutralize their health care vulnerabilities by promoting their desire to fix the law and blaming Republicans for intransigence in seeking a full repeal.  But dig a bit deeper past the talking points, and it's unclear what they want to fix — beyond their broken poll numbers.

Keeping Obama at arm's length.  How times change.  The giddy electoral success of 2008 has been tempered by the harsh political reality of 2014.  Implementing Obamacare, the president's signature legislative achievement, has been a logistical nightmare; millions of families have lost their insurance coverage; and Obama's approval ratings have fallen below 40 percent.  "Dance with the one that brought you," the saying goes, but when you are a Senate Democrat stuck with the wrong prom date, there's only one thing to do:  hide in the bathroom.

Dems' new 2014 plan: Neutralize Obamacare.  Democrats know their biggest problem in this year's midterm election is Obamacare.  So top party operatives have settled on a strategy to try blunting the GOP's advantage:  Tell voters Republicans would make the problem worse — raising prescription drug prices, empowering insurance companies and even endangering domestic violence victims.

Democrats Running Ads Criticizing Obamacare.  In Florida's 26th district, Democrats are running away from the president completely, and Obamacare in part. [...] [I]t is fascinating to watch a Political Action Committee associated with Nancy "we're going to run on Obamacare" Pelosi slamming the White House for "the disastrous healthcare website" and boasting — without any time qualification, it should be said — that its man "voted to let you keep your existing health plan."

Sen. McCaskill: I Wouldn't Invite Obama to Campaign With Me.  Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) told Morning Joe Tuesday morning [2/11/2014] that she probably wouldn't invite President Barack Obama to campaign with her if she were running in a state where his approval rating is underwater.

Specter of welfare state jolts Democrats.  The White House and congressional Democrats are trying to limit the fallout from the politically damaging conclusion in a Congressional Budget Office report that the Obamacare entitlement creates a major incentive for some people not to work.  While some critics focused on a finding by the CBO that Obamacare will result in 2.5 million fewer workers over a decade, conservatives said the bigger fundamental issue highlighted in the report is one familiar to the welfare state — that taxpayer-funded government subsidies provide disincentives for full-time work.

Congressional Dems get the Big Kiss-off from Big Money Dem Super-PAC.  A Super PAC funded by big money Democrat donors seems to have made up its mind that 2014 is hopeless, and is concentrating its resources on electing Hillary in 2016.  Tough luck for all those Democrats who bet their political careers on backing Obamacare.

State ObamaCare "Glitches" May Doom Dems.  The president's State of the Union address not only glossed over the disastrous start to the [Obamacare] law's implementation but also, in another now familiar Democratic meme, treated the debate about the issue as finished.  But unfortunately for his party, the latest batch of ObamaCare problems may serve not only to revive the discussion about the wisdom of the law but also severely damage the electoral prospects of Democrats whose names are, unlike that of the president, on the ballot this November.

Dem Casualty List Grows.  Each week, it seems another Democrat lawmaker announces their retirement from Congress.  On Thursday, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) joined the growing list.  It is only January, but 11 Democrat lawmakers have said they are quitting at the end of this current term.

Is Obama Backing Away from Obamacare?  The president devoted less than 7 percent of his State of the Union address — just 462 words in a speech that was 6,778 words long — to an anecdotal and weak defense of his signature legislative achievement.  Surely Democrats in the Senate who are facing the voters for the first time this November after voting for Obamacare were expecting much more.  Instead, they got an anecdote, pointing to Amanda Shelley of Arizona who needed a safety net and was grateful for Obamacare.  But the president didn't mount a strong, energetic defense of the law or make any explanation for its obvious and embarrassing failures.

A spate of retirements.  Obamacare has begun a three stage descent into disaster.  The first phase was the catastrophic rollout of the website.  This has cascaded into a situation where perhaps millions of Americans find themselves in the second phase of "limbo", unsure they are covered, unable to pay, incapable of verifying their enrollment.  To rescue them from "limbo" the administration will strongarm insurance companies into taking anyone who claims to have been covered. [...] And then the bad demographics which is turning Obamacare into a sump of the elderly and infirm will drive premiums up.  And then there's the looming arrival of the Employer Mandate, which may de-insure 25 million more.

Unwinding Obamacare.  Obamacare is no longer a theoretical proposition.  It is now being implemented, if with some notable exceptions for the portions of the law the Obama administration finds particularly inconvenient.  Millions of Americans are experiencing its consequences directly, and millions more are forming their opinions of it based on what they are hearing of its effects.  Those opinions are generally not positive.  The fact that many of the law's congressional supporters are now running scared for fear of voter backlash is a good indication of how poorly the rollout is going.

Veteran Virginia Democratic Rep. Moran to Retire.  Veteran Rep. Jim Moran, a pugnacious Democrat who made headlines as an early, outspoken opponent of the Iraq War and for saying during the Monica Lewinsky scandal that he might like to punch Bill Clinton in the nose, announced Wednesday [1/15/2014] that he will retire from Congress after 12 terms representing northern Virginia.

Long-time Northern Virginia Democratic congressman James Moran to retire.  U.S. Rep. James P. Moran announced Wednesday [1/15/2014] that he will retire after two outspoken and controversial decades in Congress, throwing open a heavily Democratic Northern Virginia seat. [...] Moran is the 15th member of Congress and sixth Democrat to retire this cycle.  Unlike some fellow Democrats, Moran has little reason to fear reelection or the challenge of defending his support for the Affordable Care Act.

Another Vulnerable House Democrat Announces 2014 Retirement.  Up next in the retirement conga line is Rep. Bill Owens, an endangered House Democrat from upstate New York.  Owens won a wild special election in 2009, voted for Obamacare the next year, and has been clinging to his job ever since, even as his district has shifted.

Obamacare Drags Dems Down.  In 2014, very few Senate Democrats are safe from the undertow of Obamacare. [...] If Obamacare continues to unravel and Republicans are running up big numbers against Democrats in Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Alaska, Virginia, and Montana, the unpopularity of Obama's signature reform could claim a seat most analysts still consider solidly Democratic.

Pelosi to Reporter: Um, Don't Call it "Obamacare".  Names have connotations, so perhaps that's why Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) corrected a reporter Thursday [1/9/2014] for referring to the Affordable Care Act as "Obamacare."

Congressional Exodus Grows: Two House Dems Call It Quits.  Two veteran Democratic members of Congress have decided to retire at the end of the term, making it tougher for Democratic plans to recapture a House majority this fall.  Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a nine-term Democrat from New York, and Rep. Mike McIntyre, a nine-term Democrat from North Carolina, both announced Wednesday [1/8/2014] that they have had enough.

Rocky King, director of troubled Cover Oregon resigns.  The man who led Oregon's problem-plagued health insurance exchange has submitted his resignation.

Showing How Government Fails.  The tens of millions dreadfully affected by ObamaCare all have friends and family as well.  The secondary political shockwave will be the cumulative effect of voters not badly hurt by ObamaCare — at least yet — who get an earful from all those people they know and trust who are badly hurt.  Congressional offices will tell constituents — very reluctantly, but inevitably, even for those Democrats who voted for this legislative nightmare — that the problem is not the sluggishness of federal bureaucracy, but rather the federal statute itself, and that nothing can be done without a repeal of the law.

Obama keeps fleeing the consequences of his own signature legislation.  Announcements are sometimes made at night, when everyone eagerly awaits the latest news on how American health insurance will work.  It was around 9 p.m. that the administration let it be known that it was partially suspending the individual mandate in 2014 by exempting people who have had their insurance policies canceled.  It didn't even publicly announce its one-day extension of the deadline to get insurance by January 1.  This is not just government by diktat, but government by embarrassed diktat.

Democrats will pay political price for Obamacare in 2014.  Obama and his allies put off the arrival of Obamacare until after the president faced re-election in 2012.  His administration also delayed releasing key rules regarding the law until after the election for fear of angering voters.  But now they can't put it off any longer.  2014 will be the year Democrats pay for Obamacare.

Here comes the real Obamacare test.  The Obamacare rollout was embarrassing enough, but in terms of real-world impact, the implications are still somewhat abstract for much of the public.  Now the uninsured and those with significantly altered medical coverage will have the chance to see whether the goods match Obama's sales pitch.  Democrats, not surprisingly, are on edge.

ObamaCare botch fuels Dem feud in Maryland.  The botched ObamaCare rollout that has given Republicans a hammer going into the 2014 election cycle is now splitting Democrats in deep-blue Maryland, as the problems become political fodder for next year's gubernatorial race.

Senate Democrat worries about ObamaCare 'meltdown'.  Hours before the Monday deadline for Americans to sign up for ObamaCare in order to have coverage by Jan. 1, a Senate Democrat warned the plan could soon collapse of its own weight.  "If it's so much more expensive than what we anticipated and if the coverage is not as good as what we had, you've got a complete meltdown at that time," Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told CNN.

The Suddenly Competent Incompetents.  [Scroll down]  What's ever so surprising is that some of these solicitous senatorial signatories, Begich, Pryor, Landrieu, and Hagan, all of whom voted for this lame legislation, are up for re-election in November.  My own senator, Mark Pryor, has suddenly rediscovered the importance of the [B]ible in this campaign year and another senator to my south, little Mary Half-Moon Landrieu, who's support for ObamaCare came at a hefty price, has discovered that maybe she shouldn't have sold out, too cheaply or otherwise.

Democratic U.S. senator says Obamacare could have [a] 'meltdown,' hurt party.  President Barack Obama's healthcare law could have a "meltdown" and make it difficult for his Democratic Party to keep control of the U.S. Senate next year if ongoing problems with the program are not resolved, a Democratic senator said on Sunday.

Why Obama and Obamacare may be the death of American liberalism.  It's almost impossible to exaggerate the absurdities that have attended Obamacare, beginning with the president's infamous lies about keeping your present plan and your doctor, and continuing through the 11,000 pages of implementing regulations written to date, according to USA Today's Jayne O'Donnell.  Incredibly, thousands more Obamacare regulations are yet to be written, many of the horrendous problems with the program's healthcare.gov website remain unsolved and 2014 promises to add millions more people to nearly six million who lost their coverage in 2013.

Baltimore Sun: Maryland must consider scrapping its state Obamacare exchange.  What is so astounding about this is that the Baltimore Sun is usually a reliable water-carrier for Democrats in Maryland:  if you read the whole editorial, you immediately get struck by the fact that apparently in its world healthcare.gov is doing a whole lot better than it is in ours.  If the paper is seriously discussing shutting down the Maryland state exchange anyway, then things are bad for the O'Malley administration.

We need solution-oriented conservatism.  Health care was supposed to be the issue that made Americans return to the big-government fold.  Instead, Obamacare has had exactly the opposite effect, confirming people's suspicions about the ability of government activism to improve their lives.

Abandon ship! Four state Obamacare chiefs bolt post-launch.  You can add Obamacare exchange boss to this year's list of "most dangerous jobs."  Four out of the 15 chiefs of Obamacare insurance marketplaces run by individual states and the District of Columbia have either quit or gone on leave since the botched Oct. 1 launches of their health exchanges.

Rebecca Pearce, director of Maryland's ailing health insurance exchange, resigns.  The Maryland official who directly oversaw the rollout of Maryland's health insurance exchange resigned Friday [12/6/2013] amid continuing technical problems that have hampered the state's online enrollment efforts.

National Lampoon's ObamaCare Vacation.  Enrollment and technical dysfunctions and security breaches akin to the 36 federal exchanges continue to beset Minnesota's operation, called MNsure.  On Tuesday [12/17/2013], April Todd-Malmlov, the exchange's executive director since 2011, resigned under political duress. [...] Out in Hawaii, Coral Andrews stepped down from her position running that state's exchange on the same day as Ms. Pearce.  Fewer than 500 people have enrolled thus far in the Aloha State's exchange, despite having received $205,342,270 in federal exchange planning and establishment grants.

Obama's legacy: The end of the great American Dream.  President Obama and congressional Democrats passed Obamacare behind closed doors, using back room deals and political/budget payoffs and manipulation.  Not a single Republican was included in the structuring of this legislation.  The law passed both houses of Congress without a single Republican vote.  It was a straight Democrat partisan result.  The Democrats who passed it knew little, if anything, about the contents of the legislation.  Now, with multiple things wrong with the law and new issues surfacing almost weekly, congressional Democrats and Mr. Obama want those same Republicans to help fix the law rather than repeal it.

ObamaCare's Troubles Are Only Beginning.  The White House is claiming that the Healthcare.gov website is mostly fixed, that the millions of Americans whose health plans were canceled thanks to government rules may be able to keep them for another year, and that in any event these people will get better plans through ObamaCare exchanges.  Whatever the truth of these assertions, those who expect better days ahead for the Affordable Care Act are in for a rude awakening.  The shocks — economic and political — will get much worse next year and beyond.

Polling reveals even worse news for Obama.  The real problem is that the Pottery Barn Rule ("You break it, you own it") is being applied to America's health insurance system [...] It used to be that Social Security was regarded as the third rail of American politics.  But now we can see that grabbing hold of health care can be politically hazardous as much or more so.

The Democrats' Bad Credit.  [Scroll down]  You can see something similar happening with ObamaCare: consistently positive press despite the public's distaste for it and the assumption that eventually, association with the project will pay off, followed by the sudden realization that public opinion on something they hated is actually likely to stay that way — or that the public was right all along, and the product stinks.  But the "credit" extended in this case leaves the debt not primarily on President Obama or the press.  It's on the Democrats who are associated with the law and still have to stand for election.

Obamacare's Rocky Rollout Improves Republicans' 2014 Outlook.  Democratic National Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz says that Obamacare will be a vote-winner for Democrats in 2014.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the same thing.  Perhaps they really believe that.  But the numbers in polls conducted since Oct. 17, when the end of the government shutdown put the spotlight on the rollout of Obamacare, tell a different story.

Will Obamacare sink Democrats in 2014?  In 2010, Republicans rode a wave of frustration over the economy and health-care overhaul, recapturing control of the House of Representatives.  This time around, they're focused on keeping that majority and looking toward gains in the Senate — and they'll rely on the bungled HealthCare.gov rollout to fuel voter support.

How Much Trouble Are the Democrats In?  [T]he normal state of the generic ballot question is for Democrats to lead.  Equality in the generic ballot generally translates into a big year for Republicans.  So when Republicans pulled even or took a slight lead in generic preference polling a week ago, wiping out the big lead the Democrats held after the government shutdown, it sent a tremor through official Washington.  For Democrats, the bad news is just beginning.

If they want to keep their jobs, Democrats should ditch Obama now.  The most important poll is one most people missed.  A Quinnipiac survey that came out the day before Thanksgiving made no news, but it could signal that a Democratic apocalypse is taking shape.  The survey found President Obama's job approval in Ohio falling to 34 percent, his lowest score in any Q-poll ever.  It found a whopping 61 percent disapprove of his performance.  Even worse, Ohio voters say, by 57 [to] 39 percent, that Obama is not honest or trustworthy.  Hide the silverware — the president is coming to town!  He also hit a new low of 36 percent approval in Colorado last month.  ObamaCare and his lies about it are driving the numbers downhill.

National Review Writer: Obamacare 'The Biggest Mistake That Any Party Has Made in 100 Years'.  On Thursday, National Review staff writer Charles C. W. Cooke joined Fox News Channel's Gretchen Carlson to discuss President Barack Obama's proposed administrative fixes to the Affordable Care Act.  Pivoting to a piece Cooke recently wrote, the National Review columnist said that the ACA may be looked on by history as "the biggest mistake that any party has made in at least 100 years."  Asked first to react to the president's press conference, Cooke said that it might be "the lowest I've ever seen him."  "He looked broken," he added.  "And he flailed.  He filibustered when he was given the Iran question in the middle, for example.  He talked at length.  He just desperately didn't want to talk about health care."

A top Democrat apologizes for calling the Affordable Care Act 'Obamacare'.  On Tuesday [10/22/2013], one top Democrat, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, acknowledged that the website for the exchanges needed to be fixed, but he also apologized after he referred to the law as "Obamacare." [...] When asked why he apologized for using the term, Hoyer said:  "I think it's a pejorative, I think it's used as a pejorative.  Obama says Republicans will stop using 'Obamacare' as soon as it starts working."

Even Liberals are Gagging on the Bitter Taste of Obamacare.  The Obama administration's incompetent half-billion-dollar rollout of its incompetent multi-trillion-dollar signature achievement is but a tragic metaphor for this man's entire presidency.  (It's not hyperbole when it's true.)  Nearly three weeks in and the utopian promise of "affordable care" for all has yielded but a handful of folks who've even been able to sign up for this clinic in socialism.  That Obamacare — something billed as a health-care panacea for the collective — is something that the collective neither asked for, nor wanted, is now the back story.  That it has failed so fantastically in every respect, has taken center stage.

'Let me be clear, there is no option to keep my current plan.'.  I would take that complaint up with the local congressman, Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., who voted for Obamacare and still supports it.

Awww! Daily Kos Scribe Whines That Obamacare Sent His Premiums Soaring.  On the bright side, we could be witnessing the painful emergence of a future conservative, his tentative stirring accompanied by a rude awakening of how the world actually works.  Can't wait to see him at the polls next year.

Obamacare: A broken website is doing more damage than the Republicans.  Could bad coding succeed where Ted Cruz failed?  Yesterday, President Obama came out and gave a speech admitting that the website that is crucial to Obamacare has failed disastrously.  "The affordable care act is more than just a website", he said.  That's true of Facebook too, but the point is, the whole thing won't work without the website.

Memo: Administration bungled Obamacare long before GOP had power to obstruct.  [A] memo revealed in a new Washington Post examination of the rollout shows the administration was already on a disastrous path in May 2010, just two months after Obamacare was signed into law — and six months before Republicans won control of the House and more Senate seats in the November 2010 elections.

Democrats Run for ObamaCare Cover.  With the GOP's antics now over, the only story now is the unrivaled disaster that is the president's health-care law.  Hundreds of thousands of health-insurance policies canceled.  Companies dumping coverage and cutting employees' hours.  Premiums skyrocketing.  And a website that reprises the experience of a Commodore 64.

Polls Find Big Trouble Ahead for Democrats.  Colorado has been taken over by Democrats over the past few election cycles.  But left-leaning PPP's latest poll suggests that the Democrats are losing their grip on the state. [...] The Democrats' strength in the state is social issues, specifically gay marriage and raising the minimum wage.  They can be expected to focus on those and run away from Obamacare and gun control.

Dems: Fixes not enough on O-Care.  Senate Democrats facing tough reelections say President Obama has not done enough to fix the botched rollout of his healthcare law and are vowing to repair it themselves.  The Senate Democratic leadership is not on board with lawmaker plans to begin rewriting ObamaCare and have urged for more time to assess the changes made by Obama and his team, lawmakers say.

And they'll probably do it, too.
Harry Reid Urges Republicans to Fix a Law They Opposed All Along.  Not a single Republican voted for the Affordable Care Act, but they must now help Democrats make the law work, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on the Senate floor Monday [12/9/2013].

Obamacare is Obama's failure by choice, not fate.  Katrina was an act of God and/or nature, a phenomenon beyond the control of mere human beings, a catastrophe not of choice, but of nature's necessity, outside the realm of man's will. [...] Obamacare, on the other hand, was willed into being by Barack Obama, and driven by no external need or compulsion — only his party's desire to fill out its wish list, and his own wish to become a historical figure.  He's becoming historic, but for all the wrong reasons.

White House: Obamacare hasn't damaged president's credibility.  The White House insisted Wednesday that President Obama's credibility had not been damaged by the botched rollout of Obamacare, despite a series of recent polls showing his diminished standing with the American public. "I don't think I agree with that conclusion," White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said of the assertion that fewer Americans trust the president because of broken promises over his signature domestic achievement. However, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 54 percent of respondents disapproved of the president's job performance, driven mainly by the problem-plagued rollout of Obamacare.

Obama's Democrat enemies.  The unfolding disaster of Obamacare is on track to explode in 2014, as tens of millions of Americans will lose their coverage when the employer mandate kicks in.  Starting on January first, there will be stories of people showing up for emergency care, only to discover they have been "enrolled" according to the administration, but their insurance company was never paid so they are uninsured.  There will be people on chemotherapy who are cut off despite being told they were "enrolled."  Watch for it:  enrolled is going to become a dirty word, an ironic reference to the incompetence of the Obama regime.

Among 'Obama Coalition,' Obama approval plunges.  President Obama won re-election with the rock-solid support of what has become known as the "Obama Coalition" — young people, minorities, women, and low-income voters.  Without a firm foundation — and high turnout — among those groups, Obama would not be in the White House today.  Now, little more than a year after the president's re-election, his job approval rating has fallen among all segments of the American electorate.  But it has fallen the most among those who did the most to elect him.

Obama Stars in The No-Name Law That Sank His Party.  When the Pelosi-Reid-Obama troika triumphantly celebrated cramming through the ACA (Affordable Care Act) over majority sentiment, they crowed that this was the president's signature achievement and ACA soon took on the name of its creator, ObamaCare.  Though not one of them, nor any of the Democrats in the Senate who voted it into law uni-partisanly had read it, they all assured us that we'd grow to really, really like it.  Boy, were they wrong.

More evidence Obama is in serious trouble with his own party.  There is going to be a political price to be paid for wrecking long-established relationships between responsible Americans (who already provided health care insurance for their families) and their doctors, while increasing the prices they pay so as to finance care for the populace unable or unwilling to provide for its own health care.  The fact that ObamaCare was sold with lies multiplies the political resonance tenfold.

Can Democrats Recover From the Obamacare Catastrophe?  No one knows for sure how the next few phases of ACA implementation will go.  Democrats' hopes that their fortunes will improve as a result of upcoming fiscal debates are starting to look pretty shaky, however.

Obamacare Is Costing Democrats the White Women They'll Need at the Ballot Box.  It's not the voters who hate Obamacare the most who are going to matter in next year's elections.  It's the independents who frequently side with Democrats but could, if propelled by a distaste for the health care law, take a serious look at the GOP in 2014.  And on this front, Democrats have a big problem with one of their most crucial constituencies — white women.

Obamacare: The Exodus.  The magical Obama coalition, thought by many to be composed of mere automatons who would follow the Democratic party wherever it went, is starting to fracture.  This is not to say that its members are lining up to re-register as Republicans and subscribe to National Review, of course.  But they are expressing dissatisfaction — and, crucially, not just with this president but with the central ideological achievement of his tenure.  Obamacare, not time, is dragging the man down.  Who would have thought that government policies could lead to political change?

Democrats' 2013 Drop-Off Problem.  Probably the most jarring election story of 2013 was the successful recall of two Democratic state senators in Colorado. [...] These were extreme cases:  low-turnout recall elections where the pro-recall forces were unusually energized by the gun issue.  But they highlight what is probably the most troubling indicator for Democrats right now as we inch toward the midterm-election season:  The drop-off in Democratic performance in elections this year — Democrats have been running three to five points behind Obama's 2012 showing with surprising consistency.

Millennials Abandon Obama and Obamacare.  Young Americans are turning against Barack Obama and Obamacare, according to a new survey of millennials, people between the ages of 18 and 29 who are vital to the fortunes of the president and his signature health care law.  The most startling finding of Harvard University's Institute of Politics: A majority of Americans under age 25 — the youngest millennials — would favor throwing Obama out of office.

Harvard Poll: Millennials Abandon Obamacare, Would Vote to 'Recall' Obama.  [Scroll down]  52 percent of younger millennials, aged 18-24, told Harvard pollsters that they would support a recalling of the president from the Oval Office.  47 percent of all young voters said they would support such a measure.  Fortunately for the president, no provision to recall the President of the United States exists in the Constitution.

DNC Chair: 'Any of Our Candidates Will Be Able to Run on Obamacare'.  Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the Democratic Party chair, says Obamacare is not a liability for members of her party who are running for re-election.  "Any of our candidates will be able to run on Obamacare," she told CNN's "Crossfire" Tuesday night [12/3/2013].  "Everyone is running on Obamacare — perfect," responded Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus, who appeared with Schultz.

Broken promise of Obamacare to haunt Democrats' congressional campaigns.  President Obama completed an ambitious fundraising schedule for Democrats in November, but many of the congressional candidates he is trying to help are finding their election prospects next year imperiled by the president's faulty health care law.  Several polls in the past week have shown congressional Republicans pulling even or slightly ahead of Democrats in generic balloting for the midterm elections, a swing of at least 10 percentage points in less than a month.  Pollsters attribute the seismic shift to the series of glaring flaws in Obamacare, most of which came to the public's attention after the program's rollout Oct. 1.

Polls Show ObamaCare Wave Building Against Senate Democrats.  Recent polling shows that an election wave of anti-ObamaCare sentiment is growing, and it is not only likely to hand the GOP control of the United States Senate, but might wipe out as many as 12 Democrat seats — many of which looked safe just a few months ago.  Back in July, Five Thirty Eight's election guru Nate Silver believed that control of the Senate was a tossup.  That has all changed now that voters got their first real look at the brutal consequences of ObamaCare.

For Democrats in 2014, the Web site is not the problem.  5.5 million.  That is how many people the administration needs to sign up in just 23 days because Obamacare drove them out of their health-care plans.  That's some 240,000 sign-ups every single day, just to break even.  Getting that many enrolled in a few weeks would be extraordinarily difficult even if the Web site were working perfectly, which it isn't.

A Fight Over Contraception Won't Help Obamacare.  Two employers who have religious objections to the contraception mandate recently had their cases granted cert by the Supreme Court. [...] Social media was on fire over this when it happened, and I confess that I am struggling to see why.  There was a lot of outraged talk about how corporations aren't people, of course, but a lot more about employers trying to control their employees' sex lives, treating women as second-class citizens and so forth.  To judge from these reactions, you would think that birth-control pills were a scarce resource that could only legally be obtained through employers.  In fact, generic birth-control pills are available for $25 a month through a Costco pharmacy, $50 if you want a brand name.

Major Clinton Ally: Obamacare's Problem is the President's Historic Mismanagement.  Ed Rendell is the former Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania, a former DNC Chairman, and a longtime Clinton acolyte.  He was on Team Hillary in 2008 and will likely feature prominently on her 2016 bandwagon, too.  His biting commentary on Obamacare's catastrophic roll-out, therefore, is noteworthy for two reasons:  First, it's a partisan Democrat criticizing the president's handling of his signature domestic initiative in unusually harsh terms.  And second, it's a preview of how Team Hillary plans to cleanse itself of the Obamacare stench.

Grandma Obamacare.  Hillary Clinton is the matriarch of the disaster that Americans now scorn as Obamacare.  And helpfully for opponents, she was kind enough to detail her role in this unending rolling disaster.  As it were, in chapter if not verse.  In fact, Mrs. Clinton's 2003 memoir Living History, an autobiography that takes her from childhood to the U.S. Senate, can be viewed as something unique in the annals of candidate biographies.  Hillary Clinton's book is a literary landmine.  A self-detailed look at just where all those false promises — about keeping your doctor and your health insurance if you like it — originated.

Key Metric For Obamacare Site: Democrats' Blood Pressure.  The biggest test for Sunday's [12/1/2013] HealthCare.gov deadline isn't the number of people who can use the site or how quickly the pages load for them.  It's whether Democrats start to calm down.  The White House says the site will be much better but not "perfect."  But it's got to be better enough to fundamentally change the political narrative that it's broken.  If it isn't, nervous Democrats will get more nervous, and they'll start searching for more serious ways to distance themselves from the law they passed.

Dems worrying about re-election prospects distancing themselves from Obama over health law rollout.  A month after emerging from a government shutdown at the top of their game, many Democrats in Congress newly worried about the party's re-election prospects are for the first time distancing themselves from President Barack Obama after the disastrous rollout of his health care overhaul.

WH-DSCC ObamaCare powwow.  White House chief of staff Denis McDonough held an unpublicized meeting with Sen. Michael Bennet (Colo.), chairman of the Senate Democrats' campaign arm, amid anger and anxiety that ObamaCare's botched rollout could cost the party its majority next year.

Stunning hypocrisy from Democrats in wake of ObamaCare's broken promises.  During the debate over the deeply flawed bill in 2009 and 2010, voters were repeatedly assured by President Obama and his congressional allies that everyone who liked their current health care plan would be able to keep it.  "Period."  Now, as the new law implodes before our eyes, millions of Americans have received letters of cancellation.  With approximately five million people across the country expected to lose their current plan and millions more to follow, when all the smoke clears, it's clear that the Democrats broke their promise to the American people.

Spreading around the blame for Obamacare.  Soon after President Obama told the White House press corps he was solely responsible for the botched Obamacare rollout, he decided to shift part of the blame onto Republicans.  A mea culpa can be hard to deliver in public when you are the kind of politician who thinks he never makes mistakes and rarely if ever apologizes for anything that went wrong.

Heal Thyself.  Obama doesn't have to run for office again, but other Democrats do, and the big question for the 2014 midterms may be how each party handles Obamacare.

Obama has no hope to fix fractured America.  Obama's promise to heal a polarized nation has proven to be as big a lie as his promise that you can keep your health insurance.  America is now so divided and demoralized that there is no hope Obama can fix it.  As last week proved, he doesn't even pretend to try any more.

President admits ObamaCare not the 'smart political thing' in letter.  President Obama admits in a handwritten letter to a Texas schoolteacher that ObamaCare is not the "smart political thing" and that he is bogged down by a "toxic political environment."

Politico: Dems Prep to Trash ObamaCare.  It is no secret that the Democrat party is hemorrhaging support in the wake of the disastrous ObamaCare rollout. [...] Politico's Mike Allen was on MSNBC this week, saying that they are "hearing" that Democrats will be very aggressive against the program in Congressional oversight hearings next week.  If Politico is "hearing" something, it means Democrats are trying to leak the information to the public ahead of the hearings.  Politico and Mike Allen, especially, are simply another communications vehicle for the Democrat party.

Democrats Fear Obamacare Will Cost Them The Senate.  Last week, President Obama's pollster Joel Benenson sent a memo to congressional Democrats encouraging them to refocus attention on the economy and ignore the health care chaos that has consumed the administration for the last two months.  The three-page set of talking points argued that the media's relentless focus on the Obamacare website is a "distraction" from more important work on the minds of voters.  But for Senate Democrats who backed the unpopular legislation, avoiding the subject isn't so easy.  Republicans are armed with reams of polling data showing how the health care law could overturn the Democrats' majority, and are already hitting vulnerable Democrats on the subject.

Media ignores Democratic infighting, abandonment of Obama.  At stake:  In the short term, the makeup of the Senate.  In the long term, much more:  The future of liberalism.  Obamacare (a term which, not surprisingly, the White House last week suddenly stopped using, opting for "Affordable Care Act"), is the pinnacle of liberalism.  The government will take over one-sixth of the U.S. economy and make all your decisions for you.  And don't worry:  your most personal information is safe with us (just ask the National Security Agency).

Democrats set to turn on Obama if Healthcare.gov isn't ready next week.  [Scroll down]  Even inveterate website critic Bob Laszewski reports that there have been improvements to the crucially important back end of the site, which routes information on applicants between insurers and the federal data hub.  Roughly five percent of the information that's being received by the industry, though, is still garbled or incomplete.

Obama makes room for fundraisers, golf in his schedule despite Obamacare troubles.  Since the launch of the HealthCare.gov on October 1, Obama has gone golfing five times and attended ten fundraisers — with five more scheduled for the beginning of this week — while Obamacare's favorability has hit all time lows.  And while President Obama's schedule has been open for golf and fundraisers, he was unable to attend the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address Tuesday due to — as White House advisor Dan Pfeiffer put it — "this whole website thing that someone suggested might destroy the Dem Party."

Heal Thyself.  According to a new Gallup poll, only forty-two per cent of Americans now agree that the government should guarantee access to health care.  In 2006, the number was sixty-nine per cent.  The technical inadequacies of healthcare.gov may prove less of a burden than the political damage that has been done.

ObamaCare Fallout in State Government.  A great deal of attention has been focused on the political fallout that Democrats in Congress will face because of their support for ObamaCare.  Beyond video of Mary Landrieu in 2009 saying just what Obama was saying about people being allowed to keep their old health plans, surely the video of Nancy Pelosi that we had to "pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it" ought to be part of any Republican's campaign against Democrats in the congressional midterm elections.

Poll: If voters had known they'd lose insurance, Romney would have won.  A Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research survey conducted from Nov. 18-20 asked voters who supported President Barack Obama in 2012:  "As you may know, millions of Americans have lost their insurance plans despite President Obama's promise that, quote, 'if you like your plan, you can keep it.'  If you knew in 2012 that this promise was not true, would you still have voted for Barack Obama?"  In response, 23 percent said they would not have voted to re-elect Obama, while 72 percent said they would still have voted for him.  The largest number of defections were among female voters ages 18-54, 31 percent of whom said they would not have supported the president.

Abandoning Ship: Obama Runs from 'Obamacare' Title.  There is a certain dignity in accepting blame.  A real person of character should, when confronted with failure on their part, gracefully accept the due blame and work on remedying the problem.  In the case of Obamacare, however, the president continues to duck and dodge in every way possible as public outrage rains down upon the Obama Administration.

Round 2 of ObamaCare enrollment to be delayed until after 2014 midterms.  The Obama administration on Friday offered an extension of the current ObamaCare enrollment period — though not exactly what Republicans were seeking.  Federal health officials announced Friday afternoon [11/22/2013] that they'd give people another eight days this year to enroll in an insurance policy and still get covered by Jan. 1.  Previously, people had to enroll by Dec. 15 to avoid any break in coverage and have insurance at the start of 2014. [...] That decision was pitched as a way to give consumers and insurance companies more time to study their options, but also conveniently pushes the second round of enrollment past the 2014 midterm elections.

Dem Congressional aides [complain] about Obamacare.  The German word schadenfreude is suddenly on the tip of the tongue of many conservatives, and for good reason.  The best part of it is that people who consider themselves smarter than the rest of us suddenly find themselves regretting their high-handedness in foisting OCare on us.  Democrat congressional chiefs of staff, the people who supposedly read the bill before their bosses voted on it are caught.

Obamacare year-two sign ups delayed until after 2014 election.  The Obama administration plans to delay by a full month the open enrollment period for Obamacare's second year, in a move that a Republican campaign strategist called 'nakedly political.' [...] [A]n HHS official said Thursday [11/21/2013] that the schedule has been bumped back, beginning on November 15, 2014 and ending on January 15, 2015.  That timetable will ensure that the midterm elections come and go before the new year's insurance rates are published.

5 Reasons Democrats Should Push for ObamaCare's Repeal.  Democrats might think the Frankenstein's monster they've created with ObamaCare can be tamed before the next election by applying a few bandages and stitches.  If so, they are badly misinformed.

Just 7 percent think Obamacare is working.  A CBS News poll found that just 7 percent of Americans believe Obamacare is working well and should be kept around.  Forty-eight percent think the law needs to be changed, but that it includes some good policies, and a close 43 percent think the law needs to be fully repealed.

To Repeal the Health Law, You Need a Republican President.  Josh Kraushaar, one of my co-authors on the 2014 Almanac of American Politics, and Megan McArdle have opined that the Affordable Care Act is so badly damaged that repeal over a veto by President Obama is now within the realm of possibility.  I suppose anything is possible.  After all, seven weeks ago, very few people would have predicted that the rollout would be this disastrous.  Who knows where we'll be in two to three months?

NYT: Obamacare Debacle Could Kill Big Blue.  Does the Obamacare debacle mean the death of the American liberal dream?  Thomas Edsall, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times, thinks that it might. [...] Democrats pitched the Affordable Care Act as a law that would let the haves keep their doctors and their plans while giving more care to the have-nots, meanwhile offering Amazon levels of service to all comers through a magical website.  Now that the quest for that kind of system is looking more like a misguided unicorn hunt, Edsall suddenly, horribly, begins to see just how foolish and utopian the whole project was.

Dems reveal 2014 strategy: Smash and grab.  With Democrats poised to lose control of the Senate, this could be a very big deal.  With new regulations set to ban more policies and the prospect of millions of Americans being dumped from their employer-based health insurance, next fall promises to be a painful season for ObamaCare implementation.  But by delaying the start of the enrollment season, the White House may be able to push some of the outrage past Election Day and perhaps spare vulnerable Democrats.

In their own words: Video targets 27 Dems who echoed Obamacare 'promise'.  A new video from the conservative group Campaign for Working Families targets the president and 27 Democratic senators who echoed his false promise that Americans would be allowed to keep their health insurance under Obamacare.  Five key Senate Democrats up for reelection get special attention in the new video:  Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu.

Second wave of health plan cancellations looms.  A new and independent analysis of ObamaCare warns of a ticking time bomb, predicting a second wave of 50 million to 100 million insurance policy cancellations next fall — right before the mid-term elections.  The next round of cancellations and premium hikes is expected to hit employees, particularly of small businesses.  While the administration has tried to downplay the cancellation notices hitting policyholders on the individual market by noting they represent a relatively small fraction of the population, the swath of people who will be affected by the shakeup in employer-sponsored coverage will be much broader.

Six reasons Obamacare will only get worse for Democrats:  [#5] Navigators.  If you liked ACORN, you'll love the Obamacare Navigators.  I'm sure there will be good, sincere people who really want to help people navigate the Obamacare maze.  But there will be enough bad apples employed as navigators to supply plenty of scary anecdotes and weird encounters that will result in a steady ridicule of the overall program.

Obamacare: So, what could go wrong next?  The stumble-filled debut of President Barack Obama's health care law is drawing new attention to the other risks that have been on the radar screen of health care wonks for months.  Think health insurance plans sinking under the weight of sick customers, newly insured people being stunned that they still have to spend on health care, and possibly another wave of canceled policies — right before the 2014 elections.

Why Obamacare Is On Life Support.  There's nothing that Democrats want more than to change the subject from Obamacare, despite DNC Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz's protestations otherwise.  Congressional Democrats don't want to be dealing with a drip-drip of news about premiums going up, patients losing their doctors, and a broken health care website as they face angry voters in 2014.  Hillary Clinton doesn't want this issue lingering past the midterms.

Obamacare turns into a war for the President as Democrats jump ship.  "We all knew," was the money quote from Gillibrand, referring not just to herself and a small army of fellow politicians, including ones from Obama's own party, apparently aware that the Affordable Care Act would result in cancellations.

Obama Blames Republicans for Obamacare Mess.  On Tuesday, President Barack Obama blamed Republicans for the Obamacare mess that made him concede he would have to "rebrand" and "remarket" Obamacare, ignoring that the law was passed with legislative gimmicks and no Republican support in the House.

In Fracas on Health Coverage, Some Democrats Feel Exposed.  New Hampshire may be ground zero in the political war over the Affordable Care Act, a state where the three Democratic members of the congressional delegation are under serious threat because of the fumbled rollout of the health care law.  Suddenly they must balance their loyalty to the White House with the needs of an angry constituency that has had to absorb some of the worst problems with the new law.  The problems are many.

House votes to let Americans keep health plans; 39 Dems defy Obama.  Nearly 40 House Democrats defied President Obama and helped the Republican majority pass a bill Friday [11/15/2013] that lets Americans keep, for one year, health plans that do not comply with Obamacare.  The defections from 39 members of Mr. Obama's party highlighted the pressure on Congress to help people who lost coverage because of the president's signature law, as balky websites keep a veil over alternative plans and pressure mounts on the Democrat-led Senate to forge a remedy.

I Lost My Seat in Congress, and All I Got Was This Broken Website.  Vulnerable House Democrats back in 2009 knew that they were risking their political careers by casting votes for the Affordable Care Act.  And more than 60 of them — including some who didn't even vote for the bill — lost their seats the following year.  So there's an extra psychological twinge for those forced to watch the administration blunder the rollout of the very thing that cost them their jobs.

Obama on the Ropes.  Obama is in a bind.  To save Democratic incumbents in the 2014 election, he'll have to accept further changes that mollify critics while undercutting Obamacare's fragile financing scheme.

The Emperor's New Rules.  Stung by public anger and his rapidly plunging approval ratings, President Obama wants to delay the cancellation of existing health care insurance policies for one year.  It has nothing to do with the public interest.  It has everything to do with crass political calculations.

Why insurance companies who follow the ObamaCare 'fix' could face legal troubles.  Will Obama's newest "if you like it you can keep it" offer for health insurance really let Americans get their canceled plans back?  No.  And the president knows it.  The proposal was rushed out on Thursday for two purposes:  to give Congressional Democrats cover today [11/15/2013] before a vote in the House and shift the blame to others.  As will be explained shortly, Obama ignored that there is no way for insurance companies to ignore the current law as it stands.

Hillary Clinton can run, but she can't hide, from Obamacare debacle.  In an ironic twist, Bill Clinton is now distancing himself from Obamacare. [...] But with an established track record of supporting Obamacare, will Hillary be able to successfully distance herself from the policy's unpopularity?

Obama-contra.  Of all the analogies being drawn between the calamitous rollout of Obamacare and other government muck-ups throughout history, one deserves a closer look.  What's happening to Obamacare right now isn't this president's Iraq war, or his Hurricane Katrina, or his Lewinsky moment.  It's his Iran-contra scandal:  a complicated and controversial policy dispute that involves deception, a hostile Congress, and the bludgeoning of presidential credibility.  Iran-contra marked the end of the Reagan Revolution, and it's not hard to see how the implementation of Obamacare might mark the end of the Obama Revolution as well.

27 Democratic senators who promised you could keep your health coverage.  President Obama has taken a lot of heat for promising that if Americans liked the health coverage that they had before Obamacare, they would be able to keep it under the new law.  But the president wasn't the only Democrat in Washington who made that false promise.  Many, many other Democratic officeholders said the same thing.

Obama Isn't the Only One Who Lied.  The Obama administration has run aground on the president's promise that if you like your health care plan, you can keep it:  Scott Rasmussen finds that 55% of voters rate Obama's performance on health care as "poor."  But, as Byron York notes, at least 27 Democratic senators made the same false promise to their constituents.

Why liberals are panicked about Obamacare.  [Scroll down]  The damage to the Obama presidency, however, is already done.  His approval rating has fallen to 39 percent, his lowest ever.  And, for the first time, a majority considers him untrustworthy.  That bond is not easily repaired.  At stake, however, is more than the fate of one presidency or of the current Democratic majority in the Senate.  At stake is the new, more ambitious, social-democratic brand of American liberalism introduced by Obama, of which Obamacare is both symbol and concrete embodiment.

House Democratic Leaders: We Will Not Apologize to Americans Losing Their Health Insurance.  Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, the top four House Democrats — Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Assistant Leader James Clyburn, Whip Steny Hoyer and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra — were asked if they would apologize to any constituents who felt misled by Democrats.  Each declined.

Why Obama lied about health care.  [E]very lie is planted for a single end:  to justify increasing the power of the federal government, and with it the clout of its Number One champion, the Democrat Party.  That's why it's important to remember that it wasn't just Obama who told the Noble Lie about ObamaCare, it was the entire Democratic party.  Every member of Congress who voted for the Affordable Care Act knew its provisions would be a disaster for ten of millions of Americans already holding health insurance policies.  They knew the idea that people would be allowed to keep their existing policies was a fiction, just as they knew that far from making health care "affordable" ObamaCare would send insurance premiums skyrocketing — an average of 43 percent around the country.

39 Democrats Break With Obama to Pass Upton 'Fix'.  On Friday, the House of Representatives approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) that would allow insurers to continue to offer policies on the individual market.  The vote was 261-157.  Thirty-nine Democrats voted for the Upton Amendment, which is an indication the Democrat united front on Obamacare is cracking.

Obama in the Dark.  [Scroll down]  But you can't let Congress off the hook for the underlying driver of this calamity:  the lie that "if you like your health plan, you can keep it.  Period." [...] Moreover, even though the legislation may go by the moniker "Obamacare," the fact is the president didn't write the law.  Congress did, specifically congressional Democrats, with virtually no Republican input.

Obama's fallen and he can't get up.  The tangled web Barack Obama has woven for himself and the Democratic Party, which passed his signature legislation in lockstep, has left him with no way out.  The multiple deceptions inherent in Obamacare are becoming obvious, and because they affect the health, wealth and welfare of every American, they cannot be papered over by a supportive media haze.

Dems Make Lame Duck Obama Start Quacking.  Consider the message here:  Good news, holders of cancelled policies.  You may not be able to get a new plan in time or afford the one you can get, but now you will know to blame your insurance company or your state insurance commissioner.  Definitely not Obama or what he formerly called ObamaCare but Thursday knew only as the Affordable Care Act.  But millions of policies will still be vaporized because of the law and because of an intentional, ideological decision made by the president and his team.  He can put his talking points into the Federal Register, but he cannot change that.

So who's your daddy now?  Everything the president does puts him deeper in the hole.  His grudging concession Thursday that Obamacare stinks like the baby's diaper was followed by the new promise that he would fix it with instructions not to enforce the law.  All the president's men and some of his women are racing for the exits, hurrying to catch a bus, train or plane to anywhere but here.

Dems in a 'fix'.  How many House Democrats will vote for a bill today [11/15/2013] that would enforce President Obama's infamous "if you like it" pledge on health insurance?  That's the question as the White House watches a growing revolt against the president among both moderate and liberal Democrats.  Rather than a "fix," the president's offer to not enforce his own regulation banning millions of insurance plans seems to have deepened Democratic despair over the troubled law.

Can Obamacare survive an enraged middle class?  So far, millions of Americans have lost their health-insurance coverage thanks to Obamacare.  Those most affected are younger, healthy citizens as well as the middle class.  Yes, this middle class includes many liberals.

Ted Cruz: Clintons fleeing Obamacare.  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on Wednesday [11/13/2013] that "nobody can defend" the Affordable Care Act following its troubled roll out, suggesting that recent comments by Bill Clinton should serve as a smoke signal to Democrats.  "Three and a half years ago it might have been possible for reasonable minds to differ," he said on Fox News on Wednesday regarding the ACA.  "Today, nobody is saying that.  Nobody can defend it because millions of people are losing their jobs or are at part-time work."

N.C. Sen. Hagan: ObamaCare Dozen's First Casualty?  Exhibit A is the vanishing lead of North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan, a big ObamaCare cheerleader.  A month ago, before the ObamaCare train wreck, she was trouncing GOP challengers by double digits.  But that was before 160,000 North Carolinians got cancellation notices from health care insurers, and only one person was able to successfully use Healthcare.gov to enroll in the state's biggest exchange.  Now polls show Hagan actually trailing the Republican candidate backed by the same "extremist" Tea Party she demonized during the shutdown.

White House officials get earful from Democrats on Obamacare.  A private meeting on Capitol Hill with House Democrats and White House officials on Wednesday [11/13/2013] became heated when rank-and-file members expressed frustration about continued Obamacare problems, according to multiple sources in the room.  One congressional Democrat who attended the meeting said senior Obama administration officials Mike Hash and David Simas really "got hit" by House Democrats about everything from the troubled website to the broken presidential promise that people can keep the insurance plans they like.

The Editor says...
Instead of meeting with "White House officials," the elected Democrats need to meet face-to-face with Barack H. Obama.  Otherwise, Obama will (someday soon) claim he didn't know there was a problem until he read about it in the newspaper.

A Critical Few Weeks for Democrats? It Could Get Worse.  No wonder some Democratic strategists are nervous about the next few weeks.  President Barack Obama's job approval numbers have taken a dive in two recent polls, and party insiders fear that every other poll released in the foreseeable future will show that the rollout of the president's health care law has been anything but a success — and has dramatically undermined the public's confidence in him.  Maybe even more important, they worry that any weakening of the president's standing will have a significant impact on Democrats' chances to make House gains and hold the Senate.

Obamacare is in much more trouble than it was one week ago.  The Affordable Care Act's political position has deteriorated dramatically over the last week.  President Bill Clinton's statement that the law should be reopened to ensure everyone who likes their health plans can keep them was a signal event.  It gives congressional Democrats cover to begin breaking with the Obama administration.

CNN's Tapper: No Dems Will Talk to Us After Obamacare Numbers.  On CNN's The Lead, host Jake Tapper said that Democrats had refused to come on the program to discuss the abysmal Obamacare enrollment numbers released on Wednesday afternoon [11/13/2013].  Dana Bash reported, "Republicans are tripping over themselves to come out and talk."  She continued, "we're not hearing from Democrats so far, the sounds of silence, tells you everything you need to know."

Walls Close In Around Obama.  On Wednesday [11/13/2013], Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) introduced a bill in the Senate that would allow Americans to keep their health insurance plans for a limit of two years.  "I have repeatedly said that the Affordable Care Act isn't perfect," Udall said, "and it will need to be improved as it is implemented."  Udall already wants to push off the open enrollment deadline on the Obamacare health exchanges until the end of May.  But Udall's plan isn't the only one in the offing.

White House tries to salvage Obamacare, Democrats in distress.  The White House scrambled Wednesday [11/13/2013] to find solutions for the glaring failures in Obamacare as rebellious congressional Democrats pressured the administration over their increasing political predicament.  In a closed-door meeting at the Capitol, House Democrats blasted administration officials over their handling of the Obamacare rollout, and the White House's failure to address Mr. Obama's broken promise to Americans that they could keep their health insurance plans.

Obamacare credibility going up in smoke.  The health insurance signup numbers the White House released Wednesday afternoon were deeply disappointing, though not particularly surprising.  Everyone knows that the HealthCare.gov website has been performing abysmally, and the actual numbers confirmed what everyone could only guess at until now because the White House had withheld the data.  Overall, only about one-fifth of the people the White House expected to sign up for insurance in the first month actually did so:  106,185 against a forecast of 500,000.  That's just slightly less than a capacity crowd at Penn State's Beaver Stadium.  And of those who signed up, only 26,794 did so on the federally run exchanges in 36 states.  The rest enrolled on state-run exchanges.

10 Senate Dems Who Should Apologize for ObamaCare.  Last week, President Obama apologized for misleading the American public with his false claim that "if you like your insurance, you can keep it."  Without this assurance, it is unlikely ObamaCare would have passed.  Obama was not the only politician fudging the truth.  Most Democrat lawmakers repeated this claim on the campaign trail and in meetings with constituents.  If Obama apologized, they should as well, as they are equally culpable.

NBC Reporter Reveals Electoral Flaw in Obamacare Fix: Dems Have to Campaign on 'Trust Obama'.  Make no mistake, President Barack Obama is announcing an administrative fix to the Affordable Care Act to allow individuals losing their insurance to keep their old plans into 2014 as a result of the collapse of his and Democratic politician's support in the polls.  This is a political dilemma and the president is offering a political fix.  There is just one problem, as identified by NBC News reporter Kasie Hunt:  Democrats do not get to campaign on anything beyond saying they put their trust in a president.  It's a level of trust in the president that the public does not share.

Vulnerable Dems scramble to keep distance from ObamaCare.  Vulnerable Democrats are scrambling to find ways to stand apart from the White House on ObamaCare as the rollout of the high-profile law continues to struggle — and threatens their reelections.  A number of red state Democrats in the House and Senate are rushing to embrace legislation to amend ObamaCare, seeking to improve parts of the law that have led to public outrage, and insulate themselves from attacks as they head into election year in 2014.

Rep. Trey Gowdy: Are You Going to Believe What Obama Tells You?  The president is expected to say that Americans can keep their insurance policies even if they don't meet Obamacare coverage requirements.  He would administratively "grandfather" more individual plans.  Gowdy said Obama is seeking a "political remedy" — "because his dream of retaking the House has now turned into the nightmare of, he may lose the Senate — because half of the people that he works for don't believe what comes out of his mouth."

Brit Hume on Obamacare backlash: 'This is as bad a political disaster as I have ever seen'.  Brit Hume said Tuesday [11/12/2013] that California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's call for a fix to Obamacare is a sign of just how bad things have gotten for President Barack Obama and his administration.  On Fox News Channel's "The Kelly File," network senior political analyst Hume explained to host Megyn Kelly that Feinstein's shift, after a million Californians lost their health coverage, indicates the worst is yet to come.  Many more Americans are expected to have their health insurance policies canceled.

Dem Senator Disables Embedding for Health Insurance Pledge Video.  In 2010 Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) took to YouTube and promised the people of Virginia that he was "not going to support a health care reform plan that's going to take away health care that you've got right now or a health plan that you like."  Just like President Obama's multiple assurances that "if you like your health insurance, you can keep your health insurance," Warner's YouTube assurance is coming back to haunt him.

It begins: Dem Congressman calls Obama's promise 'grossly misleading'.  Stampedes begin with one animal making a move in fear; others follow, and soon enough it gets crowded near the exit.  A Democrat congressman has now denounced President Obama's Big Lie on Obamacare in terms that can't be described as gentle.

Bill Clinton May Have Just Penned ObamaCare's Epitaph.  Who would think the president who proposed HillaryCare would help kill ObamaCare.  Bill Clinton just gave congressional Democrats cover to oppose their party's president — and try salvaging their political skins.

Union Front Group Drops Out of Obamacare Navigator Program.  The Restaurant Opportunities Center in New York has abruptly withdrawn as an Obamacare Navigator for New York state.  In documents obtained by ROC Exposed under NY's Freedom of Information Act, ROC provides no explanation for suddenly pulling out of the program it had signed on to in April.

A reversal of fortune for Democrats after Obamacare.  Two months ago, polls showed Democrat Kay Hagan leading prospective opponents by double digits in her quest for a second term representing North Carolina in the Senate.  So why is she so nervous?  Well, her problem begins with Obamacare, ends with Obamacare and has a whole lot of Obamacare in between.

Obamacare: Who's Crying Now?  It is wrong, of course, to take pleasure in the misfortune of others.  Still, I must confess that I have derived no small amount of schadenfreude from news stories about Obamacare advocates who have been adversely affected by the not-so-Affordable Care Act.  It would take a stronger man than yours truly to suppress a smile as the law's media pimps pule about their canceled health plans, when smug urban progressives get mugged by the reality of "reform," and lifelong Democrats publicly denounce President Obama as a brazen liar while declaring their intention to become foot soldiers for the Republican Party.

Obamacare Will Be Repealed Well In Advance Of The 2014 Elections.  Prediction:  even if HealthCare.gov is fixed by the end of the month (unlikely), Obamacare is going to be repealed well in advance of next year's election.  And if the website continues to fail, the push for repeal — from endangered Democrats — will occur very rapidly.  The website is a sideshow:  the real action is the number of people and businesses who are losing their health plans or having to pay a lot more.  Fixing the website will only delay the inevitable.

Krauthammer On Obama's Apology: "The President Now Is Toxic".  ["]The thing is called Obamacare.  There's no running away from it.  It's got his name on it.  You see the president, you think about the policy and you know it's a disaster.  And the problem for the Democrats is, they are hostage to a bunch of geeks working right now late into the night trying to fix a system which is not just the glitches we talked about.  The architecture, the underlying structure of it is wrong.  I think the likelihood of it being fixed, working like you would expect from any normal commercial private website normally by December 1 is pretty small.["]

The ObamaCare Dozen.  The torrents of Affordable Care Act monsoon season aren't letting up, so Democrats are scrambling to help the victims:  namely, their own careers.  The Senators up for re-election in competitive states in 2014 are starting to panic, though they still aren't offering solutions for anything other than their own growing political jeopardy.

Wasserman Schultz Battles CNN's Crowley: Obamacare Will Be Advantage to Dems in 2014.  On CNN's State of the Union Sunday morning [11/10/2013], host Candy Crowley pressed Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) on whether the Affordable Care Act's troubled rollout would negatively effect Democratic candidates in the 2014 midterms.  "Americans have been feeling the benefits since 2010," Wasserman Schultz said.  "Democratic candidates will be able to run on Obamacare as an advantage in 2014."'

Are Voters Finally Catching On to Obama?  [Scroll down]  One difference between Obama and Bush is that Obama's decline is entirely self-inflicted.  (Some would say, entirely deserved.)  Bush's decline during the first year of his second term was due largely to media hysteria over Hurricane Katrina, which struck in August 2005.  Bush wasn't responsible for Katrina, but Obama is responsible for Obamacare, which is driving voters' current revulsion toward him.

Obama Doesn't Mention Obamacare When Campaigning for McAuliffe.  Obama also mentioned a host of policies the two agree on ... but left his signature legislation off the laundry list.  That is, Obama did not praise McAuliffe for his support of Obamacare.  He did not mention Obamacare at all.

The Silence of the Left.  There is widespread fury at the lies which were used to sell ObamaCare, a more than 2,000-page piece of legislation no one read before it was passed, a law opposed by the majority of voters which was crammed down our throats without a single Republican vote.  The law essentially was a mishmash blank slate which left it to the administration's HHS head, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to write as she pleased and the president to — by Executive order — pay off with exemptions and special treatment those cronies and rent seekers not already paid off in the legislative and regulatory process.  Whether this law will continue to pass judicial scrutiny remains to be seen, but what is obvious at this early date is that the press and the public figures who promoted it are lying low as the tsunami of voter rage builds.

Congressman Matt Cartwright takes heat over 'Obamacare' at town hall meeting.  A critical, skeptical crowd met today [11/1/2013] at a town hall meeting with U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright about the federal health care law in the wake of an uproar over its website woes and insurers discontinuing plans that don't meet the law's standards.

Panic: Desperate Democrats Propose Law to Restore Obama's "Keep Your Plan" Pledge.  Louisiana's Mary Landrieu — an ardent Obamacare supporter — is scrambling to undo one of the obvious consequences of a law she's voted to pass, fund, and retain.

A Debacle for Liberalism.  The president's signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act, is in serious trouble.  As a result, so is modern liberalism. [...] Now if you believe, as we do, that Obamacare was incoherently designed and suffers from massive structural flaws, there's no reason to think things are about to get better.  Quite the opposite.  The warnings issued by conservatives during the health care debate are in the process of being vindicated.

Obamacare woes frustrating Democrats' 2014 prospects.  The chaotic launch of President Barack Obama's healthcare law has Democrats in Congress increasingly anxious about its potential impact on them in the 2014 elections and scrambling to protect themselves if the program's problems persist.

13 Democrats, Who Knew You Would Lose Your Plan, But Lied, Are up for Re-election in 2014.  If you are one of the estimated 16,000,000 people that are going to lose your plans under ObamaCare (and that's just in the individual market), you might just be a tad bit upset. [...] Well, killing this turkey is a few years off, but you can get yourself some payback in 2014.

Landrieu to propose halting vanishing health plans.  Sen. Mary Landrieu said Wednesday she would propose legislation to ensure all Americans could keep their existing insurance coverage under Obamacare, a fresh sign of the political problems the law's rollout has created for congressional Democrats.  Landrieu, a Democrat who faces a tough reelection in Louisiana in 2014, said she would either offer her own bill or formally sign onto another measure that would ensure that the law would not force anyone off of their existing health policies.

Conservative group launching $2 million anti-Obamacare ad series.  Conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity plans to launch a significant ad buy against a pair of vulnerable Senate Democrats over their stance on Obamacare.  According to a statement Tuesday [10/29/2013], the group says it will spend over $2 million on a series of TV, radio and web ads going after Senators Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.  Both women face difficult re-election campaigns in conservative-leaning states.

Dems caught in Obamacare uproar.  It's not the GOP that President Barack Obama has to worry about in defending his botched health care rollout, it's fellow Democrats.  They voted for the law, sang its praises for three-plus years and still believe in the promise of health care reform.  But now they face a conundrum:  stay in lock step with Obama and risk their credibility as advocates for the law's benefits or publicly criticize the administration for its recent problems — especially a failure to more quickly acknowledge, and rectify, the major malfunction of its Internet marketplace.

Liberal congressman suddenly discovers that he would really like an ObamaCare waiver for his Colorado district.  Although President Obama and his White House generally try to frame things a little more gently, plenty of Congressional Democrats are quite open about the fact that ObamaCare, at its simplest, is absolutely redistribution designed to force wealthier, healthier individuals to pay into the system in order to balance out the healthcare costs of sicker, less well-off individuals.  This is not and never has been a secret.

Do Americans Really Want Universal Health Insurance?  A recently released Gallup poll on healthcare was simultaneously right and wrong.  It got statistically correct answers but asked the wrong questions.  Fifty-seven percent of the 1,020 adults polled responded that "the federal government should ensure all Americans have healthcare coverage," presumably insurance.  Despite assigning healthcare responsibility to Washington, 53 percent wanted private insurance rather than government-supplied.  The article shied away from stating an inconvenient truth:  what Americans say they want will not achieve what they really want and need.  Most Americans do not distinguish healthcare from health care.  As one word, healthcare refers to a massive system that consumes 18 percent of U.S. GDP.  As two words, health care means medical care, an intimate voluntary commercial service relationship between a patient and a physician.

With Repeal Off The Table, Public Starts To Hate ObamaCare Again — Poll.  On Monday [9/25/2017], the latest attempt to repeal and replace ObamaCare hit a wall after Maine Sen. Susan Collins came out against the Cassidy-Graham bill, joining John McCain and Rand Paul.  The bill would have turned ObamaCare's subsidies into block grants, and given states wide latitude on how to regulate health insurance.  Democrats — and newly minted health care expert Jimmy Kimmel — cheered.  But with repeal more or less off the table, the public's mood about ObamaCare has soured considerably.

Obamacare's future in critical condition after Trump's victory.  For the past six years, no law has served as a larger GOP whipping post than the Affordable Care Act, and the Republican sweep Tuesday of political Washington has imperiled the ACA's expansive reach, putting at risk the insurance that more than 20 million Americans have gained.  During the final week of his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump vowed to repeal the 2010 health-care law so swiftly that he might summon Congress into a special session to accomplish the task.  "We will do it, and we will do it very, very quickly.  It is a catastrophe," he said.

The Editor says...
Obamacare was already in a state of inevitable collapse before the election.  Indeed, the rising costs and negligible benefits of Obamacare were part of the reason Hillary (status quo) Clinton lost.  The left-of-center Washington Post calls it, "[T]he insurance that more than 20 million Americans have gained."  But about 19.9 million of those Americans now know that Obamacare insurance is practically worthless, outside of a catastrophic illness.  (And even then, your local Obamacare Death Panel will probably find no reason to patch you up.)

What Will Obamacare's Unpopularity Mean for 2016?  Four months out from the general election, most pundits and commentators are acting as if Obamacare will have little effect on the results of this year's races.  But given Obamacare's extraordinary unpopularity, that's hard to believe.  Obamacare is horrible for middle-class Americans:  It worsens their job prospects, limits their health-care choices, and raises their premiums, without generally giving them access to its subsidies.  That's a toxic political combination.

ObamaCare Support Tumbles As Open Enrollment Starts.  The latest IBD/TIPP poll found that 52% of the public opposes ObamaCare, which is up seven points from when this question was last asked in August.  That puts opposition to ObamaCare close to the all-time high since IBD started asking the question.  According to the poll, 52% of independents oppose the law, as do 92% of Republicans.  Among Democrats, fewer than 1 in 5 oppose the law.  Interestingly, ObamaCare polls far worse among the middle class and less educated — who are supposed to be its main beneficiaries.

In Case You Were Wondering, Obamacare is Going Great.  The Democrats have taken to gloating that the Republicans don't have a politically feasible way to undo Obamacare until at least 2017, which is more or less true (especially given the fact that Republicans in Congress are both rudderless and spineless).  To listen to Democrats, this is good news for Democrats and bad news for Republicans.  However, in order to believe this narrative you would have to ignore one salient fact:  the Obamacare rollout is an ongoing dumpster fire that is going to be a political liability for the Democrats again in 2016, if things do not turn around quickly.

GOP pledges to fight 'tooth and nail' to repeal ObamaCare.  Senate Republicans quickly pledged Thursday [6/25/2015] to fight to repeal ObamaCare in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling upholding the law's federal subsidies.  The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that 6.4 million people can continue to receive subsidies that allow them to purchase healthcare plans, handing a victory to the Obama administration.  Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Republicans will "continue to fight tooth and nail to repeal" the Affordable Care Act.

Whose Fault Is It Anyway? The Coming Obamacare Blame Game.  It's going to get messy if the Supreme Court rules to invalidate Obamacare's financial aid in more than 30 states that use the federal HealthCare.gov. Everybody will blame everybody else.  Many Hill Republicans will say that it's the White House's fault:  Obama and Democrats passed this flawed law, with no GOP votes.  They should reap the consequences.  The Obama administration has long said that it can't fix anything in the Affordable Care Act without congressional help.  All it would take is a one-sentence bill, which Republicans aren't going to do.

The Editor says...
The Republicans are absolutely right:  The Democrats are entirely to blame for Obamacare and its consequences.

Washington Post Poll: Obamacare Hits Record Unpopularity.  A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that a record 54% of Americans oppose Obamacare — the highest disapproval rating ever in the Post-ABC poll — and a six point increase in unpopularity since last year.

Health Care Expansion Is Rejected in Florida.  In another rebuke of the Obama administration's efforts to expand health care to the uninsured, Florida's Republican-led House of Representatives soundly rejected a plan on Friday [6/5/2015] that state officials said would have covered as many as 650,000 residents.  It was the third time that legislators had considered and spurned some version of health care expansion since passage of the Affordable Care Act, and it represented a victory for Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, who had changed his mind in the past on whether to support any such enlargement but was firmly opposed this time.

Half The Uninsured Want ObamaCare Repealed.  ObamaCare was supposed to be a gift to the uninsured.  Maybe someone should have checked with them first.  A new poll finds the uninsured hate ObamaCare more than any other group.  The Economist/YouGov poll asked the public a series of questions about ObamaCare, and then broke down the findings based on their insurance status.  As with many other polls, this one finds widespread disapproval of the law.  Fully 43% say it's a failure, compared with just 25% who think it has been a success.  Nearly one in five say it's been "a complete failure."

How to Replace Obamacare.  In the 2014 midterm elections, opposition to the Affordable Care Act — i.e., Obamacare — was a clear political winner.  That's obvious from the election results themselves but also from polling that consistently finds that far more of the electorate disapproves of the law than approves of it.

He Never Learns: Obama stands alone, alas.  The enduring unpopularity of Obamacare — indeed, the Republican commitment to repeal it — is an example of what can happen when bipartisanship is spurned.  In this case, Obama and congressional Democrats made no effort to attract Republicans.  They declined to compromise, offering Republicans zilch.  They were mesmerized by their huge majorities in the Senate and House.  Now they own Obamacare, including all its troubles.  Republicans own none.  And the health care law lacks full legitimacy.  Four years after it was enacted, Democrats are still suffering politically.  For them, Obamacare is a drag. [...] To pass Obamacare, legislative maneuvering was required, but not Republican votes.  So they didn't recruit any.  The upshot:  Opposition to Obamacare is a thorn in the side of Democrats and will continue to be.

Schumer's Merely Attempting a Trial Balloon Tactic of Distancing Democrats From Obamacare, While Continuing to Support and Defend It.  I thought the Schumer statement — in which he criticized Obama for pushing Obamacare in 2010, instead of addressing the needs of the And The Middle Class — was important.  But now I think it's just so much positioning.  With Elizabeth Warren now endorsing his statement (!!!), it seems obvious to me that this does not represent a true schism in the Democrat Party, but rather a way to snooker the voters again, to Gruber them anew.  The public has turned against government "solutions," starting with its longheld opposition to Obamacare.  And Obama is more personally unpopular than ever.

Gallup: ObamaCare approval hits new low.  A new survey finds that approval of ObamaCare is lower than ever before.  Thirty-seven percent of Americans approve of the Affordable Care Act, according to a new survey from Gallup.

Dems' path after Obamacare: Down, down, down.  There were 60 Democrats in the Senate on Christmas Eve 2009, when they voted in lockstep to pass the Affordable Care Act.  Soon there will be 46 Democrats in the Senate, or perhaps 47, if Sen. Mary Landrieu manages to eke out a win in Louisiana.  In plain numbers, the post-Obamacare trajectory has not been good for Senate Democrats.  The 46 or 47 Democrats in the next Senate are a bit different from the group that passed Obamacare.  Sixteen of them took office after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law.  They never had to vote for it and have never had to defend voting for it.

Obama: Great at running for president, lousy at everything else.  Confident that history was on his side, Mr. Obama ran Washington on a partisan basis, using solid Democratic majorities in the House and Senate to ram through Obamacare.  It was the most partisan major piece of social legislation in a century.  The most interesting thing about Obamacare, however, is that it was never popular.  President Obama simply couldn't sell it.  From March 2009 to March 2010, he delivered on average a bit more than one speech or statement on health care per week, including major addresses to Congress and the nation and numerous town halls and other events around the USA.  And yet, despite widespread rumors of his oratorical skill, the American people never bought it.

51 percent of ObamaCare users plan to avoid the exhanges in the next open enrollment period.  A majority of HealthCare.gov and state-based exchange users say they don't plan to use the ObamaCare exchanges when the second open enrollment period begins on November 15, according to a survey conducted by BankRate.com.  Experts surmise that many consumers who bought health plans on the exchanges will auto-renew, which could mean they'll end up paying more for coverage.

Excited to return to Obamacare exchanges?  A new survey finds that 51 percent of people who used the government-run Obamacare health insurance exchanges in the past year say they will not to do so again when open enrollment resumes Nov. 15.

Mitch McConnell willing to kill Obamacare with just 51 votes.  Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says he would be willing to repeal Obamacare with a simple majority if he takes over as majority leader in January, his spokesman told the Washington Examiner on Thursday [10/30/2014].  The announcement comes just days before Tuesday's midterm congressional election, in which Republicans have a strong chance of seizing the upper chamber from the Democrats and putting the Kentucky senator in charge.

The Obamacare Debate Heats Up in Virginia.  In the wake of their passage of Obamacare, the Democrats have repeatedly claimed two things:  Republicans don't have an alternative, and in any case the health care debate is over.  But a Washington Post editorial published Saturday [10/18/2014] makes it clear that neither of these claims is true.

The Second Obamacare Election.  A Gallup survey earlier this month showing that Americans oppose Obamacare by a margin of 53 to 41 percent was the 150th poll listed by Real Clear Politics during President Obama's second term to find Obamacare unpopular.  The number that found it to be popular was zero.

60 Percent of Voters Want Obamacare to Be Repealed.  A new poll finds that three-fifths of likely voters support the repeal of Obamacare.  A large plurality — 44 percent — wants to see Obamacare repealed and replaced with a conservative alternative.  A much smaller group — 16 percent — wants to see it repealed but not replaced.  Less than one in three respondents — 32 percent — would like to keep Obamacare, whether in its current form or in amended form.  So, with a conservative alternative in play, 60 percent of Americans support repeal, while only 32 percent oppose it.

Obamacare Isn't Going Away As a Campaign Issue.  In an obvious attempt to help the Democrats preserve their Senate majority, the "reporters" of the legacy news media have been hard at work promoting a new Obamacare meme.  The Los Angeles Times assisted in the launch of this propaganda campaign early this month with a piece titled, "Obamacare loses some of its campaign punch for Republicans." [...] The voters didn't get that memo.  They revile the health care law more than ever.

Why Do I Have To Buy Healthcare For Potheads?  Politicians here have not even figured out how yet to implement their new law requiring us to pay for everybody else's health care, and already people are clamoring to legalize drugs that are, at the very least, hazardous to their health.  The good people of Colorado and Washington state can now buy and smoke pot without violating state laws.  The movement to do so is spreading among other states like a hot tropical virus through a detention facility on the Mexican border.

Politico: Even Liberals Want Obamacare Employer Mandate Repealed.  The unpopular, job-killing Obamacare provision that forces businesses with 50 or more employees to pick up the tab for workers' health insurance or face a hefty tax has now lost support from even liberals, Politico Magazine reported Sunday [7/6/2014].  Liberals ranging from President Barack Obama's own former press secretary Robert Gibbs to the liberal Urban Institute and Commonwealth Fund say ditching the employer mandate makes sense and would reduce "distortions" in the labor market.

Voters regret ObamaCare, say country is worse off under new law.  The scandal surrounding the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system isn't making Americans feel more confident about ObamaCare, a just released Fox News Poll finds.  Less than a third of voters believes that the government will do a better job with ObamaCare than the VA did managing care for vets (31 percent).  Over half believe it won't (55 percent).  Meanwhile, a majority regrets ObamaCare ever passed, and more voters than not say the country is worse off under the law.

End, don't mend Obamacare.  The public clearly doesn't like Obamacare.  The president's scheme has produced higher premiums, higher deductibles and higher co-pays.  Millions have lost perfectly good coverage plans and access to their trusted doctors.  The administration couldn't even create a functional website, despite spending $1 billion to build and promote one.  It's a fiasco that everyone readily understands, yet certain Republicans are backpedaling on the promise to repeal Obamacare "root and branch," in the formulation of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, in favor of a vague and timid approach of "mend it, don't end it."

Dems mistake 8 million sign-ups as happiness with Obamacare.  The fact is, Obamacare not only remains unpopular but also that its unpopularity may be changing — and not in a way that will benefit Democrats at the polls.  In the more than seven months since Obamacare's exchanges started up last year, public opinion has increasingly been shaped by voters' own experiences with the new law and less by their opinions about an abstract political policy debate.  Millions of Americans have now had an opportunity to experience Obamacare, and if the polls are correct, more of them have had negative experiences than positive.

WaPo Concedes Media's ObamaCare Propaganda Campaign Failed.  Any hope the media and Obama had that the endless trumpeting of the phony 8 million enrollment number would turn public opinion around for ObamaCare has just evaporated with this latest round of polling.  The Washington Post has now been forced to concede that media's propaganda campaign failed.  ObamaCare is unpopular and is likely to stay that way.

New poll confirms: Obamacare debate definitely not "over".  [Scroll down]  The president, coincidentally, offered the exact same straw man analysis at his Thursday press conference.  Speaking of which, Obama's central theme in the briefing room was that the national debate regarding Obamacare is now "over."  Because he says so.  A new poll from Fox News indicates that voters disagree.

Sebelius Rendered Speechless After Hearing Oklahoma's Opposition to ObamaCare.  Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had no comment on Monday [3/31/2014] after being told by an anchor from CBS-affiliate KWTV in Oklahoma City, OK about the state's opposition To ObamaCare... [Video clip]

Obamacare Real Enrollment: Just 1.7% of Uninsured Covered.  Obamacare, the plan purportedly created to provide health coverage for the uninsured, has enrolled just 1.7% of America's 48.6 million uninsured.  News of the disastrous numbers comes as nervous Democrats and President Barack Obama, ahead of the November midterm elections, did their best on Monday's enrollment deadline to put a positive spin on the deeply unpopular Obamacare program.  The latest Associated Press poll finds that Obamacare has now hit an all-time low approval rating of just 26 percent.

Expect debate over health care in Kansas to continue.  Kansas Republican lawmakers have advanced a bill aimed at separating Kansas from the federal Affordable Care Act.  And one to indefinitely stop Kansas from expanding Medicaid under the act.  And one to require background checks for counselors who help consumers navigate the online insurance marketplace.  They have held hearings about lawsuits against the health care act and its impact on businesses.

Poll: Obamacare Support Hits New Low.  Support for the health care reform law is at its lowest point since it was enacted four years ago, according to a new poll.  The Associated Press survey found that only 26 percent of Americans support the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement.

Poll: 61% of Uninsured Don't Know Obamacare Deadline, 50% Won't Sign Up.  With just five days left of open enrollment for Obamacare, 61% of uninsured people are unaware of the March 31 deadline to sign up for health care coverage, according to a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll.  When those uninsured people are reminded of the March 31 deadline, 50% say they will still not obtain coverage.  Another key finding to the poll was that only 10% of Americans believe that Obamacare will make health care more affordable and control costs.  What's more, just 7% of those polled think that Obamacare will be good for the country.

Four years later, Democrats wait for ObamaCare popularity bounce.  Democrats have been waiting for ObamaCare to become popular for four years.  And counting.  Congressional leaders and senior White House advisers have been saying since 2010 that public opinion will turn their way sometime soon.  Be patient, they have told anxious members of their party again and again. [...] ObamaCare helped catapult Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) to the speakership of the House, and demolished dozens of Democratic political careers.  Democrats now face the prospect of a second midterm drubbing in 2014, and the healthcare law is even more unpopular than it was last time around.  According to a Pew survey released last week, 53 percent of the public disapproves of the Affordable Care Act, with only 41 percent saying they approve.

Opposition to O-Care near its all-time high.  Opposition to President Obama's healthcare law is close to its all-time high as the reform reaches its fourth birthday.  A new survey by the Pew Research Center found that 53 percent disapprove of ObamaCare, compared with 41 percent who approve.

Poll: Latinos souring on Obamacare.  A new poll shows Latinos — a fast-growing and key demographic in American elections — aren't as fond of Obamacare as they once were.  The Pew Research Center poll showed Hispanics are split on whether they approve of President Obama's health-care law, with 47 percent approving and 47 percent disapproving.  The numbers are notable because Latinos have generally been among the health-care law's chief supporters.

Latinos' support for Obamacare drops steeply.  Another day, another unwelcome poll for the White House.  Pew reports that Hispanic support for Obamacare has lurched downwards from 60-plus percent in September 2013 to 47 percent.  That matters a lot, because it possibly means there's less chance that the GOP's campaign against Obamacare will prompt the large Hispanic turnout that President Barack Obama needs in November to keep Sen. Harry Reid in charge of the Senate.

Where's Obamacare? — Rural Virginians choose free clinic over government red tape.  Many of the hundreds of people gathered on a recent Saturday for a free clinic are exactly the types of people Obamacare is trying to reach — generally poor in pocketbook and in health, who either lack insurance or whose bare-bones policies don't cover vision or dental care.  Despite an intensive effort by the Obama administration and heavy spending on outreach by the president's political allies and the health care industry, the 500-plus patients at the massive traveling clinic in Buena Vista are either unaware or unswayed by the law.

Would Hillary Clinton Give Us Worse Than ObamaCare?  Despite the obfuscation by the administration and its supporters, even the president's most ardent supporters are upset about ObamaCare.  Gallup shows a startling increase in the percentage of Americans who now view health care as the nation's most important problem, quadrupling from only 4% to 16% in just one year.  Almost five times as many women now point to health care as the top U.S. problem, compared to only 12 months ago.

Will Ferrell Promotes Obamacare on Facebook, Feels Web's Wrath.  Will Ferrell is the latest celebrity enlisted to help pitch the Affordable Care Act to the so-called "young invincible" crowd that needs to sign up in large numbers for the law to function:  But Ferrell's #GetCovered post on Facebook on Monday [2/24/2014] led to an acidic sea of comments — over 4,000 and counting at press time, almost all of them negative.

ObamaCare stars fadeObamaCare stars fade.  The Obama administration is short of star power as it begins its last public relations blitz for ObamaCare.  President Obama's celebrity supporters are not in the forefront as they were during the star-studded campaign-style videos that hogged the airwaves in 2008. [...] It seems that not even the president's most fervent and committed supporters want to get too close to ObamaCare.

Why Do The Uninsured Hate ObamaCare?  A new survey shows that ObamaCare is less popular with the uninsured than with the public.  How is this even possible?  The January Kaiser Family Foundation health tracking poll shows that just 24% of the uninsured approve of ObamaCare.  That's down from 40% the month before the reform officially launched in October, and it's a full 10 points below the public's overall favorable rating.  Incredibly, more than twice as many uninsured say they're worse off because of ObamaCare than say it's helped.

ObamaCare, Obama Support Hit Record Lows In New Poll.  One in five Democrats now opposes ObamaCare, a record high, according to the latest IBD/TIPP Poll.  And more than one in six Democrats now say they want it repealed, another new high.

Women comprise biggest opposition to ObamaCare.  Remember Julia? That cute little cartoon the Obama folks created to illustrate how the president's policies would provide "health and economic security" for women at all of life's stages?  The real-life Julias aren't buying.  A CNN/ORC International poll out this week finds 60 percent of women opposing ObamaCare.

Eight Ways to Opt Out of Obamacare.  With the deadline to sign up for Obamacare having come and gone, many Americans have decided to "opt out" of President Obama's signature health care reform law, choosing instead to pay the $95 penalty for sidestepping the individual mandate.

CNN's Christmas Present for Obama: Record Low Obamacare Poll Numbers.  President Barack Obama's days-old Christmas vacation in Hawaii will not be the jolliest if CNN has anything to say about it.  On Monday, CNN/ORC released new polling data showing that the Affordable Care Act has reached a record low approval rating in that survey.  The anchors of CNN's New Day added salt to that wound in a segment about those poll numbers on Monday [12/23/2013] by debating the politics of a delay of the individual mandate.  A new survey found that 62 percent of those surveyed told pollsters they did not approve of the ACA while just 35 percent expressed approval.

Obama's accidental lesson for America.  [Scroll down]  The Obama Democrats may have been puzzled as well when initial poll numbers showed majorities against ObamaCare.  In a time of economic distress, weren't Americans interested in getting free stuff?  This assumption ignored the fact that most Americans were not displeased with their current health insurance arrangements.  And it overestimated the amount of sympathy that could be generated for the relatively few who couldn't get insurance because of pre-existing conditions or unanticipated accidents.

Poll: Americans Blame Obamacare for Inferior Coverage, Higher Costs.  Note well, Democrats:  These complaints are unrelated to Obamacare's failed roll-out, and are being driven by the vast majority of Americans covered on the employer-based market — whom the White House has falsely claimed will not be affected by the law's changes.

ObamaCare blowin' in the wind.  The battle is being fought across smart phones, social media and Internet sites by organizations such as Generation Opportunity, a self-described "free-thinking, liberty-loving, national organization of young people promoting the best of being American."  Generation Opportunity sponsors OptOut.org, where visitors can watch videos of a Creepy Uncle Sam trying to get unsuspecting youth to enroll in ObamaCare.

Customers trickle to revamped Obamacare sites.  Nearly 365,000 people selected a private health plan on state Obamacare markets through the end of November — a sign that people are flocking to the patched-up federal website, HealthCare.gov — although the new pace falls short of long-range projections for an inaugural sign-up period that ends in March.  The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday [12/10/2013] announced a total of 364,682 enrollees in private health plans from all states in Oct. 1-Nov. 30.

Oregon signs up just 44 people for Obamacare despite spending $300 million.  Oregon, once touted as a model for President Obama's health care law, signed up just 44 people for insurance through November, despite spending more than $300 million on its state-based exchange.  The state's exchange had the fewest sign-ups in the nation, according to a new report today by the Department of Health and Human Services.  The weak number of sign-ups undercuts two major defenses of Obamacare from its supporters.

HHS report shows Obamacare in deep hole on enrollments after two months.  Just 364,682 Americans picked a health insurance plan through President Obama's health care program between the Oct. 1 launch of the insurance exchanges and Nov. 30, the Department of Health and Human Services announced today [12/11/2013].  Though the pace of signups accelerated during November, as only 106,185 Americans had picked plans as of Nov. 2, the combined signups were still less than half the administration's target of 800,000 enrollments by the end of November.

The President's Sinking Popularity.  The President's problems are not restricted to millennials — a majority of whom support throwing him out of office.  A new Gallup poll finds that his job approval among Hispanics has fallen 23% in the last year.  What's more, white women (especially blue collar white women) have turned sharply against ObamaCare.

Obama Stars in The No-Name Law That Sank His Party.  When the Pelosi-Reid-Obama troika triumphantly celebrated cramming through the ACA (Affordable Care Act) over majority sentiment, they crowed that this was the president's signature achievement and ACA soon took on the name of its creator, ObamaCare.  Though not one of them, nor any of the Democrats in the Senate who voted it into law uni-partisanly had read it, they all assured us that we'd grow to really, really like it.  Boy, were they wrong.

Hilarious: New Jersey's middle finger to Obamacare.  The poor, pathetic Democrats trying to defend Obamacare have adopted the talking point that there is "pent-up demand" for "affordable" (i.e., subsidized by other people) health care insurance.  The citrizens of the Garden State have just flipped the bird on this argument.

Suddenly, It's OK to Talk ObamaCare Repeal.  Polls show that the public — which never wanted ObamaCare in the first place — is turning even more strongly against the law.  The latest Rasmussen poll, for example, shows 55% want it repealed.  Democrats are beginning to attack ObamaCare in the harshest terms.  Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., called it "a disaster for the working families."  And even Sen. John McCain — last seen berating Sen. Ted Cruz's effort to defund ObamaCare as a "fool's errand" — is now calling for its "total repeal."

The wheels have fallen off the Obama bandwagon.  Poll after poll shows that millions of former Obama-bots now concede he is not worthy of their trust and are stampeding off the bus.  The magic ride is over and they just want to go home and sleep it off.  Even The New York Times editorial page stirred.  The big cheese of the Obama Protection Racket assailed his administration's "incompetence."  Stop the presses!  Finally, a great awakening is taking place.

Gallup: Disapproval of Obamacare Growing.  Fifty-five percent of Americans say they disapprove of President Obama's signature health care law, up from 47 percent who disapproved of it just a few weeks ago, in late October.  Approval numbers also dipped in Gallup's Nov. 7-10 poll:  Only 40 percent said they like the law, down from 44 percent in late October.  Currently, 73 percent of Democrats, 39 percent of independents, and 8 percent of Republicans approve of the healthcare law.

Poll: 78% of Uninsured Not Interested in ObamaCare.  One of the major selling points for using ObamaCare to disrupt our health care system (that polls showed up to 80% of Americans were satisfied with) was to insure the uninsured.  But according to this poll, only a very small minority of that small minority is even interested in obtaining insurance.  Even more troubling is the realization that a month ago, only 44% of the uninsured said they would purchase insurance though the exchanges.

"This whole experience has converted a lifelong Democrat into a foot soldier for the Republican Party".  Although galvanizing new Republican converts clearly was not one of the White House's goals in foisting Obamacare upon the country, dropped coverage and rising costs for many actually were.  Team O couldn't say that out loud, of course, but without those intended consequences in full swing, the law collapses.  That's reality.

Internal notes indicate only 6 people signed up for ObamaCare on first day.  Notes from an Obama administration meeting about the problem-plagued ObamaCare website indicate only six people signed up for the health care law on its first day, according to documents released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.  Fox News' Ed Henry told Megyn Kelly on "The Kelly File" Thursday that the documents, released by committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, are not official enrollment numbers, but say that as of the morning of Oct. 2, "six enrollments have occurred so far with five different issuers."

Document: Just Six People Enrolled in Obamacare Plans on Launch Day.  As recently as Wednesday [10/30/2013], Sec. Sebelius refused to say how many people have signed up for new insurance using the Obamacare exchange.  The excuse has been that the numbers are not available.  But the documents obtained by CBS show that the administration was keeping track at "twice-a-day 'war room' meetings" at CMS.  The notes from these meetings reveal that 6 people signed up on day one.  By the end of Wednesday (the 2nd day) the total was 248 nationwide.

Obamacare enrollments got off to [a] very slow start, documents show.  For 31 days now, the Obama administration has been telling us that Americans by the millions are visiting the new health insurance website, despite all its problems.  But no one in the administration has been willing to tell us how many policies have been purchased, and this may be the reason:  CBS News has learned enrollments got off to an incredibly slow start. [...] The website launched on a Tuesday.  Publicly, the government said there were 4.7 million unique visits in the first 24 hours.  But at a meeting Wednesday morning, the war room notes say "six enrollments have occurred so far."

No Such Thing as a Free Lunch.  Obamacare, even with massive Democratic supermajorities in Congress, would never have passed if Americans thought that they would be forced to give up their current plans.  The reason is simple.  To begin with, Americans were overwhelmingly happy with the quality of their health care.

Docs Resisting ObamaCare.  New York doctors are treating ObamaCare like the plague, a new survey reveals.  A poll conducted by the New York State Medical Society finds that 44 percent of MDs said they are not participating in the nation's new health-care plan.  Another 33 percent say they're still not sure whether to become ObamaCare providers.  Only 23 percent of the 409 physicians queried said they're taking patients who signed up through health exchanges.

Secretary Superfluous.  So Sebelius shows up in Texas and then blames local officials for her own agency's mismanagement, never acknowledging the solid fact that Obamacare as written allowed states to opt in or out of setting up exchanges.  States like Texas are acting according to the law, while Sebelius allowed waivers that are not allowed by the law.  Then she has the gall to lecture Texas about Obamacare.  We didn't vote for that law here.  We don't want it.  We elected people who share that view.  We elected officials who fought it, and who continue to fight it.  That's our right.  That's how America works.

Oregon: some significant progress fixing health exchange, still no enrollment.  Officials for Oregon's health insurance exchange on Thursday [10/24/2013] reported some progress, but acknowledged a major fix to the problem-plagued site may not happen this month as hoped.  The website still has not enrolled anyone.

The Editor says...
Please note that Oregon is a very "Blue" state on the west coast, and nobody has signed up.

'HealthCare.gov is in de facto shutdown'.  There are two sides to this coin.  The numbers of people enrolling and then the problems in processing enrollment information between federal government and insurance companies.  If I were spinning for the White House I would say enrollment is up 50 percent!  But that's because it's up from like 10 a day to 15 a day.  I haven't talked to large insurers seeing more than 100 enrollments a day.

Fox News Poll: 60 percent of voters think implementation of ObamaCare is 'a joke'..  The new poll, released Wednesday [10/23/2013], also finds a majority continues to dislike President Obama's signature achievement:  51 percent of voters use negative terms to describe the health care law, saying it is either "a step backward" or "disastrous."

HealthCare.gov's Facebook page is getting a lot of hate.  Facebook users piled onto HealthCare.gov's Facebook page this week, slamming the dysfunctional website and the hugely increased cost of health insurance.  Many called the new costs "outrageous" while railing against "huge deductibles."  The few Americans able to access the exchange website were angry to discover that President Obama's Affordable Care Act isn't so affordable at all.

Unions' health gripe.  In July, the presidents of the Teamsters, United Food Commercial Workers union and UNITE-HERE (combined membership: 2.9 million) wrote a letter to congressional Democrats saying that ObamaCare will "destroy the very health and well-being of our members along with millions of other working Americans."  "We have a problem," they concluded.  "You need to fix it."  Forget for a moment that organized labor supported ObamaCare.  The union leaders have arguably legitimate complaints.

ObamaCare: But it's the Law!  Of course, it's an inconvenient truth that there's no people's will for ObamaCare, just as there wasn't much will or enthusiasm for Stalin's five-year plans.

It Depends on What the Meaning of "Settled Law" Is.  No major legislation has ever been passed like Obamacare — and I'm using the word "passed" pretty loosely.  It became law without both houses ever voting on the same bill.  (Say, is the Constitution considered "settled law"?)  Not one Republican voted for it — and a lot of Democrats immediately wished they hadn't.  Historically, big laws have been enacted with large, bipartisan majorities.

Only 2 People Attend 'Obamacare and You!' Event in South Carolina.  Last night [10/10/2013], the organization formerly known as President Obama's reelection campaign, Organizing for Action, held an Obamacare event in Greenville, South Carolina.  The event was called "Obamacare and You!"  "Let's discuss what this Affordable Care Act means for you and your community.  This session will help you understand the benefits and will equip you to spread the word about the benefits of Obamacare in your community.  Come out and get the facts!!," the event advertisement said.  But it wasn't widely attended.  Only two people, in addition to the two organizers, showed up.

Are these the people you want running your health care?  Leave aside the substance of the Republican argument that Obamacare is hopelessly compromised by the executive fiats already issued on it by the president — precisely that selective lawlessness that the section of the presidential oath "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed" is meant to prevent.  If that is the larger point, and it is, we also all see the smaller point — that all the people in favor of Obamacare don't want to participate in it.  Companies don't want it; unions don't want it; and the people who, if they didn't read or write it, at least passed it, don't want it.

Duties of the President.  Certainly, a measure with such profound implications for the country should have more support than a bare majority made up exclusively of one party.  House Republicans have every right to try and press the case that a law of this magnitude should have a broader base of support than the Affordable Care Act has at the moment.

It's the Law, Yes, and Most Americans Oppose It.  Today [10/1/2013], more than three and a half years after the Democrats passed Obamacare into law, the overhaul's exchanges — its East German — like government marketplaces — will finally, sort of, open for business.  The Democrats fully expect their fellow Americans to be so excited about buying government-approved insurance through these government-run exchanges that they're choosing to shut down the government rather than delay the individual mandate for a year.  Better to shut down the government, it would seem, than let Americans freely decide — even for a year — whether or not to buy Obamacare-based insurance.

Emergent Anti-Obamacare Senate Candidate Breaks Fundraising Record in Nebraska.  A novice Republican running in a rural state has shattered fundraising records campaigning as the "anti-Obamacare candidate."  In his first race for public office, Ben Sasse has raised nearly $750,000 in just eight weeks of the first quarter of his nascent candidacy, according to records being filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Democrats Against Obamacare.  Texas senator Ted Cruz's 21-hour 19-minute soliloquy this week apotheosized Republican dissatisfaction with Obamacare.  Likewise, the GOP House recently voted to finance everything in Washington, minus the so-called Affordable Care Act.  A real surprise lies behind these headlines:  Democrats are falling out of love with Obamacare.

How to Make Obamacare Obsolete.  The public does not like Obamacare but they do want healthcare reform, especially with regard to soaring costs.  Previous Republican plans, though sensible, have addressed secondary matters such as tax breaks, administration and insurance and have not considered the fundamental issue of reducing costs by radically changing our antiquated healthcare processes.

Why must the American people suffer when even so many Democrats don't want Obamacare?  Earlier this week, in an effort led by Sen. Ted Cruz, some of my Republican colleagues and I took to the Senate floor with the intent of making Washington listen.  The American people have made it abundantly clear that they do not want Obamacare.  In fact, a majority of elected officials, the same officials that voted to implement this health care mandate, do not want it, either.

The Audacity of Hopelessness.  What word could describe better than audacity Obama's refusal to accept responsibility for his dreadful policies; his standing before the American people — even today — in the face of the avalanche of evidence proving how terrible Obamacare is and continuing to lie about what it will do; his persistence in mislabeling his unaffordable monstrosity "the Affordable Care Act;" his failure to address the legitimate, undeniable complaints about Obamacare and his insistence — at all costs — on cramming it down Americans' throats; and his taking — in the words of Time — an "early Obamacare victory lap" just as the horrifying effects of this law are about to descend, in full force, on the American people?

Expecting ObamaCare's Collapse Is Living In Wonderland.  Give Democrats as much ObamaCare rope as they want, then sit back and watch them hang themselves.  This advice from some pundits is the kind of thing that will make ObamaCare permanent.

Roll It Back.  Obamacare remains decisively unpopular with the American people, and most Republicans are staunchly committed to its repeal.  And why shouldn't they be?  The ideological core of the bill runs contrary to the vision of limited government, market-based solutions, and individual choice that has formed the foundation of the party's economic program since the statism of the First New Deal.  Moreover, the party's purpose is to win elections, and Obamacare still looks like a winning issue for the GOP.

Obamacare fight reenergizes tea party movement.  The clash in Congress over efforts to derail President Obama's health-care law has lit up tea party groups across the country, reenergizing activists who had drifted away from the movement while intensifying the divisions tearing at the Republican Party.  The standoff, which threatens to plunge the federal government into a financial crisis, has served as a rallying cry for a cadre of conservatives, who are bombarding lawmakers with phone calls, e-mails and social media messages backing a last-ditch effort to hobble the health-care law.

SEIU unionists strike over Obamacare-related cuts.  Members of the Chicago-based Service Employees International Union Local 1 have gone on strike over recent job cuts by a janitorial company called Professional Maintenance.  The reason for the cuts?  The employer says it is because of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.  This is ironic since SEIU is a major supporter of the law.

What happens next in the Obamacare funding fight?  The GOP is factionalizing, with the conservative base backing the Cruz-Lee strategy to defund Obamacare, and the GOP establishment attacking it directly but mostly indirectly.  It is a remarkable moment, crystallizing the long-simmering revolt against the leadership for its failure to fight on the principles the base cares about passionately.  They seek a champion, and Ted Cruz grabbed what he saw as the opportunity to spearhead the opposition to Obamacare, a new program which the public also dislikes and fears.

Vulnerable Senate Democrats Stuck With ObamaCare.  While all of the media is consumed with an internal GOP debate on this issue, the true target of such a move has escaped notice.  If the House proceeds with its vote, several vulnerable Democrat Senators face a series of bad choices.

The Idiots Guide to Defunding Obamacare.  De-funding Obamacare is tough politically.  It is not complicated, though, even though some want you to think that.  De-funding is a simple idea surrounded by political jargon and double-speak.  If voters are convinced that the task is too complex, they might forgive politicians for not going all-out to de-fund it.  De-funding in turn is still second-best to outright repeal.

Seniors push bill to repeal Obamacare provision that raises their costs.  Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz., introduced a bill to repeal a provision of Obamacare that threatens to increase costs for senior citizens after constituents brought the issue to his attention. [...] Barber wants to repeal a provision of Obamacare that diminishes the amount of medical expenses that senior citizens can deduct on their tax filings.  "Currently, taxpayers can take a federal income tax deduction for medical expenses that exceed 7.5 percent of their adjusted gross income," a Barber aide said in explaining why the congressman wants to keep the threshold for deducting medical expenses at 7.5 percent.

Fox News poll: 68 percent concerned about their health care under new law.  Nearly 7 out of 10 voters are concerned about their personal health care under the Affordable Care Act and a majority wants to take the health care system back to 2009, according to the latest Fox News national poll.  The poll, released Tuesday [9/17/2013], finds that 68 percent of voters are concerned about their health care under the new system.

Poll: 12% Say Obamacare Will Have Positive Impact on their Family.  A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll reveals Americans are unconvinced that Obamacare will improve the country's healthcare system.  Only 12% say the law will have a positive effect on their family and even the uninsured are skeptical Obamacare will do them any good.

Poll: Obamacare remains highly unpopular as implementation looms.  A large number of Americans continue to adamantly oppose the nation's new health-care law and believe it will produce damaging results, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. [...] By a 45 percent to 23 percent margin, Americans say it will have a negative impact on the country's health-care system rather than a positive one.

President of LIUNA Union: If Obamacare Cannot Be Fixed, It Needs to Be Repealed.  President of the Laborers' International Union of North America Terry O'Sullivan emphatically stated if Obamacare cannot be fixed it needs to be repealed Wednesday [9/11/2013] at an AFL-CIO convention in Los Angeles.

It's Democrats Who Are Out to Lunch On ObamaCare.  [J]ust look at some of the terrible things Republicans have been saying about it in recent weeks:
  middot;   It will "destroy the foundation of the 40-hour workweek that is the backbone of the American middle class."
  middot;   It will "end up forcing millions out of multi-employer plans."
  middot;   It "creates unstoppable incentives for employers to reduce weekly hours for workers."
  middot;   Its "perverse incentives are already creating nightmare scenarios."
  middot;   "In its rush to achieve its passage, many of the act's provisions were not fully conceived."
  middot;   And, repealing ObamaCare would "protect our employers, our industry and our most important asset:  our members and their families."
Oh, wait!  It wasn't Republicans saying those things.  Every one of those complaints was lodged by top union officials who, despite backing the law, now see its dark side.

AFL-CIO steps up criticism of health care law.  The AFL-CIO on Wednesday approved a resolution critical of parts of President Barack Obama's health care law in spite of efforts by White House officials to discourage the labor federation from making its concerns so prominent.

The Editor says...
Imagine that.  The most open and transparent administration in history is putting pressure on the left-wing labor unions in an effort to suppress dissent.

How about a death panel for ObamaCare?  President Obama acknowledges there are some glitches as his massive ObamaCare reorganization launches.  And one major problem is, contrary to the Democrat's confident prediction when signing it, the more Americans learn about his signature transformation of the United States, the less they like it.  Much less.

Right says grassroots support building for ObamaCare shutdown.  House conservatives say grassroots support is building for their effort to risk a government shutdown to defund ObamaCare.  Conservatives who back the strategy said their spines have been stiffened by support at town-hall meetings.

Obama's hometown paper: Scrap Obamacare.  The Chicago Tribune has come out in favor of delaying and re-writing Obamacare, a program they refer to as a "monstrosity."

A few radical ways to shut down Obamacare.  It is no surprise to anyone that Obamacare is a total train wreck that will so devastate America that we may never recover from the damage.  Polls show that Americans didn't want it before the law passed and still don't want it today.  But like parents force-feeding medicine to a child "for his own good," President Obama and the left are convinced that we, the great unwashed masses, are not smart enough to make our own decisions.

Repeal Obamacare: It's Now or Never.  When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed Congress in 2010, it was enacted with not one single Republican vote.  The Democrats — all on their own — rammed ObamaCare into law.  The day before taking over one-sixth of the American economy, one of the Democrats' leading lights, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) then-Speaker of the House, famously advised the American public, "But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy."

Fox News Poll: Voters say repeal ObamaCare, expect new law will cost them.  Voters think ObamaCare is going to hurt their wallet and over half want the law repealed, according to a new Fox News national poll.  By a large 47-11 percent margin, voters expect the 2010 health care law will cost them rather than save them money in the coming year.  Another 34 percent think the law won't change their family's health care costs.

Moderate Democrats are quitting on Obamacare.  The landmark health-reform law passed in 2010 has never been very popular and always highly partisan, but a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that a group of once loyal Democrats has been steadily turning against Obamacare:  Democrats who are ideologically moderate or conservative.  Just after the law was passed in 2010, fully 74 percent of moderate and conservative Democrats supported the federal law making changes to the health-care system.  But just 46 percent express support in the new poll, down 11 points in the past year.

Guess who's abandoning Obamacare in droves? Moderate Democrats.  I continue to fail to see how trying to repeal something a majority of Americans have never supported, which has only steadily falling support from large swaths of even Democratic voters, is the outside the mainstream.

Chuck Todd: President 'Made Gigantic PR Mistake Embracing ObamaCare Label... Stupid!'  NBC's Chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd made a stunning statement Wednesday [7/24/2013].  Appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Todd said, "I think they made a gigantic PR mistake by embracing the ObamaCare label because I think when he's out there saying ObamaCare, it automatically politicizes something that when you want Walgreens out there telling people about healthcare, you don't want to put Obama's name in front of it."

The Editor says...
I've wondered about that myself.  It was during one of the debates with Mitt Romney in 2012 that Mr. Obama encouraged (or at least accepted) the use of the name Obamacare, and I thought it was strange that he was so eager to own such a calamity.

Obamacare's six inconvenient truths.  Unlike most previous social-policy milestones, this law was jammed through Congress over the opposition of all Republicans, some Democrats and most of the public.  The financial crisis had delivered the Democrats such large majorities in 2008 that they could accomplish longstanding ideological goals that had nothing to do with that crisis.  Nor did Obama himself have a mandate for the law, having campaigned against some of its most controversial features — for instance, the individual mandate and the new taxes on health insurance — during his 2008 presidential run.

Senate Republicans: Permanently Delay the Implementation of Obamacare.  All 45 Senate Republicans are calling for the implementation of Obamacare to be permanently delayed.  The senators make their request in a letter to President Obama.

White House: If You Question the ObamaCare Delays, You're 'Willfully Ignorant'.  Jay Carney just smeared a majority of the American people, along with several Democrats, when he dodged a question about the Obama administration's decision to delay the employer mandate by at least a year.  Among the "willfully ignorant" is Democrat Sen. Tom Harkin, quoted in the New York Times wondering how the Obama administration can unilaterally change a law passed by Congress.  Joining Harking in "willful ignorance" is Democrat Rep. John Barrow, who just wants to scrap the mandate entirely.

Obamacare: Hollywood Doesn't Like It and Neither Does America.  According to a recent Gallup poll, 42 percent of Americans believe that the Affordable Care Act will make their family's financial situation worse.  Almost half of those surveyed believe that it will make the nation's overall health care situation worse.  Meanwhile, in Hollywood, they just hate, hate, hate Obamacare.  It cuts into the bottom line which is what they worry about even more than global warming, nuclear proliferation and like ... those other things.

More Bad Obamacare News.  A recent poll by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal showed that 49 percent of Americans believe the Affordable Care Act is a bad idea.

Think ObamaCare Is Unpopular Now? Wait Until Next Year.  Months before ObamaCare takes full effect, its popularity has hit an all-time low.  And that's before the public experiences firsthand the many ill effects it will impose on the nation's health care system.

Rubio proposes constitutional amendment to invalidate ObamaCare mandate.  The proposed amendment, named the "Right to Refuse" amendment, would make it unconstitutional for Congress to enact a law that imposes a tax on citizens who fail to purchase goods or services Congress has deemed mandatory.  The idea is that it would apply to the so-called individual mandate, which was interpreted in 2012 as a tax.

By 22-Point Margin, Voters Favor Obamacare's Repeal.  It would be a major understatement to say that Obamacare has had a bad spring.  Around the time of Lincoln's birthday, registered voters told Fox News that, by a margin of 6 percentage points (48 to 42 percent), it would "be better to go back to the health care system that was in place in 2009" than it would be "to leave the new health care law in place."  Three months later, as we head into Memorial Day, nostalgia for the good ol' days of 2009 now beats Obamacare by a whopping 22 points (56 to 34 percent).

If success means fulfilling Obama's mission of substantially transforming America...
Obama on the verge of becoming one of America's most successful presidents ever.  Obamacare is an enormous deal.  It directly affects about one-sixth of the U.S. economy.  It directly affects not just our well-being, but also life and death.  Arguably, it provides the most significant entitlement in American history, and certainly one of the top three.  No entitlement enacted since 1964 comes close to matching it.

Potential Donors to Enroll America Grow Skittish.  The Obama administration's efforts to raise private money to carry out the president's health care law have provoked such a strong partisan uproar that potential donors have become skittish about contributing, according to several people involved in the fund-raising program.

Labor unions break ranks with White House on ObamaCare.  Labor unions are breaking with President Obama on ObamaCare.  Months after the president's reelection, a variety of unions are publicly balking at how the administration plans to implement the landmark law.  They warn that unless there are changes, the results could be catastrophic.  The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) — a 1.3 million-member labor group that twice endorsed Obama for president — is very worried about how the reform law will affect its members' healthcare plans.

Senate Dems prepare to throw Obama under the Obamacare bus.  We've been saying for some time that Obamacare will be a central issue in the 2014 election, and that it offers Republicans the hope, if they nominate solid candidates, of taking control of the Senate.  Now, Senate Democrats have figured this out, as well.

Shock poll: Wealthy, not middle class, support Obama.  The poll found that fewer than half of those with incomes less than $100,000 per year approve of Obama's performance, while he enjoys a 54 percent approval rating among those with incomes higher than that.  Those earning less than $40,000 a year disapprove of the president's performance, 51 percent to 45 percent.  Those earning $40,000 to $100,000 disapprove by a rate of 50 percent to 48 percent.

Even Big Labor Unions Drop Support For Obamacare.  As ObamaCare rolls out, some of its biggest backers from labor to D.C. lawmakers are having second thoughts.  It's a sign that the idea of ending this national nightmare isn't about to go away.

McConnell: Entire Country Should Be Exempt from ObamaCare.  The ObamaCare law is set to take effect in January, 2014.  In November of that year, voters will go to the polls to elect a new Congress.  That vote could set the stage for the repeal of ObamaCare.  Voters will have the chance to exempt themselves from ObamaCare.

Obama's most fervent follower is himself.  Sure, it passed.  But the Affordable Care Act didn't become law because Mr. Obama ignited a populist prairie fire in favor of it.  He dedicated vast, vast swaths of his time and energy trying to sell the American people on Obamacare.  He never made the sale (and still hasn't).  The misbegotten law's passage is attributable entirely to the fact that Democrats rammed it through Congress with a 60-vote majority in the Senate using the sorts of backroom deals and corporate giveaways the American people despise.

Boom: First union officially calls for the repeal of ObamaCare.  Labor unions largely came out swinging in favor of ObamaCare's passage in 2010, but many have been growing increasingly wary of ObamaCare's incoming provisions, fearing that the law's requirements will raise the costs of health plans for unions members and make them less competitive compared to non-unionized workers.  On Tuesday [4/16/2013], one such labor union that initially backed the health care overhaul became the first union to officially revoke their support for the law.

A totalitarian says she is surprised by the resistance.
Sebelius: Implementing Obamacare More 'Difficult' Than Anticipated.  The Hill noted that Sebelius, speaking at the Harvard School of Public Health, said Republican governors who have rejected the health exchanges and Medicaid expansion have frustrated the administration's efforts to smoothly roll out the law.  As a result, she said the administration faces "state-by-state political battles" they had not anticipated.

Sebelius Tries To Blame GOP For Coming ObamaCare Failures.  As Democrats grow increasingly worried that ObamaCare will explode on the launch pad just as midterm elections get going, the Obama administration seeks to pin blame on Republicans.

Here's Why Obamacare Has Become Irresistible.  It has been federal law for three years.  It has brought chaos to the labor markets.  It has cost people their livelihoods and it is more unpopular than ever.  So why does "Obamacare" (officially known as the "Affordable Care Act") remain so irresistible for so many of our fellow Americans?  Because at its core Obamacare is not about health care, so much as it is about the redistribution of wealth, and for those who are on the receiving end of the redistribution the agenda is completely irresistible.

Great News: Republicans May Be Tempted to Embrace ObamaCare to Win Over Latino Voters.  ObamaCare was and is among the most destructive policies ever devised.  It is killing jobs as Republicans predicted, and is also an intrusion on religious freedom.  It threatens to put government between citizen and doctor, and creates unaffordable entitlements.  Over time, it stands a good likelihood of bankrupting the private insurance industry, paving the way for a full government healthcare takeover.

Repeal Obamacare.  Liberals had hoped, and some conservatives had feared, that the legislative Frankenstein's monster known as Obamacare would become more popular as its sundry measures were implemented.  But the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is no more popular now than when it was passed, as Americans have come to realize that it will neither protect patients nor provide for affordable care.

After 3 Years, ObamaCare Repeal [is] Still A Viable Option.  Despite endless promises from liberals that Obama-Care would grow more popular once it was enacted, the public has instead grown more concerned.  The latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll, released Wednesday [3/20/2013], found just 37% have a favorable view of the law today, down from 43% a few months ago.  Even Democrats are less supportive, with only 58% expressing a favorable view of ObamaCare.  No wonder, since every day brings more bad news.

Hoyer warns GOP to abandon efforts to repeal healthcare law.  House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) warned his Republican counterpart on Friday [3/15/2013] that the GOP will have no hope of finding bipartisan agreement on any issue if it continues to insist on repealing the 2010 healthcare law.  "If we want to do something in a bipartisan fashion, if we want to get to an end here, we ought to stop pretending that we're going to repeal the Affordable Care Act," Hoyer told Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).  "We had an election about that.  We won.  The president won."

The Unions vs. Obamacare.  "I heard [Obama] say, 'If you like your health plan, you can keep it,'" John Wilhelm, chairman of Unite Here Health, representing 260,000 union workers, recently told the Wall Street Journal.  "If I'm wrong, and the president does not intend to keep his word, I would have severe second thoughts about the law."  Besides Wilhelm, some of the nation's largest union bosses have taken to publicly criticizing the Affordable Care Act.

Affordable Care Act Is Unaffordable And Onerous.  Does anyone remember hearing that one of the blessings of health reform would be doing your taxes a second time?  Filling out fifteen pages and paying $1 trillion in taxes are just the latest ObamaCare surprises.

All Senate Republicans Vote to Defund Obamacare.  On Wednesday [3/13/2013], every GOP senator voted to defund Obamacare on an amendment to the Continuing Resolution that funds government for the rest of the fiscal year.  The amendment from Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz failed to pass, as all 52 Democrats voted against it.

Obama's Dystopia.  [Scroll down]  Against the wishes of 60-70 percent of Americans, and without the vetting of Congressional legislators who rammed through the legislation, the United States Federal Government took control of a full one-seventh of the American economy, which had the net effect of driving up the cost of health care for all involved, taking away freedom of choice, relegating freedom of conscience incompatible with the party line to irrelevancy, while at the same time having the no-doubt intended effect of casting a chilling pall on America's ability to sustain economic growth and prosperity.

Obamacare: Democrats Starting to Run But There's No Place to Hide.  It was inevitable that once the blanks contained in Obamacare began to be filled in, that even Democratic supporters of the law would start running away from it, so toxic it is going to be to any politician who supported it.  The unintended — and intended — consequences are proving to be a nightmare for the health insurance consumer and the government seems powerless to do anything about it.

Marco Rubio's Impressive Response to Obama's 2013 State of the Union Address.  In [...] one paragraph, Sen. Rubio captured the fundamental flaw in the so-called Affordable Care Act:  it makes health insurance more expensive, in turn making hiring more expensive, and our health-care entitlements more expensive.

Some Unions Grow Wary Of Health Law They Backed.  Labor unions enthusiastically backed the Obama administration's health-care overhaul when it was up for debate.  Now that the law is rolling out, some are turning sour.

Delay, Repeal, Replace.  Watching Congress take the final steps to pass Obamacare in March 2010 was a bitterly disappointing moment for the law's opponents.  They didn't have to be told that what was being rammed through the House and Senate was the largest power grab by the federal government in at least a generation, with immense consequences for the nation's economic vitality and political health.  Opponents understandably redoubled their efforts to see the law repealed and replaced, and Republicans rode the popular revolt against the excesses of Obamacare all the way to a landslide midterm victory.

Anxiety rises as Americans face start of Obamacare.  This March will mark three years since Obamacare became law, and it still has not had any serious effect on most Americans' lives.  That's the way President Obama and the law's Democratic authors planned it; they conveniently pushed the dislocations and unhappy consequences of national health care well past their re-election campaigns.

Senate Democrats Urge Undoing of ObamaCare.  Many powerful Democrats, even some of the most liberal among them, are supporting what amounts to a dismantling of President Obama's signature health care law.  Using "Republican" language to make their case, these Democrats are attempting to repeal some of the funding mechanisms as well as the cost-containment measures that were purportedly inherent in the law.

Confirmed: Obamacare is an Unpopular, Shoddy Trainwreck.  A new poll reveals that the same people who re-elected this president by a three-point margin still oppose his signature "accomplishment" by double-digits.  Independents remain particularly sour on the law, the worst bits of which are slated for implementation over the next two years.

ObamaCare Faces the Implementation Iceberg.  Because the law put off implementation of most key provisions until after the 2012 election, voters cast their ballots on November 6 without knowing what Obamacare's true effect will be on their tax bills, insurance costs, or access to care.  Delaying implementation until 2014 helped the president win re-election, but now the bill is coming due.

Obamacare implementation could spell trouble for Democrats in 2014.  The good news for Democrats is that Obamacare will now be implemented.  But the bad news for Democrats is also that Obamacare will now be implemented.  President Obama's re-election ensures that his signature health care law will not be repealed before its major provisions go into effect.  But that also means, to borrow a phrase from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Americans will begin to find out what's in the law.

Beware: ObamaCare's now reality.  If you are uninsured because you can't afford it, help may be on the way.  But if you are one of the 250 million Americans with coverage, there are big problems ahead.

President Obama gets an 'F' for management.  Early in his presidency, Barack Obama flaunted U.S. constitutional tradition by pushing through major social legislation, Obamacare, without a bipartisan compromise and consensus.  And he relied on a legislative sleight of hand to pass the U.S. Senate.  Simply, Obama's hard left agenda requires him to treat the constitution and Congress as mere inconveniences — expediency is his ethical standard.

Can ObamaCare Be Stopped?  The courts have not yet produced any ObamaCare-killing rulings.  John Roberts's stupefying decision to uphold the individual mandate by calling it a tax ensured that ObamaCare would go forward.  Dozens of lawsuits are pending, and once the states and the regulated community understand how overreaching the ACA actually is, a flood of additional lawsuits will follow.

Republicans abandon Obamacare repeal.  Republicans are abandoning their long crusade to repeal the Affordable Care Act, making the 2022 election the first in more than a decade that won't be fought over whether to protect or undo President Barack Obama's signature achievement.  The diminished appetite for repeal means the law — which has extended health care coverage to millions of people and survived numerous near-death experiences in Congress and the courts — now appears safer than ever.  With slightly more than a month before the next election, Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail aren't making an issue of Obamacare.  None of the Republican Senate nominees running in eight key battleground states have called for unwinding the ACA on their campaign websites, according to an NBC News review.  The candidates scarcely mention the 2010 law or health insurance policy in general.  And in interviews on Capitol Hill, key GOP lawmakers said the desire for repeal has faded.

A totalitarian says she is surprised by the resistance.
Sebelius: Implementing Obamacare More 'Difficult' Than Anticipated.  The Hill noted that Sebelius, speaking at the Harvard School of Public Health, said Republican governors who have rejected the health exchanges and Medicaid expansion have frustrated the administration's efforts to smoothly roll out the law.  As a result, she said the administration faces "state-by-state political battles" they had not anticipated.

Sebelius Tries To Blame GOP For Coming ObamaCare Failures.  As Democrats grow increasingly worried that ObamaCare will explode on the launch pad just as midterm elections get going, the Obama administration seeks to pin blame on Republicans.

AARP threatens to sue Trump over ObamaCare change.  The Department of Health and Human Services is in the process of putting forward a regulation on "stabilization" of the ObamaCare marketplaces, and The Huffington Post reported on Monday [2/6/2017] that one proposal in the regulation is to change the ratio set out under ObamaCare on how much more insurers can charge older people compared to younger people.  Right now, the ratio is at 3:1, meaning insurers can charge older people, who tend to have higher health costs, three times as much in premiums as younger people.  Insurers have long been pushing to loosen up that requirement and allow for charging older people more.

An Arrogant and Lazy Presidency.  His "signature domestic achievement" — The Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") — was brought into existence only by an arcane budgetary trick pulled off by then-Senate majority sycophant Harry Reid.  After winning a Massachusetts Senate seat in January 2010, Scott Brown became the "41st senator," the one who would complete a Republican filibuster and prevent the ACA from becoming law.  But the ACA per se was never voted on by the full Senate, and Brown never got the chance to play his role as the 41st Senator in a filibuster.  Sparing everyone the long, sorry, detailed saga, Reid managed to get the ACA to be dependent on a Senate vote under reconciliation, a budget technicality that requires only a simple majority of 51.  Hats off to Reid.  It was brilliant political maneuvering.  Arguably the most sweeping, significant domestic policy in U.S. history, Obama's ACA was implemented without a single Republican vote in either the House or Senate.

Clinton Thug Robert Creamer Planned Obamacare in Jail.  Robert Creamer, founder and partner of Democracy Partners, the group behind the organized violence at Trump rallies, as shown in the video by James O'Keefe and Project Veritas, is no ordinary agitator.  Creamer, a convicted felon, is arguably the spiritual godfather of ObamaCare and much of the current progressive left agenda.  Creamer, along with his wife, Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky is no stranger to agitation, violence, and expanding the progressive agenda.

AARP Investigation Reveals Obamacare Will Enrich Non-Profit Seniors Lobby.  An 18-month congressional investigation into AARP reveals that the organization stands to make more than $1 billion over the next 10 years from Obamacare, a law the seniors lobby supported despite opposition among its core constituency.  AARP, which operates as a tax-exempt organization in Washington, would profit from an increase in its insurance business, specifically from the sale of Medicare products to older Americans.  The lucrative business has already transformed AARP into an insurance powerhouse.

New emails show Clinton's efforts on Hill helped pass ObamaCare, after failed '93 effort.  "It's her issue," declared President Clinton's media affairs director Jeff Eller to the Houston Chronicle in the fall of 1993.  The "her" was then-first lady Hillary Clinton.  The "issue" was health care reform.  And the nascent Clinton administration deputized the first lady to market her husband's comprehensive health care package to skeptical minds on Capitol Hill.  The essential narrative is that Hillary Clinton's efforts to help pass comprehensive health care failed while President Obama's were a success.  But a new batch of Clinton emails released Friday [7/31/2015] show just how influential she was as the Obama administration's secretary of state in getting the Affordable Care Act passed.

Ted Kennedy, SCOTUS Supervillain.  Senator Ted was the Senate's undisputed Obamacare paladin.  He's the one who converted Obama himself to what became Obamacare.  And the 2009 Obamacare letter — written practically on Senator Ted's death-bed — from him to Obama provided the pivotal drama which pushed Obamacare through a faltering Congress unable even to read what it was voting on.

Only Democrats Are to Blame for Obamacare Chaos.  The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the 37 states that have declined to set up exchanges would see an average spike of 287 percent should the King v. Burwell decision not go the Obama administration's way.  It would be 650 percent in Mississippi — an amount that only proves that exchanges have not made insurance markets more competitive or more affordable as promised.  Actually, the cost of insurance in federally run exchanges is already 287 percent higher.  The difference is picked up by taxpayers.

Let Obamacare's Subsidy Victims Suffer.  The GOP seems determined to reinforce its reputation as "the stupid party." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other prominent Republicans plan to co-sponsor a piece of legislation introduced by Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson that, as he recently admitted in the Wall Street Journal, would allow Obamacare subsidies issued through federal exchanges to continue for two more years — even if the Supreme Court declares them illegal.  This will not only mask the negative consequences of the sloppily written law, it will antagonize the voters who reinstated the GOP congressional majority last November and provide yet more time for Obamacare to metastasize.

H&R Block Set to Reap Windfall from ObamaCare Law It Helped Design.  Anyone wondering why ObamaCare requires enrollees to file ridiculously complex tax forms might just have found their answer.  As the Daily Caller reports, lobbyists for tax preparation giant H&R Block helped shape the Affordable Care Act, and the company now stands to reap a huge financial windfall from the way it was designed.  "H&R Block is well positioned to earn more than $100 million in additional fees from low-income ObamaCare enrollees," says the Caller's Richard Pollack.

H&R Block Helped Shape Obamacare, Now Set For Gigantic Payday.  Five years ago, a bevy of high-priced H&R Block lobbyists worked on the tax preparation company's behalf to shape the Affordable Care Act.  And this April 15, those efforts are set to pay off in a big way for the company.  H&R Block is well positioned to earn more than $100 million in additional fees from low-income Obamacare enrollees as they face the daunting challenge to properly file this year's complicated health-related tax forms.

Federal prosecutors who railroaded Ted Stevens escape punishment.  Obamacare would not have passed if Senator Ted Stevens had been re-elected in 2008. But two Alaska federal prosecutors, assistant U.S. attorneys Joseph Bottini and James Goeke, charged him with accepting tens of thousands of dollars of illegal contributions, and obtained a felony conviction on October 27, 2008, just days before the election.  The only problem:  they had illegally withheld exculpatory evidence from the defense, and the conviction was overturned.  But the damage had been done, and the longest-serving Republican in the Senate at the time had neen turned out of office, replaced by Democrat Mark Begich, who provided the crucial 60th vote to pass Obamacare.  Yesterday [1/13/2015], it was revealed that the two prosecutors would escape punishment for their history-changing misconduct.

Ted Stevens recap:
Same Plot, Different Actors.  [Scroll down]  In the Stevens case, the government suborned perjury, hid a critical witness for the defense, and suffered no consequences of note for that.  With Stevens out of the Senate, the Democrats rammed through ObamaCare before the serious misconduct of the FBI and DoJ attorneys was known, too late to provide solace to Stevens, who died in a plane crash before the truth was revealed.

Democrats have only themselves to blame for the failure of Obamacare.  Since the start of the year, when it at last became clear that an ill-designed website was merely the least of Obamacare's problems, Democrats have been on a search for a plausible villain on whom this sad state of affairs can be blamed. [...] But in real life, it's not hard to find some real culprits, in plain sight and right under our nose.  Blame the progressives, who thought a financial collapse was too small a thing on which to waste a good crisis, and thought the time was right to revisit their wish list and dredge up an old cause for which there was no public clamor.  The last time, when the Clintons tried it, it did not end well.  Blame President Obama, whose swelled head made him want to do big things too quickly.

Obamacare's Architect Talks about the Law's Making.  Ezekiel Emanuel — brother of Rahm, with whom he shares a charm deficiency — shared his behind-the-scenes stories in the recent Wall Street Journal essay "Inside the Making of Obamacare."  To my ear, Emanuel's abrasiveness and arrogance in his radio and television appearances undermine his defense of ObamaCare, and this piece of writing likewise does little to improve my opinion of President Obama or his signature law.  Emanuel is often called the "the architect of ObamaCare."  Although no one person put together the Rube Goldberg contraption of a law, Emanuel was certainly a key player.

Obamacare is good for AARP but not for its members.  At first glance, it might not make much sense that AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, would be among the most vigorous of Obamacare advocates.  The group bills itself as a non-partisan advocacy group that guards federal programs benefitting older Americans, and its 38 million members give it enormous clout:  For years it has blocked common sense reforms to Medicare.  But AARP is not working in its members' interest by acting as a cheerleader for Obamacare.  According to the Congressional Budget Office, the program slashes Medicare spending by $741 billion through 2022, and thus endangers access to care for seniors.

Progressives & patience: A look at how we got Obamacare.  Obamacare didn't happen overnight.  For the last 75 years, progressives have trotted out the idea of compulsory health care or subsidized national health insurance every decade or so, been defeated, and then gone back to the drawing board.  Their tenaciousness finally paid off in 2010 when Congress by the narrowest of margins passed a bill with no Republican votes, and President Obama signed into law his "signature" achievement.

Media ignores Democratic infighting, abandonment of Obama.  Republicans, contrary to media reports, were never confused about Obamacare.  Not one voted for the bill Mr. Obama signed into law in 2010.  That means RINOs, lefty-middle righties, conservatives, tea partyers, moderates, even mavericks — the whole big tent — stood as one in opposition to a law they knew was insanity.  No dissension there.  Meanwhile, on the other side, Blue Dog Democrats, moderate lefties, Reagan D's — the middle left — had Obamacare shoved down their throats.  They ate Obamacare because they had to:  The party as a whole was moving left, hard, and they had one choice — go with them, or be left behind.  So, they voted en masse for Obamacare.

Senate Democrats supported rule that led to insurance cancellations.  Senate Democrats voted unanimously three years ago to support the Obamacare rule that is largely responsible for some of the health insurance cancellation letters that are going out.  In September 2010, Senate Republicans brought a resolution to the floor to block implementation of the grandfather rule, warning that it would result in canceled policies and violate President Barack Obama's promise that people could keep their insurance if they liked it.

Lies of Obamacare, Documented.  [Scroll down]  The baleful consequences of Obamacare that we are now seeing — there are many more to come — were known and foreseen in 2010.  The Democrats voted down the Republicans' effort to preserve the health care plans that Americans already like on a party-line vote.  The Democrats knew that Obama had been lying through his teeth, and they voted unanimously to sustain his lies.

Want Some Cheese With That Whine?  [Scroll down]  Democrats drafted the bill in secret, conspicuously refusing any input by Republicans.  They jammed it through Congress by suspending normal procedural rules during a brief moment when they controlled the House and had 60 votes in the Senate, without a single Republican vote in either chamber.  Beyond that, the law is a disaster on the merits and is deeply unpopular with the American people.

Obamacare's Media Mandate.  [Scroll down]  But, my friends, the Affordable Care Act may turn out to be the best thing that's happened to our country in decades, because it has so definitively crystallized the difference between our two political parties.  The coming failure of the ACA is only more proof that big government can do nothing right; that its intrusion into the private sector forebodes nothing but disaster; that the greatest healthcare system in the world will end up in shambles thanks solely to the Democratic Party, because, as officially noted in the Congressional Record, not a single Republican cast a vote to enact this doomed monstrosity.

Obamacare's Media Mandate.  [Scroll down]  So the question is now, will the media agree that if Democrats were so thoroughly invested in Obamacare, they should now pay the price at the ballot box for its collapse?  Will they conclude that different voices are needed to moderate their ultra-liberal view of America?  Will they, as often as they have acquiesced in the blaming of George W. Bush for every Obama failure, now rebuke the latter as fiercely and frequently as they did the former?  Fat chance.  No, even should pigs sprout wings, the media will defend their myopic view of the Democrat and Republican parties; even to the political grave.

Obamacare and the Edsel: A Tale of Two Lemons.  In the case of Obamacare, the idea came from campaign aides looking for a catchy sound bite that could be used by an obscure Illinois Senator running for President.  He needed to say something about an issue to which he hadn't given much thought.  Thus, without any serious policy discussion, they suggested that he simply announce his intention to pass universal health care by the end of his first term:  "Thus was born Obamacare."

Health Reform Breaks Bad:  The deceptions and disasters of Obamacare.  While there are many cooks who spoiled this particular broth, there's little question that but for Barack Obama himself, this monstrosity would unlikely ever have been signed into law.

Obama's Acorn Cronies To Profit From ObamaCare.  As Mathew Vadum reports on the American Spectator blog, United Labor Unions (ULU) Local 100 in New Orleans, which is run by Acorn founder Wade Rathke, announced on its Facebook page that it's gearing up "to do mass enrollment and help navigate people into the marketplaces in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas under the Affordable Care Act!"  "Local 100's role as a Navigator, suggest(s) the program is less about health care and more about building a new progressive infrastructure," says longtime Acorn-watcher Mike Flynn of Breitbart.com.

ObamaCare passed without a Republican vote for it in the Senate or House.
The ObamaCare mess is all Dems' doing.  The standard line from Democrats is that Congress passed ObamaCare and it's the law of the land, end of discussion.  That disguises the ugly truth about how the Affordable Care Act became law, why it's running into so many problems, and why it is passionately hated by conservatives.

Obamacare's Useful Idiots.  The AMA and the AFL-CIO are just the most prominent members of the not-very-exclusive society of organizations and individuals duped by the White House into supporting Obamacare.  This club's membership also includes the American Hospital Association (AHA), which ostentatiously supported the reform law and even endorsed the egregious Donald Berwick for the post of CMS administrator.

AARP lobbies against Medicare changes that could hurt its bottom line.  As Washington debates whether to cut federal retirement programs as part of a deal to tackle the nation's debt, one of the most powerful advocates for preserving them could have millions of dollars riding on the outcome.  AARP, the highly influential lobby for older Americans, is fiercely opposing any Medicare or Social Security cuts and emphasizes that it is fighting for the good of its members.  But the proposals for changing Medicare also could affect AARP's bottom line.

This is an original compilation, Copyright © 2017 by Andrew K. Dart

How Obamacare Allows Companies to Punish Fat Employees.  A few months ago, Tracy Raymond, a first-grade teacher in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, discovered that she was too fat for her school.  A 50-year-old mother of two, Ms. Raymond has always carried around extra padding, but it never bothered her.  "I know I'm heavier than I should be for my height, but I'm not obese," she says.  "I really don't care."  If the diet police has its way, she might have to start caring.  Because according to her employer, her weight is a big problem — so much so that she was warned that if she didn't lose weight and lower her cholesterol, either by participating in a wellness program or fixing the problems on her own, her insurance premiums would increase by $50 a month.  This isn't unique to Palm Beach County.

Planned Parenthood gets $1M in ObamaCare grants.  The Obama administration on Wednesday [9/2/2015] awarded more than $1 million in grants to Planned Parenthood to help promote ObamaCare, a move that is drawing GOP criticism at a time when the healthcare provider is under congressional investigation.  Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) blasted the White House's decision as "unconscionable" in light of allegations of illegal activity in the health provider's fetal tissue program, which has prompted key Republicans to call for a total defunding of the organization.  "A growing body of evidence suggests that Planned Parenthood broke federal law and now the Obama administration is thumbing its nose at Congress and taxpayers by using this backdoor maneuver to boost funding for the scandal-ridden abortion giant," Black wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Obamacare Stimulates the Regulation of Personal Trainers.  [Scroll down]  The reason there are competing organizations and competing certifications is because there are still debates over the "science" of personal training.  The government needs to stay out of it.  Personally, I consider "exercise" or "training" to mean lifting barbells in order to get stronger.  The last thing I want is for Planet Fitness (to use a hypothetical example) to successfully lobby to create standards that support fake gyms that don't offer barbell training and that claim we all should use machines.  Whether I am right or wrong, the government should not be getting involved in this debate.

Big Pizza fights ObamaCare menu mandate.  The pizza lobby is mounting a double-extra-large battle against looming government regulations that would force their franchises to post a dizzying array of calorie counts on their menus.  Under ObamaCare, a Food and Drug Administration rule would require restaurants and food retail shops with over 20 locations, like pizza delivery chains, to post in-store menus displaying nutritional information.  Pizza chains argue this would be particularly tough for them, and take extraordinarily large menu boards

Obamacare's Intent? Just Read the Law.  This is not the first time a media outlet has talked to folks who were involved in the process, and recorded them saying that they never, no way and no how, intended to deny subsidies to states — or reasoning, like Olympia Snowe in [Robert] Pear's article, that they couldn't have set it up this way, because it would be crazy to choose a structure that threatened subsidies for people in states that didn't set up exchanges.  These articles, however, often don't provide important counterarguments.  For example:  Congress indisputably chose exactly that crazy, insane, totally inconceivable structure for the Medicaid expansion passed in the same law.  In fact, it was considerably more coercive:  if you didn't expand, you lost all your Medicaid funding, not just the new stuff.  Why would Congress choose a structure that might result in a net loss of insurance coverage?  We can sit around and speculate, but ultimately the correct answer is "Who cares?  They did."

The 5 Most Profound Political Quotes Of The Last 5 Years.  [#5] "We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it."  Nancy Pelosi's shameful utterance about Obamacare has become the standard in America over the last few years.  Enormous bills are put together in secret; the public is deliberately misled about what the legislation does; politicians don't even bother to read what they're voting on and then it takes years for the courts to finish ruling on what the hundreds of pages of tortured legalisms actually mean.  That's no way to run a country and it's no wonder that both politicians and the law itself are increasingly held in contempt if that's the best we can do.

Overreaching in Plain English.  In 2010, you see, President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act into law.  It requires that all federal agencies use "clear government communication that the public can understand and use."  In 2011, Obama took the plain-language initiative a step further.  He issued an executive order (No. 13563) that demands that government "regulations are accessible, consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand."  Too bad these actions came after ObamaCare, which Nancy Pelosi said Congress had to pass so we could find out what was in it.

Is Barack Obama An Imperial President?  During an appearance on the Janet Mefferd Show, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) warned that a provision within Obamacare could create an armed "secret security force".  That force goes by the name "Federal Protective Services" which is a "Federal Police Force."  NOTHING in the Constitution authorized a Federal Police Force.  It appears Obama is setting up his own version of the S.S.  No wonder Obamacare is so important to him.  It gives him his own private army.  WHAT does that have to do with healthcare?

U.S. CEOs threaten to pull tacit Obamacare support over 'wellness' spat.  Leading U.S. CEOs, angered by the Obama administration's challenge to certain "workplace wellness" programs, are threatening to side with anti-Obamacare forces unless the government backs off, according to people familiar with the matter.  Major U.S. corporations have broadly supported President Barack Obama's healthcare reform despite concerns over several of its elements, largely because it included provisions encouraging the wellness programs.

Obamacare loophole gives employers a $3,000 incentive to hire illegal immigrants.  A perverse loophole in the Affordable Care Act will soon make illegal immigrants more affordable to hire than native-born Americans.  Once millions of people living in the U.S. illegally receive resident cards and work permits, they will be eligible to hold jobs and earn wages.  But they won't qualify for Obamacare benefits or subsidies.  That means employers with 50 or more full-time workers can't be penalized for failing to provide them with company-based medical insurance.  Ordinarily that fine amounts to $3,000 per worker, per year.

ObamaCare: A legislative Trojan horse.  With enrollment now open for ObamaCare's second year, millions of Americans are getting a first look at what their healthcare future holds — namely higher prices and fewer choices.  This may come as a surprise to ObamaCare's new enrollees, who were promised exactly the opposite.  But it isn't a surprise to ObamaCare's architects, who designed the law precisely so that Americans couldn't know what it would do and how it would hurt them.

Obamacare offers firms $3,000 incentive to hire illegals over native-born workers.  Under the president's new amnesty, businesses will have a $3,000-per-employee incentive to hire illegal immigrants over native-born workers because of a quirk of Obamacare.  President Obama's temporary amnesty, which lasts three years, declares up to 5 million illegal immigrants to be lawfully in the country and eligible for work permits, but it still deems them ineligible for public benefits such as buying insurance on Obamacare's health exchanges.

The Editor says...
Is that a "quirk" or a carefully-placed component of the law?

How a taxpayer bail out that could run into billions was built in to Obamacare to protect insurance companies.  A provision of the Obamacare law known as 'risk corridors' provides the safety valve for insurance companies if they keep rate hikes modest but still wind up in the red.  According to that system, insurers whose claims in 2014 are 3 percent higher than what was projected will recover half of the differen[ce] from the government.  If claims are 8 percent or more above projections, taxpayers cover 80 per cent of the company's losses.

Obama administration creates slush fund to bribe insurance companies to keep rates low.  That's not how the administration is characterizing the new regulations buried in dozens of new rules released last week.  But read this and tell me it isn't exactly as I describe it; a slush fund that will make payments to multi-billion dollar companies — as long as they keep premium increases low in advance of the November elections.

Federal funds earmarked to offset Affordable Care Act insurer losses.  The Obama administration has quietly adjusted key provisions of its signature healthcare law to potentially make billions of additional taxpayer dollars available to the insurance industry if companies providing coverage through the Affordable Care Act lose money.  The move was buried in hundreds of pages of new regulations issued late last week.  It comes as part of an intensive administration effort to hold down premium increases for next year, a top priority for the White House as the rates will be announced ahead of this fall's congressional elections.  Administration officials for months have denied charges by opponents that they plan a "bailout" for insurance companies providing coverage under the healthcare law.

Bribery, ObamaCare Style.  Last week, the administration promised insurers it would use "other sources of funding" to protect their profits "in the unlikely event" that ObamaCare costs more than expected.  The language was buried in a 435-page regulatory filing that only the industry would normally care about.  But it caught the eye of the Washington Examiner's Philip Klein on Friday [5/16/2014].  The bailout story got legs this week when the Los Angeles Times followed suit, noting that the regulatory change could "potentially make billions of additional taxpayer dollars available to the insurance industry."  Keep in mind that only a few weeks ago, White House officials were denying that any such bailout existed in ObamaCare.  The "risk corridor" program at issue, a White House budget spokesman said in March, was merely a "safety valve for consumers and insurers" transitioning to a "brand new market."

You Can't Buy Insurance At Any Time Anymore.  Funny, this was passed out to all of the news media, but it only seems to be being reported by Fox News.  Maybe the other media outlets just figure that this deadline will be moved back as well, so why bother? [...] And this is just one of a hundred little details about Obama-Care that they didn't want people to know about.  And there are plenty more where this came from.

Latest ObamaCare surprise: Most won't be able to buy health insurance until end of year.  There is yet another ObamaCare surprise waiting for consumers:  from now until the next open enrollment at the end of this year, most people will simply not be able to buy any health insurance at all, even outside the exchanges.  "It's all closed down.  You cannot buy a policy that is a qualified policy for the purpose of the ACA (the Affordable Care Act) until next year on January 1," says John DiVito, president of Flexbenefit which has 2,500 brokers.

A Catastrophe Like No Other.  Support it or not, you cannot look at ObamaCare and call it anything but a huge, historic mess.  It is also utterly unique in the annals of American lawmaking and government administration.  Its biggest proponent in Congress, the Democratic speaker of the House, literally said — blithely, mindlessly, but in a way forthcomingly — that we have to pass the bill to find out what's in it.  It is a cliché to note this.  But really, Nancy Pelosi's statement was a historic admission that she was fighting hard for something she herself didn't understand, but she had every confidence regulators and bureaucratic interpreters would tell her in time what she'd done.  This is how we make laws now.

For some who are married but filing taxes separately, another HealthCare.gov hurdle.  In May 2012, when the Internal Revenue Service proposed its rules for Americans to get government subsidies for health insurance, officials acknowledged that a legal quirk needed to be fixed:  The Affordable Care Act was written in a way that inadvertently denied such help to some people who live apart from spouses who abuse them, are in prison or are on the cusp of a divorce.  The problem is that the law's authors, in creating tax credits to help pay for health plans bought through the new insurance marketplaces, had overlooked the fact that some married people file their tax returns separately.

Obamacare Anniversary: Are You (and the Constitution) Better Off than Four Years Ago?  It's time to shift our focus from rhetoric to results, and ask Ronald Reagan's immortal question:  Are you better off today than you were four years ago?  And is the Constitution?  Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law on Mar. 23, 2010.  It is 2,700 pages long, authorizes tens of thousands of pages worth of regulations that carry the force of law (with countless more coming), and effectuates a massive overhaul of one sixth of the U.S. economy.

Insurers: ACA demands full reimbursement for kids' eyewear.  Due to interpretations of new federal health-care laws, some local children are leaving optical shops with expensive designer frames and the best lenses money can buy.  Insurance money, that is.  According to insurance and vision sources, some plan options with the largest insurance companies in Washington state are allowing patients 18 and younger the run of eyewear display cases.  From the very inexpensive to the very best, kids are picking out whatever glasses and contacts they wish, thanks to some interpretations of the Affordable Care Act.

MaineCare application asks personal questions, such as where a child was conceived.  Single parents applying online for MaineCare coverage are being asked personal questions — such as whether their child was conceived in Maine and why the absent parent no longer lives in the home — as part of the application.  From a scroll-down menu of possible reasons that the other parent left home, the MaineCare applicant can choose "unwed parenthood, divorce, abandonment, death, separation, incarceration" and others.

Hidden in Obama Mandate: Employers Not Allowed To Fire Anyone.  On Monday night's [2/10/2014] Kelly File, Megyn Kelly covered the ObamaCare Employer Mandate delay, focusing "on one little nugget" that was "found under a mountain of new regulations" which stipulates that in order to be eligible for this gift from the White House, "the employer may not reduce the size of its workforce or its overall hours of service of its employees."  "Basically", she continued, "what the government is telling employers is that you will not fire a single person.  You will not lay off a single person — if you want to take advantage of our gift.  And you have to certify it under penalty of perjury to the IRS that you didn't do that!"  How is this not fascism as defined as "a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc."

Treasury: Employers must "self-attest" that ObamaCare not behind staffing decisions — under penalty of perjury.  [F.A.] Hayek supported social insurance programs, but warned that crafting them or anything else in the nature of a command economy would not just guarantee economic failure, but increasing lawlessness, arbitrariness, and tyranny from the government that imposes it as it gets desperate to avoid failure.  That cycle appears to be fast-tracked with ObamaCare at Treasury.

Obamacare creates new ways to prosecute American business.  This latest delay represents another political calculation by the White House.  They are counting on the fact that the criticism they will face now for bungling incompetence and disregarding their own law is less than the criticism they would receive for damaging American business closer to the elections.  And the fine print of the latest announcement from the Administration is worse than the terrible headlines.  This rule includes a provision that says you have to have the right motives for having a certain number of employees to be in compliance with Obamacare.  Bear with me, that's right:  You must certify to the IRS — under the threat of perjury — that the reasons for your employee head count have nothing to do with your opposition to or avoidance of Obamacare.

You cannot Just say No to the Obamacare race questionnaire.  [A picture of a form] was sent to me by a reader who went for a visit to a physician, and was told that she could not be seen unless she filled out this race and ethnicity questionnaire, and put her name on the form.  She initially refused, but they insisted that it was required or she could not see the doctor.  The form does indicate that it is mandatory under Section 4302 of Obamacare.

Fifty States of Obamacare Confusion, Stress, and Aggravation.  No matter where you live in the United States, Obamacare is causing headaches, stress, and aggravation for someone near you.  In New Hampshire, vending-machine manufacturers are gasping at the new law's requirements that calorie information be displayed on roughly 5 million vending machines — not just on the packaging of the food inside, but on the vending machine itself: [...]

Vote like the government has its hand in your pocket, because it does.  In real life when you find yourself paying more and getting less, you usually search for another product or service.  With the federal government, it isn't possible to take your business elsewhere unless you are prepared to give up your citizenship, as some have done.  Such a drastic step is rejected by most of us because we still believe in the ideal that once was America, though not in the direction in which the country is currently headed.  At the end of the year comes a letter from the person who prepares my taxes.  He wants me to know about changes in the tax law associated with Obamacare.  It is written in a way that only people with a gift for foreign languages can understand.

Health law to put calorie info on vending machines.  Office workers in search of snacks will be counting calories along with their change under new labeling regulations for vending machines included in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.

Obamacare May Make It 'Literally Impossible' in US Territories to Buy Insurance.  Obamacare was drafted so poorly that residents in America's territories like the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam may literally be unable to purchase health insurance on the private market next year, even if they are healthy and want to voluntarily do so.

A Government of Laws? The ObamaCare Rot.  Nancy Pelosi is off the hook.  Her famous comment that we had to pass ObamaCare to find out what was in it will live on as a shining example of legislative malfeasance and irresponsible governance, of course, but it's no longer operative.  The reason her remark resonated was because it was true:  even the members of Congress who voted for the law seemed to have no idea what much of it said, and therefore they and the public they misled had to find out the hard way.  The reason she is off the hook, however, is that President Obama has now made it clear that it is scarcely relevant what the law says anyway.

The Obamacare 'Shotgun Wedding' — Marry or Lose Your Home.  The problem with solutions is that few of them tend to be perfect, even if they act in a mostly benign manner.  Actions produce reactions, a principle as true in politics as it is in physics, and those tend to multiply when solutions increase in complexity.  The nature of these unintended consequences changes dramatically when complex "solutions" turn out to be poorly designed and incompetently administered.  The rollout of the Affordable Care Act has provided many real-world examples of this, [...]

Next Obamacare crisis: Small-business costs?  Think the canceled health policies hurt the Obamacare cause?  There's another political time bomb lurking that could explode not too long before next year's elections:  rate hikes for small businesses.  Like the canceled individual health plans, it's another example of a trade-off that health care experts have long known about, as the new rules for health insurance prices create winners and losers.

Two-Thirds Oppose Any ObamaCare Insurer Bailout.  [A recent] survey found that 65% oppose a federal bailout of insurance companies that find their profits hit because not enough young, healthy people sign up for ObamaCare plans.  Opposition is widespread, the poll of 907 adults found, with 51% of Democrats, 71% of Republicans and 76% of independents against it.  It's opposed by every age and demographic group as well.  Although few people knew about it until recently, the health law contains a three-year "risk corridor program" designed to bail out insurers if costs were higher than anticipated from too few young people enrolled.

Obamacare's Perilous Protection Plan for Debtors.  "Uh-oh."  That's the sound being uttered in doctors' offices and hospitals across the country as medical providers realize they're getting stuck with another bottomless Obamacare bill.  While the White House desperately tries to pivot from the havoc wrought by the "Affordable Care Act," its hidden regulatory bombs keep exploding.

Coming Soon: Obamacare Burns Down Volunteer Fire Departments.  Through the magic combination of Obamacare and the IRS, volunteer firefighters may be considered "employees," and their volunteer fire departments may be forced to give them healthcare.  Or pay penalties that would force them to shut down.

Update:
First responders exempt from Obamacare employer calculations, Treasury says.  The Treasury said Friday [1/10/2014] it will not count "nominally compensated" volunteer firefighters or emergency medical services personnel as full-time employees when the employer mandate tied to Obamacare takes effect next year.  In a blog post, the department said it reviewed the tax code and concluded it would not be reasonable to count first-responder volunteers against the law's threshold of 50 employees.

Obama's corporatist contraceptive mandate.  The audacity and mendacity with which the Obama administration defends its illegal contraception mandate is standard fare for politics.  What's distinctively Obamian in this fight is the insidious corporatism underlying it all.  Look at the contraception mandate from almost any angle, and you see the corporatism.  Sometimes it's on the surface, and sometimes it's implicit in the arguments.  The contraception mandate is nakedly a huge subsidy to the industry that most firmly supported Obamacare:  the drugmakers.

ObamaCare slams smokers with sky-high premium costs, could backfire.  Unlike drug addicts, alcoholics, or the obese — all of whom represent higher-than-average medical costs — smokers are the only such group with a pre-existing condition that ObamaCare penalizes.  It allows insurance companies to charge smokers up to 50 percent more than non-smokers for an identical policy, depending on the state and any subsidies the person might qualify for.

Senate Republicans tried to block Obamacare rule that caused millions of insurance cancellations.  'I'm still learning about it,' Paul said [11/11/2013] of the Affordable Care Act.  'It's 20,000 pages of regulations.  The Bill was 2,000 pages.  And I didn't realize this until this week — the whole idea of you losing or getting your insurance cancelled wasn't in the original Obamacare [law].  It was a regulation written by President Obama, three months later.'

Obamacare Leaves Doctors On the Hook for Deadbeats.  Tucked inside nearly 11,000 pages of the Affordable Care Act is a little-known provision that doles out three months of free health care to individuals who choose to default on their premiums.  People who receive the federal subsidy to be part of Obamacare will be allowed to incur a three-month "grace period" if they can't pay their premiums and then simply cancel their policies, stiffing the doctors and hospitals.  Their only repercussion is that they have to wait until the following year's open enrollment if they want coverage on the exchange.

More hot water for Sebelius and the ObamaCare crew.  One of the reasons that allowing Sebelius to keep her job is ridiculous is that under ObamaCare, the HHS Secretary becomes the single most powerful bureaucrat on the planet.  The Affordable Care Act's huge stack of regulations include hundreds of matters left to the discretion of the Secretary.  Another example is the hangman's noose of regulations that have been strangling so many insurance plans over the past few weeks.

Fox News' Megyn Kelly Grills Slippery 'Architect' of ObamaCare.  Fox News' Megyn Kelly hosted Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel on her show Friday night and called him an "interesting guy." [...] At the heart of ObamaCare is Emanuel's 'complete lives' system proposal — i.e. reduce costs by cutting health services to individuals who are prevented from "being or becoming participating citizens."  According to the doctor, the Hippocratic Oath is way overrated.  A utilitarian-minded government panel takes the place of the doctor-patient relationship and decides who's a financial drain and who's not.  On his list of those who need care, but shouldn't necessarily receive it, are newborns, toddlers, the disabled, those with genetic disorders, late-stage cancer, Alzheimer's, dementia, and senior citizens who have already consumed maximum resources.

Like all welfare programs, Obamacare penalizes marriage.
Tying the Knot Under ObamaCare.  The heinous intrusions into our lives as a result of ObamaCare swell each day.  Now, in true Marxist form, the ludicrously named "Affordable Care Act" mounts an all-out attack on marriage. [...] A 60-year old husband and wife, each with an income of $15,000 would pay over $4,000 per year if they remain married.  Put in other terms, the government would offer an annual bonus of $4,212 if the couple divorces and then cohabits."

11,588,500 Words: Obamacare Regs 30x as Long as Law.  What is commonly known as the Obamacare law includes both the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (HCERA).  Since these bills were signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2010, various agencies in the administration have published 109 final regulations spelling out how they are to be implemented.  These 109 final regulations account for a combined 10,535 pages in the Federal Register, where the government officially published them.  The Federal Register presents the regulations in relatively small type with three columns of text on each page.

Report: Credit Score to 'Have a Big Impact' on How Much People Pay for Obamacare.  A Florida TV station reports that people's credit score's will "have a big impact" on how much they pay for Obamacare:  [Video clip]  "As more and for families are looking for insurance options for the new Affordable Care Act, they're finding out their credit score will have a big impact on how much they pay," reports an anchor.  "A lot of people want to know why credit scores are determining how much they pay."

Gotta hand it to him — at least he didn't lie.
Asked If He's Read 10,535 Pages of Obamacare Regs, Sen. Warner Walks Away.  When Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) was asked on Wednesday whether he has read all 10,535 pages of final Obamacare that the administration has so for published in the Federal Register, he first gave a response that did not address the question.  When Warner was asked the question a second time, he walked away without answering.

Waxman on 10,535 Pages of Obamacare Regs: 'Is It Important That I Read It?'  When asked by CNSNews.com whether he had read all 10,535 pages of final Obamacare regulations that have so far been published in the Federal Register, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) asked in return whether it was "important" the he read them, dismissed the inquiry as a "propaganda question," and did not ultimately anwer.

The Editor says...
Mr. Waxman's tacit admission that he hasn't read all 10,535 pages of obscure legalese is forgivable, since I doubt if anyone had read it all.  But the obvious follow-up question would be, "How many pages have you read?"  One wonders how an elected representative can vote for a bill that he hasn't read, or how the people of his state can repeatedly vote for him.

Business Owners May Face $100-Per-Day Penalty Under ObamaCare.  Small business owners who thought they were off the hook for ObamaCare regulations until 2015 may be in for an expensive wake-up call next month.  Beginning Oct. 1, any business with at least one employee and $500,000 in annual revenue must notify all employees by letter about the Affordable Care Act's health-care exchanges, or face up to a $100-per-day fine.  The requirement applies to any business regulated under the Fair Labor Standards Act, regardless of size.

How Obamacare killed amnesty.  Susan Jones had a good story up at CNS Friday [8/23/2013], catching Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius telling a Latino group in Philadelphia Thursday [8/22/2013] that amnesty was key to them getting access to Obamacare.  "The (Obamacare) bill is crafted in such a way that those who are undocumented will not have access to the tax credits or shopping in the (health insurance) marketplace," Sebelius said.

Rand Paul claims Obamacare will include diagnostic codes for [...].  In a little-noticed speech to the Iowa Republican Party this month, Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul mocked President Obama's signature health care overhaul, noting the 122,000 new medical diagnostic codes doctors will have to use in order to inform the government about injuries sustained by Americans.  Those codes, said Sen. Paul, a medical doctor himself, include line-items for 'injuries sustained from a turtle,' 'walking into a lamppost' and 'injuries sustained from burning water skis.'

Obamacare's empress strikes again.  In 2010, shortly after President Obama's health care legislation was signed into law, I dubbed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius the "Empress of Obamacare" for the vast new powers she inherited.  Reading through the text of the law, I counted more than 2,500 references to the secretary of HHS, of which more than 700 referred to instances in which she "shall" do something and more than 200 cases in which she "may" take regulatory action.

5 Ways the Immigration Bill Is Like Obamacare.  Nancy Pelosi wasn't kidding when she said Congress would have to pass Obamacare "to see what's in it."  That's because the bill gave federal agencies free rein to write regulations that would become the real-world version of the law — and even though it passed in 2010, the regulations are still being written today.

New components are being added every week.
Tens of thousands Obamacare 'navigators' to be hired.  Tens of thousands of health care professionals, union workers and community activists hired as "navigators" to help Americans choose Obamacare options starting Oct. 1 could earn $20 an hour or more, according to new regulations issued Wednesday [4/3/2013].  The 63-page rule covering navigators, drawn up by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, also said the government will provide free translators for those not fluent in English — no matter what their native language is.

Obamavote: Healthcare application registers voters, too.  The 61-page online Obamacare draft application for health care includes asking if the applicant wants to register to vote, raising the specter that pro-Obama groups being tapped to help Americans sign up for the program will also steer them to register with the Democratic Party.  On page 59, after numerous questions about the applicant's identity and qualification for Obamacare, comes the question:  "Would you like to register to vote?"  The placement of the question could lead some to believe they have to register to vote to get health care.

Their Own Devices.  The Affordable Care Act has been a running series of nasty non-surprises, with many more on the way — gird yourself for 116% insurance premium increases — but sometimes the surprises are real.  Take the amazing bipartisan turn against the 2.3% tax on medical device makers, even among liberals who still evince no remorse for voting for the overall bill three years ago.  Not that the media noticed, but on Thursday night [3/21/2013] ObamaCare's $29 billion excise tax on device sales (not profits) lost on the Senate floor in a rout.

CBO: ObamaCare Kills Jobs.  Remember when Nancy Pelosi said that we had to pass ObamaCare to find out what was in it?  [Video clip]  Two points about that statement:  One, we now know why she didn't want this stuff out before it passed.  Two, given all the bad things that have already come out about this monstrosity of a program, I don't really want to know more, I want it to be repealed at the earliest possible opportunity.

ObamaCare Turns Three: 10 Disturbing Facts Americans Have Learned.  ObamaCare backers typically tout popular features that went into effect almost immediately.  The law expanded Medicare's drug coverage, for example, and let children stay on their parents' plans until they turned 26.  But the bulk of ObamaCare doesn't take effect until next year.  That's when the so-called insurance exchanges are supposed to be up and running, when the mandate on individuals and businesses kicks in, and when the avalanche of regulations on the insurance industry hits.

Employers, Unions Outraged by $63-Per-Worker Obamacare Fee.  A provision buried inside Obamacare will force many employers to pay an extra $63 per employee next year.  Analysts say most of the cost will likely be passed on to workers.  "It's caught most employers, if not all employers, by surprise," said National Business Group on Health Vice President of Public Policy Steve Wojcik.  "They're very upset about it."

The Editor says...
Since they call it a fee, does that mean it's not a tax?

Another Hidden Obamacare Nugget About To Whack Big Employers.  This was one of those "have to pass the law to find out what's in it" surprises that was buried so deep in this monstrosity that most of the companies that will be affected by it didn't notice it at first.  It's not too hard to figure out where large companies that are going to be forced to spend tens of millions extra next year are going to get that money.

Obamacare May Bite You At The Vet's Office.  You may want to start saving more money for veterinarian care this year.  The reason goes all the way back to Washington and an unintended consequence from medical reform.

Obamacare: Seven Feet of Job-Killing Regulations.  Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell sent out a shocking photo showing what it looks like if you stack every page of Obamacare regulations one on top of the other.  The stack reaches to more than seven feet in height [...]

20,000 Pages of Federal Regulations Create Obamacare Tower.  What a nightmare.  Thank you, Democrats.

More than 700 pages of healthcare rules released.  The Obama administration on Friday released more than 700 pages of new regulations to implement portions of the Affordable Care Act.  The four rules, which are scheduled for publication in mid-March, finalize both major and minor parts of the healthcare reform law that Congress passed in 2010.  Three of the regulations are final and roll out the multistate healthcare exchanges and reforms to the insurance market, including provisions to encourage cost-sharing, stabilize health insurance premiums and prevent providers from denying coverage.

Guess what! It's time for 700 pages more of fun Obamacare regulations.  Nancy Pelosi was wrong:  Even after passing the bill, no one could have possibly known what was in it!  That's because America's finest bureaucrats are creating a galaxy of amazing new rules to implement provisions of the "Affordable Care Act".  In the traditional Friday-night document dump that is the hallmark of how the Obama Administration operates, The Hill writer Megan Wilson reports that over 700 pages of new rules were released [...]

Supermarkets cry foul as FDA proposes new food labeling rule under ObamaCare.  Supermarket owners argue a pending federal food-labeling rule that stems from the new health care law would overburden thousands of grocers and convenience store owners — to the tune of $1 billion in the first year alone.

Secret gun-rights provision in ObamaCare?  Nancy Pelosi was right — they didn't know what was in ObamaCare until it passed!  Of course, in this case all she needed to do was ask her buddy Harry Reid, who apparently sandbagged his party's gun-control wing by inserting an interesting clause in the 2800-page bill that no one in Congress bothered to read before voting on it.

How a Secret Gun Provision Made its Way Into Obamacare Legislation.  The Washington Post first reported on Dec. 30 about the presence of this controversial wording.  Under a section with the headline "Protection of Second Amendment Gun Rights," the NRA-advocated wording is nestled deep within the law.  The Post called the inclusion, "a largely overlooked but significant challenge to a movement in American medicine to treat firearms as a matter of public health."  As the outlet also noted, it was in the final stretch of the debate over Obama's health care legislation that the NRA successfully pushed to insert this language.

Get ready for the costs and chaos of Obamacare.  Nancy Pelosi was widely mocked when she said of Obamacare, "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."  At the time, March 2010, Pelosi's words accurately described the Democrats' just-get-it-done approach to passing a national health care bill.  But now it turns out Pelosi was wrong.  In fact, we have to implement Obamacare so that you can find out what is in it.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad ObamaCare.  Now post-election, new regulations are pouring out from HHS — more than 13,000 pages so far and yet nuts-and-bolts questions are still unanswered.  Most of what we know so far comes from a 17-page question-and-answer document that HHS divulged this week, though none of the answers have the force of law and HHS says they're subject to change at any moment.  HHS is generally issuing rules with only 30 days for public comment when the standard is 60 days and for complex regulations 90 days and more.

Surprise New Insurance Fee in Health Overhaul Law.  Your medical plan is facing an unexpected expense, so you probably are, too.  It's a new, $63-per-head annual fee to cushion the cost of covering people with pre-existing conditions under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.  The charge, buried in a recent regulation, works out to tens of millions of dollars for the largest companies, employers say.  Most of that is likely to be passed on to workers.

Health care law surprise: $63 per-person fee for three years.  The $63-per-head fee — buried in a recent regulation — will hit health plans serving an estimated 190 million Americans, mostly workers and their families.

Surprise: New insurance fee in health overhaul law.  Your medical plan is facing an unexpected expense, so you probably are, too.  It's a new, $63-per-head fee to cushion the cost of covering people with pre-existing conditions under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Obamacare fee of $63 per person to begin in 2014.  Your medical plan is facing an unexpected expense, so you probably are, too.  It's a new, $63-per-head fee to cushion the cost of covering people with pre-existing conditions under President Obama's health care overhaul.  The charge, buried in a recent regulation, works out to tens of millions of dollars for the largest companies, employers say.  Most of that is likely to be passed on to workers.

Obamacare May Hike Your Pet's Health Care Bills.  American health care consumers aren't the only ones who will be hit by slated Obamacare tax hikes.  Medical bills for their pets may go up as well.  According to a rule published Friday [12/7/2012] by the Internal Revenue Service, some medical devices used in veterinary practices will be hit by Obamacare's 2.3 percent device tax.

IRS aims to clarify investment income tax under healthcare law.  The Internal Revenue Service has released new rules for investment income taxes on capital gains and dividends earned by high-income individuals that passed Congress as part of the 2010 healthcare reform law.

Obamacare regulations 620 times the length of the U.S. Constitution.  Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson commented on the release of the following info-graphic highlighting the length of Obamacare's regulations.  "Our Counsel John Vinci has noted that Obamacare's regulations are now 2,864,094 pages long.  That's about 700,000 pages more than when last reported at the end of February.  This is 620 times the length of the U.S. Constitution.
[Emphasis added.]

Just 32 months later, Obama administration tells us what ObamaCare plans must have in them.  [T]he federal government was demanding governors finish their detailed plans for implementing state-based health care exchanges four days before it even told them exactly what plans in those exchanges had to look like.

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood."

— James Madison    

Hospitals scramble to limit readmissions, avoid new penalties.  Under federal penalties that kicked in Oct. 1 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, hospitals lose Medicare reimbursements if their patients are readmitted at an excessive rate.

Nanny State: Obamacare Now Regulating Pizza.  Section 4205 of PPACA (ObamaCare) requires any pizzeria, grocery, or convenience store with more than 20 locations to post calorie information in their store on menu boards.  The way the bill is written, Dominos, for example, will have to write out the caloric information for 34 million different pizza combinations (yes, they've done the math on that).

Obamacare Allows Government To Use Force To Do Home Inspections.  [W]hen Obama and the liberals were trying to sell Obamacare to the American people, they certainly didn't mention that it would mean hostile government goons could force their way into your home so that soulless, unelected bureaucrats can micromanage your life, did they?  Every few weeks, some fresh outrage from the bill is revealed.  So, how many more of these ugly little surprises are there in the law?

Sometimes Friday document dumps happen on Thursday, if Friday is a federal holiday.
HHS releases 1,296 pages of regulations ahead of holiday weekend.  As Americans scrambled ahead of the July Fourth holiday weekend on Thursday afternoon [7/3/2014], the Department of Health and Human Services released 1,296 pages of new regulations dealing with payment rates to doctors and hospitals.  The timing of the news release is part of a long pattern for President Obama's administration, which has often used holidays as an opportunity to dump dense regulatory changes when most reporters and Americans are focused on their holiday plans.  The release came at 4:15 p.m.

Obamacare Now Covers Gender Reassignment Surgeries.  Transgender Americans seeking gender reassignment surgeries are finding relief through Obamacare, The Daily Beast reported on Monday [8/25/2014].  Federal laws banning health insurance discrimination against transgender people, combined with Obamacare's ban on denying coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, have paved a path for transgender patients who wish to make the transition from one gender to another.

Obamacare Covers Foreign Diplomats.  Obamacare has a loophole that allows foreign diplomats to receive healthcare subsidies, the House Ways and Means and Foreign Affairs Committees revealed Wednesday as they announced a joint investigation.  "According to the Department of Health and Human Services, foreign diplomats holding 'A' or 'G' visas are eligible to participate in an array of medical programs administered by the federal government, including participation in Health Insurance Marketplaces governed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA)," wrote chairmen Ed Royce and Dave Camp in a letter to to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

Democrats Go All in Defending Obamacare for DACA Illegal Aliens: 'They're American!'  Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Democrats are going all in to defend forcing American taxpayers to subsidize health insurance benefits for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.  In April, President Joe Biden announced plans to open Obamacare and Medicaid rolls, both subsidized by American taxpayers, to nearly 600,000 DACA illegal aliens.  Former President Barack Obama first created the DACA program via executive order, shielding more than a million illegal aliens from deportation through the years.

Hillarycare overview:
Thank you, Hillary Clinton!  Reaching back through the mists of time, I am remembering the midterm elections of 1994.  As the returns came in, ABC's Peter Jennings was compelled to accuse America's voters of throwing a temper tantrum for giving the GOP control of Congress for the first time in over forty years. [...] Two issues in particular conspired to push the results.  The first was the congressional check-kiting scandal — where the members' captive post office was used as a money laundry and ATM.  The other was much more political.  First Lady Hillary Clinton was tasked with "reinventing" health care.  She held a series of secret meetings with alleged experts... thus invoking profound suspicion among much of the electorate.  Then, like a bomb, the resulting package was dropped on the public.  Beyond extensively micro-managing what was already a rather complicated business, Hillary's brain child went so far as to outlaw private practice.

Had Hillary Clinton Won the Election....  She would be happily selling access, favors and our remaining freedoms out from under us.  She would be further eviscerating our military and she would be raising taxes to fund Obamacare even though it is a clear and present disaster.  Anyone who doubts that should look up Hillarycare, the monstrosity she designed behind closed doors when her husband was in the White House.  Her plan would dictate who could go to medical school, what specialty they would "choose," and where they would be compelled to practice.  Her plan was the U.K.'s NHS on steroids.  Her plan was rationed care and death panels from hell.

Here comes HillaryCare 2.0.  May it suffer the same fate as HillaryCare 1.0.  As reported by The Hill, President Obama wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association that "I think Congress should revisit a public plan to compete alongside private insurers in areas of the country where competition is limited."  As he notes, such a plan was included in the early drafts of what would become known as Obamacare.  What he doesn't note is that at the time such a proposal was a bridge too far even for a good number of Democrats.  Opposition to the public option was, admittedly, in part because of pressure from the health insurance industry, whose powerful lobby eventually had a major part in drafting the Affordable Care Act.

Mitt Romney Praises Obamacare, Admits He Helped Pave the Way.  Former Massachusetts Governor and failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney admits that Romneycare, passed while he was governor, was the precursor to Obamacare.

Romney says Romneycare led to Obamacare.  Mitt Romney says in a new interview that his health reform plan in Massachusetts was a necessary step toward ObamaCare and that the federal health law has given health insurance to "a lot" of people.

Mitt Romney Finally Takes Credit For Obamacare.  It's a good thing for him that Mitt Romney isn't running for president again.  The 2012 GOP presidential nominee — who has still been bandied about as a potential candidate — just embraced everything that made many conservatives skeptical of him.  He admitted that the health care plan he instituted as governor of Massachusetts was the precursor to Obamacare.

Shoot for the Moon.  Sarah Kliff, formerly of the Washington Post, dissects the failure of Obamacare in Massachusetts.  In article titled "How Massachusetts screwed up Obamacare" she describes how they "shot for the moon" and missed.  The irony was the Massachusetts seemed to have all the elements of success.  It had the RomneyCare system; it was a blue state; it is one of the information technology centers of America. [...] Yet it did so badly that the Commonwealth is junking the site, essentially scuttling the ship.

Obama Appears on Morning of Obamacare Replacement Vote to Insist ACA Not a 'Job-Killer'.  Former President Obama surfaced this morning to defend the Affordable Care Act as House Republicans tried to wrangle last-minute votes for today's promised vote on the American Health Care Act.  "Ultimately, after a century of talk, decades of trying, and a year of bipartisan debate, our generation was the one that succeeded" in passing healthcare reform, Obama declared in a statement issued by his office.  "We finally declared that in America, healthcare is not a privilege for a few, but a right for everybody."

Obamacare's Worst Hits.  Employers burdened by Obamacare have laid off employees to manage costs, or shifted employees to part-time status. [...] According to the Congressional Budget Office, 2 million jobs worth of hours will be lost by 2025 due to Obamacare. [...] Many employers around the country have reduced employee hours because they are unable to afford Obamacare.

Obamacare killed 300,000 jobs, 10,200 companies, $19B in wages.  A new report certain to spur quicker GOP action to kill Obamacare finds that it has crushed small businesses forced to participate and robbed employees of $19 billion in wages in 2015.  What's more, the American Action Forum analysis found that Affordable Care Act regulations have cost 295,030 jobs and killed 10,130 small businesses that year.  A similar report on Obamacare's regulatory impact in 2014 put the price at $22 billion in lost wages.

Report: 300,000 Small Business Jobs Lost Due to Obamacare.  Obamacare has cost roughly 300,000 small business jobs due to higher health care costs, according to a new report.  The American Action Forum, a center-right policy institute, released findings Wednesday that rising premiums and regulations under the Affordable Care Act have had "dire" consequences for the labor market.  The report found the law has cost $19 billion in lost wages per year and forced 10,000 small businesses establishments to close their doors.  The study covered employers with 20 to 99 employees.

Maria Bartiromo Brutally Schools Jonathan Gruber on Obamacare Job Loss.  Remind me to never get on the bad side of Maria Bartiromo.  After watching Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber wither during her incisive interview Tuesday on Fox News' Mornings With Maria one could almost feel sorry for the guy.  Almost.  What riled up Bartiromo was Gruber's smug assertion of no job losses due to Obamacare despite Bartiromo citing business executives telling her the opposite.  After Gruber brushed her off for supposedly relying on anecdotes rather than hard data, the fireworks began as we shall see.  [Video clip]

Epic: Maria Bartiromo -vs- Jonathan Gruber.  Maria Bartiromo interviews Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber on the impact of ObamaCare on small business and U.S. economic growth.  [Video clip]

Study: Obamacare Penalizes Americans Who Work Full-time.  A new study on the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University shows that the health care law penalizes Americans who work full-time, will reduce the number of full-time workers, and rewards those who work less.  "The ACA's employment taxes create strong incentives to work less," the study, The Affordable Care Act and the New Economics of Part-Time Work, states.  "The health subsidies' structure will put millions in a position in which working part-time (29 hours or fewer, as defined by the ACA) will yield more disposable income than working their normal full-time schedule."

Tanning industry blames 10,000 salon closings on 'Obamacare'.  Business owners around the country say the little-noticed 10 percent tax on tanning in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul has crippled the industry, forcing the closing of nearly 10,000 of the more than 18,000 tanning salons in the U.S.

Obama's rules have drained small business.  Thanks to ObamaCare, startups with more than 50 employees must now provide health care benefits or pay a penalty of $2,000 per full-time employee.  Employers already providing health care face higher costs and are penalized for giving better benefits or cash for employees to purchase health care.  And employees have higher deductibles, reduced benefits and fewer choices in doctors.

Seven Giant Scandals That Barack Obama Just Couldn't Keep Undercover!  [#2] The Affordable Care Act:  The dreaded Obamacare.  This was just a horrible, horrible lie perpetrated upon the American people.  "If you like your plan, you can keep your plan!"  He was so adamant about it.  Well, really good liars usually are.  With thousands of peoples healthcare plans dropped, and premiums gone through the roof, it is by far the biggest job-killer today.

$15 hammer.  I work for a 48-store specialty retailer, with 45 of our stores located in California.  To say that the past year or so has been difficult is an understatement.  Management has squeezed labor to the point that we are now running a 38,000-square-foot storefront with two shifts of 4-6 people per shift.  With one manager, and one to one and half cashiers, this leaves 3-4 staff members to provide customer service throughout the balance of the operation.  Around one year ago, the company purged about half of its full-time employees, as its expenses outweighed their value.  (Thank you, ObamaCare)

Beware Obama, the Benevolent.  In an effort to avoid the Obamacare mandate, many companies reduced workers to fewer than 30 hours per week.  This reduction of employees to part-time status continues to cause endless difficulties.  Employees have fewer hours and less income than they want, and employers have a harder time staffing their companies.  But the Obama administration continues to expand its grip on all aspects of American life.

Obamacare Tightens the Yoke on Small Business.  One of the worst of Obamacare's ill-conceived provisions went quietly into effect on January 1.  The employer mandate, previously inflicted only on businesses with 100 or more employees, will now be imposed on those with as few as 50.  This mandate will prevent countless small employers from hiring workers they would otherwise have hired and incentivize many others to replace full-time employees with part-timers.  It is such an obvious job killer that the Obama administration delayed enforcement until after the 2014 midterms, the liberal Urban Institute has called for its repeal, and it has even been obliquely criticized by Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Blames ObamaCare for Lost Jobs.  The Democratic front-runner therefore said openly that legislation she supported, and still supports, resulted in loss of full-time employment for the working people whom the Democrats claim to represent.  All of these consequences were easily foreseeable back in 2010 when Nancy Pelosi told Congress that it had to vote for the bill to see what was in it, and added that she was willing to sacrifice House seats (other than her own, of course) to pass it.  Bart Stupak (D-MI) and my own representative Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) were among those who destroyed their political careers along with, as it turns out, millions of full-time jobs and health insurance policies.

Big Damage to Hiring Emerges as Key Impact Of Obama's Healthcare.  The economics of Obamacare are very bad.  The law is inflicting broad damage on job creation and new-business formation.  It ruins job incentives by making it pay more not to work, thereby intensifying a labor shortage that is holding back growth and in turn lowering incomes and spending.  Across-the-board Obamacare tax increases are inflicting heavy punishment on investment — right when the U.S. economy desperately needs more capital as a way of solving a steep productivity decline.  Because of Obamacare, there's an additional 0.9% Medicare tax on salaries and self-employment income, a 3.8% tax increase on capital gains and dividends, a cap on health-care flexible spending accounts, a higher threshold for itemized medical-expense deductions, and a stiff penalty on employer reimbursements for individual employee health-policy premiums.

347 More Workers Fired Due to ObamaCare.  After the Supreme Court decision, the debate over ObamaCare is over, right?  Tell that to the Mercy Health workers who just lost their jobs. [...] This may explain why ObamaCare only has a 43% approval rating based on Real Clear Politics poll of polls.  Well, that, and the $2.6 trillion dollar price tag.

CBO: Repealing Obamacare would boost economic growth.  Repealing Obamacare would boost economic growth by an average of 0.7 percent after several years, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office released on Friday [6/19/2015].  "CBO has determined what many in Congress have known all along," Republican Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi of Wyoming said in a statement.  "This law acts as an anchor on our economy by dragging down employment and reducing labor force participation.  Repeal would make the economy grow faster in the budget office's projections mostly because of the removal provisions of the law that reduce the supply of labor.

Obama: Obamacare "Hasn't Done Too Bad In Terms Of Employment... Just Saying".  [Quoting Barack H. Obama] This this [sic] morning we learned our economy created 223,000 new jobs last month.  The unemployment rate ticked down again to 5.4%, lowest it's been in almost seven years. [...] I should add by the way, 62 months ago is when I signed the Affordable Care Act so obviously it hasn't done too bad in terms of employment in this country.  Just thought I'd mention that.

The Editor says...
The unemployment rate goes down only because workers are giving up any hope of finding a job, and dropping out of the job market.  Just thought I'd mention that.

Milwaukee-based Assurant Health to be sold off or shut down.  The parent company of Assurant Health said Tuesday that it will sell or shut down the Milwaukee health insurer — which employs 1,200 people in the area — by the end of next year.  Assurant Health has struggled to adjust to changes in the health insurance market imposed by the Affordable Care Act and is expected to report an operating loss of $80 million to $90 million in its first quarter.  That comes after it lost $64 million last year.

Survey: ObamaCare Mandates Causing Shorter Workdays, Layoffs.  Raise the cost of something, and inevitably demand for that thing goes down.  It's a venerable principle in economics.  So five years ago when ObamaCare was being enacted, we and many others warned that its coverage mandates for employers would result in hours being cut back and workers being laid off. [...] Now comes a survey of 743 personnel executives by the Society of Human Resource Management, as reported by Robert King of the Washington Examiner, that shows businesses are doing just that.  Nearly 14% of firms have cut part-time hours for workers, King wrote, and another 6% plan to do so.

Discount and Department Stores Boost Manager Ranks by 46% in Two Years, Hours Up 88%.  In the last two years, hours worked by managers at discount and department stores are up 86% while hours worked by non-supervisor employees is down.  Why?  Supervisors don't get paid overtime.  It's yet another artifact of Obamacare.

Mobberly Baptist Church to close daycare due to Obamacare.  Mobberly Baptist Church announced Thursday [2/12/2015] they will no longer be providing daycare due to the cost of Obamacare and will be closing their Child Development Center (CDC) on March 13.  Parents were informed of the decision to close the center Thursday [2/12/2015] during separate open forums.

Obama Lectures Staples For Limiting Part Time Hours: 'Shame on Them'.  President Obama doesn't sympathize with companies that are cutting part-time hours to keep workers under the threshold of the 30-hour work week, thanks to Obamacare.  In an interview with Buzzfeed's Ben Smith, Obama took issue with a story about the office supply company Staples threatening to fire workers who work more than 25 hours a week.

Staples slams Obama's 'attack' on its health-care policy.  The news website BuzzFeed had reported earlier this week that Staples had toughened up enforcement of a rule limiting part-time staff to 25 hours.  The story reported that the company's stance was seen by many workers as an effort to avoid paying benefits.  Under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, companies with more than 50 employees have to pay for health insurance for people who work 30 hours a week or more.

Obama Tells Companies Never To Complain About ObamaCare.  The issue is how Staples will cope with the high costs of the ObamaCare employer mandate, which went into effect this year.  Any worker who puts in more than 30 hours a week is now considered full time, and companies like Staples face a $3,000 fine for each of these former part-timers if they don't offer them "affordable" insurance.  According to Obama, these companies should just suck it up and never, ever complain in public.  "When I hear large corporations that make billions of dollars in profits trying to blame our interest in providing health insurance as an excuse for cutting back workers' wages, shame on them," he said.

House passes 40-hour workweek for Obamacare; Dems buck Obama veto threat.  Congress took its first swipes at Obamacare on Thursday with the House approving a bill to cancel the law's 30-hour workweek provision, though only a dozen Democrats bucked President Obama on the vote.  Republicans set the showdown as an initial test of how many Democrats would be willing to defect against a lame-duck president and after the GOP relentlessly attacked Obamacare in November's election campaigns, riding those attacks to big gains.

Senators slam White House threat to veto $53B Obamacare hours fix.  Congressional lawmakers, including Democrats, rebuked the White House on Wednesday for refusing to allow tweaks to Obamacare, saying President Obama is reneging on his promise to work to fix problems in the law.  A day after the White House said it would veto a bill to re-establish the 40-hour workweek standard, House and Senate members said they would press ahead and dare the president to oppose them.

Some businesses use part-time to meet health law.  Many businesses in low-wage industries have hired more part-time workers and cut the hours of full-timers recently to soften the impact of new health law requirements that take effect Thursday, some consultants say.  The strategies have had only a modest impact on job growth, which has accelerated substantially this year, but could take a somewhat bigger toll next year as firms gear up for an expanded health care mandate in 2016.  A majority of small businesses say the Affordable Care Act already has hurt their profits, forcing them to reduce or postpone investment, withhold raises or trim other types of benefits, according to a new survey by the top small-business trade group.

Obamacare Causing Big Layoffs for Union Nurses.  Kaiser Permanente and other health providers are putting pressure on the powerful California Nurses Association (CAN) in negotiations for reductions in medical staffing and compensation due to the implementation of California's version of Obamacare.  Union nurses on Friday tried to launch a new initiative by demanding an extra compensation supplement and more staffing to be prepared to fight the Ebola virus.  But just three years after union nurses won huge contract gains by striking, Obamacare rules that cut patient access to care could now result in huge nurse layoffs.

Obamacare Is a Job-Slashing, Deficit-Deepening Disaster.  A report out today from the Republican staff of the Senate Budget Committee highlights a critical point about Obamacare:  The law's negative effect on labor markets helps explain why it will increase deficits by $131 billion over the next 10 years.  This finding stands in stark contrast to Democrats' repeated assertions that the law will reduce the deficit.  The public dialogue on Obamacare has thus far largely focused on how the law affects premiums and limits access to certain health insurance plans or doctors.  While these side-effects are troublesome, it is perhaps more significant that Obamacare has had — and will continue to have — a substantial impact on labor markets, jobs and the budget picture.

Steel Plant Manager to Obama: Why Are Health Care Costs Rising?  President Obama held a town hall yesterday [10/3/2014] in Indiana, and faced a question from a steel plant manager about rising health care costs. [...] The man said, "One of the questions I had is about the health care costs.  We are seeing almost a double-digit increase in health care costs every year.  So do you think that trends will go down and what can we do to control that trend?"  Obama answered, "The question is whether you guys are shopping effectively enough, because it turns out that this year, and in fact over the course of the last four years, premiums have gone up at the slowest rate in 50 years."

Obamacare's Job Killing Employer Mandate.  The employer mandate will require that all American businesses with 50 or more full-time employees (defined as working 30 or more hours per week) provide health insurance or else pay a penalty. Businesses that do not comply will receive a steep fine of $2,000 for each full-time employee beginning with the 51st person.  After being delayed twice since 2012, the mandate is expected to go into effect in 2016.  In the case of Panola Pepper Corporation, President and CEO Mike Coullard explains that his small business simply can neither afford to accommodate the mandate (by providing insurance for all employees) nor pay the penalty fines.  While operating within a very small profit margin in this impoverished area of the country, Panola Pepper must now consider machinery options to replace employees.

Take It From A Restaurant Executive: Obamacare Is Shifting Workers Into Part-Time Jobs.  This is a serious issue hurting real people and demanding a realistic analysis.  With both the Urban Institute report and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data through August of 2014 now in hand, it seems like a good time to re-examine ObamaCare's impact on part time employment.

Obama's Spin Can't Keep Up With America's Economic Reality.  Specifically related to the cause of the economy's poor levels of job creation and household income growth, an August 25 report in Forbes by economist John Goodman documented via Federal Reserve surveys that Obamacare is a key reason for the nation's persevering joblessness and declining levels of inflation-adjusted household income.  "Three Federal Reserve Banks — in Philadelphia, New York and Atlanta — have released business surveys that confirm what many of us have been predicting," Goodman reported.  "The new health law is discouraging a significant number of firms from hiring and is also pushing workers into part-time rather than full-time jobs."

CNBC Host Takes a Wild Stab at One Explanation for the Lackluster August Jobs Report Numbers.  CNBC financial analyst and host Jim Cramer attributed at least partial blame for the lackluster August jobs report to the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.  Cramer posed that companies that have between 30 to 50 employees are waiting to see if they will expand to 50 employees and beyond, due to the increased financial obligations of the (illegally) suspended employer mandate.  The ACA requires businesses with more than 50 employees to provide health insurance to all employees, and many businesses are straining to grow their businesses with their current workforce, rather than hire more workers.

Ag companies sift through employer mandate confusion.  The employer mandate portion of health reform continues to be one of the most contentious pieces of the law, and its ability to polarize debate is matched only by the dauntingly complicated requirements of how and when and for whom employers of different sizes must provide coverage for their employees.  The complications only get worse in the agricultural industry, where a majority of workers are seasonally employed for months at a time, rather than on an ongoing or permanent basis, making it difficult to define a "full-time employee."

The Employer Mandate is a Goner.  Conservatives have long known that Obamacare's employer mandate, if implemented, will create harmful distortions in the labor market and damage the economy.  The mandate will force small employers to rebuff workers they would hire in its absence, and it will incentivize large employers to replace full-time employees with part-timers.

IRS: Employers Face $36,500 Per Worker Tax for 'Obamacare Dumping'.  The Internal Revenue Service ruled it will impose a tax penalty on employers of up to $36,500 per worker for dumping employees into the Obamacare exchanges. [...] The IRS ruling is an effort by the Obama administration to stop employers with 50 or more workers from doing what critics of the health law said they would do:  pay a penalty for not providing insurance and dump workers into the unpopular Obamacare program.

What the IRS Obamacare ruling means.  The headline at the New York times suggests that the Obama administration has cut the escape for business' trying to avoid the costs of Obamacare: [...] But while some might crow over this change here is what it's going to mean:  [#1]  Pink slips.  You don't have to provide health insurance to people who do not work for you.  If the government won't allow companies to make a cost-effective decision they will cut those costs a different way and the cheapest and fastest is to cut people.  [#2]  Part Timers:  If you can't afford to lose people the next choice will be to reduce hours or create new part-time positions to replace the full-time ones that required insurance coverage.  [#3]  Hiring Freezes:  If you work for a company on the edge of the Healthcare requirements and in an industry where part-time workers simply won't do be prepared to do a lot more work with a lot less help.

Report: One Obamacare Tax Could Cost Up To 286,000 Jobs.  Just one of Obamacare's many taxes could cost the U.S. hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next decade, according to an industry report published Tuesday.  The National Federation of Independent Business projects that between 152,000 and 286,000 jobs will be lost by 2023 due to Obamacare's health insurance tax.  NFIB, a nonprofit association of business owners, actively supports the repeal of the tax.  The health insurance tax has proved to be one of Obamacare's more controversial fundraising measures.  The tax targets insurance companies, charging each one proportional to their market share — the more health plans sold (Obamacare's goal, the more insurers are required to pay.

Downhill:  Obamacare vs. ski areas.  Among Obamacare's myriad negative effects on small businesses could be this:  shorter ski seasons in New Hampshire.  At a forum on the Affordable Care Act held last week, Greg Goddard, general manager of Gunstock Ski Resort, said the resort might shorten its season because it cannot afford to offer health insurance to its full-time seasonal employees who work for more than 120 consecutive days, as the law requires.  "We may not be able to open beyond 120 days; it may be Christmas to the middle of March ... the summer season may be the fourth of July until Labor Day," he said.  Similar problems could hit summer resorts.

Maryland grocery careful not to expand beyond 49 full-time employees.  "We won't be hiring any baggers or any more cashiers for right now," says the manager of this independent grocer in Silver Spring.

Maryland Grocery Store Forced to Cut Hours Due to Obamacare.  A well-loved Maryland supermarket is being forced to limit the amount of full time workers they hire because of the harsh mandates imposed by Obamacare.  Snider's Superfoods, family owned and operated since 1946, says that they will not be hiring any new baggers or cashiers in order to avoid the 50 worker threshold, which under the new Obamacare stipulations, would require that they provide health insurance if they employ 50 or more full time workers.

Obamacare Era: 50 Worst Months of Employment in Past 25 Years.  "In the end, history is not kind to those who would deny Americans their basic economic security.  Nobody remembers well those who stand in the way of America's progress or our people.  And that's what the Affordable Care Act represents."  President Obama, who made that statement last week, has never uttered truer words.  Obama's signature legislation is plainly standing in the way of Americans' economic security and progress, a fact for which he and his congressional allies won't be remembered kindly.

The Part Time President's Part Time Jobs.  192,000 jobs were created last month according to the Department of Labor's somewhat flawed mathematics that the media is eager to ignore.  Because hidden inside that job gain is another disheartening sign for the workforce:  the number of workers who could only find part-time jobs rose by 225,000.  Leading the field in job creation, not surprisingly, was education and health services with 34,000 jobs — thank you Obamacare — the retail trade with about 22,000 jobs — thank you Obamacare — and temporary workers with 28,500 jobs — thank you Obamacare.

18 Democrats join GOP to restore 40-hour work week under Obamacare.  Facing withering pressure to stick with the president and block any GOP effort to change Obamacare, 18 Democrats crossed the aisle to join Republicans Thursday [4/3/2014] in replacing the 30-hour work week with the traditional 40 hours, a major boost to small businesses.  Voting 248-179, the House passed Indiana Republican Rep. Todd Young's "Save American Workers Act," which repealed Obamacare's 30-hour definition of full-time employment.

Millions of Americans forced to work part time.  After five years of being in and out of work, Tara Dublin found a job a few weeks ago as a hostess at a restaurant in Portland, Ore.  "I've been hired by this restaurant I absolutely love, but it's a part-time position," Dublin says. [...] In the Labor Department statistics, Dublin falls into the category of people "forced" to work part time.  There are some 7.4 million of them in America.

Yes, ObamaCare Kills Jobs.  File this under "Not Exactly News."  Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of basic economics understood that the complex and burdensome system of mandates in ObamaCare would impede job creation. [...] There are two Americas.  In one America, people understand economics.  In the other America, people vote for Democrats.

Confusing Obamacare regs define 30-hour week as 40 hours.  The administration is confusing and frustrating businesses and lawmakers with new Obamacare regulations that define full-time as working just 30 hours, but sometimes rely on the traditional 40-hour week and even a new and unheard of standard of 35 hours in guidance to employers facing a maze of requirements.  Congressional officials and business leaders, for example, cited to Secrets IRS guidance issued in February.  That 227-page package, they said, appears to set two standards:  30 hours for hourly workers, and 40 hours for salaried workers even though the law requires employers to offer healthcare to those who work 30 hours or more, or pay a fine.

300,000-member union drops bombshell Obamacare report.  The 300,000-member union that was the first to endorse then-Senator Barack Obama has released a devastating Obamacare report that says Obama's controversial healthcare program will slash worker wages by up to $5 an hour, reduce worker hours, and exacerbate income inequality.  The report by Unite Here — a North American labor union that represents workers in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, and airport industries — is titled: "The Irony of ObamaCare: Making Inequality Worse."

Obamacare costs may force UNC to cut hours for 6,500 employees.  Obamacare could cost the University of North Carolina (UNC) system as much as $47 million per year starting in 2015 — and the universities may cut hours and jobs to comply, Campus Reform has learned.  The Affordable Care Act requires the system to start providing insurance for 8,586 non-permanent employees who work more than 30 hours per week — but UNC is considering just cutting their hours to avoid having to pay for the insurance, Marty Kotis, a member of UNC Board of Governors' Budget and Finance Committee, writes on his blog, the Greensboro Observer.

Medicare's 'suicide reimbursement rates' force firings at medical firms.  A dramatic cut in Medicare payments to medical suppliers, coupled with a 250-percent increase in audits, is hitting large and small firms hard, with one mail-order company revealing that it had to fire eight workers just to stay open.  The slash in payments is the result of Medicare's controversial competitive bidding program that began implementation in 2011.  It was heralded as a way to cuts costs and increase competition.  But bidders such as equipment suppliers and hospitals charged that it has caused layoffs, forced companies to close and delayed hospital discharges.

Our Overregulated Government.  Last week the New York Times reported on an example of unhelpful behavior from Washington:  "Cities, counties, public schools and community colleges around the country have limited or reduced the work hours of part-time employees to avoid having to provide them with health insurance under the Affordable Care Act."  That's right, ObamaCare's employer mandate applies to the public as well as the private sector, and although it's been delayed until next year, "many public employers have already adopted policies, laws or regulations" to avoid its costliest effects, the Times reports.

Study: 33,000 Jobs Impacted Due To Obamacare's Medical Device Tax.  "According to the report, the tax has led to employment reductions of approximately 14,000 industry workers and foregone hiring of 19,000 workers," the study stated.

Sebelius Lied, Jobs Died: Here Are 33,000 Jobs In Just One Industry Lost Because Of Obamacare.  There are so many bad features of Obamacare we were mislead [sic] on that we're going to have come up for a euphemism for lying — maybe the administration is "truth impaired"?  "Honesty-challenged?"  The latest comes from just one industry reporting how many jobs were lost because of the medical device tax that was included in the bill in order to raise money to pay for its poorly designed ponzi scheme: [...]

House panel votes to repeal Obamacare's medical device tax.  A powerful House committee approved a bill Tuesday [6/2/2015] to repeal Obamacare's medical device tax, a provision that's been criticized by members of both parties as a misguided way to pay for the health overhaul.  The Ways and Means Committee voted 25-14 to repeal the 2.3-percent excise on sales of pacemakers, artificial joints and other devices, with Rep. Ron Kind of Wisconsin the lone Democrat to support the bill.

Sebelius Denies Well-Documented ObamaCare Joblessness.  Secretary of HHS Kathleen Sebelius claims "there is absolutely no evidence" that health reform is killing jobs.  Liars are legion in politics, but they usually stop short of claiming the sun didn't rise this morning.

Obama delivers on jobs.  Silly us.  Here we've been criticizing the Obama administration for the dismal job growth we've seen these past five years.  Turns out, we've got it backward.  We've been measuring the president by the jobs the economy has been creating during his tenure.  If two top Obama officials are right, we should count it an Obama success that more Americans will decide not to work.

The United States of Decline.  Meanwhile, as the American Enterprise Institute's Marc Thiessen wrote in the February 10 Washington Post, new Congressional Budget Office figures show that Obamacare will reduce U.S. incomes by $70 billion annually between 2017 and 2024.  The CBO also estimated that by 2021, Obamacare's disincentives to hire and incentives not to work would slash labor hours by the equivalent of 2.3 million jobs.  Rather than dispute these figures, key Democrats embraced them. [...] So, rather than expand economic growth and jobs, Democrats applaud as Americans stop working — to do watercolors, draft poetry, and take naps — while exhausted taxpayers foot the bill.

Sebelius claims there's 'absolutely no evidence' Obamacare will cost jobs, defying CBO estimate.  Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters on Monday [2/17/2014] that there is 'absolutely no evidence' that the United States will lose jobs as a consequence of implementing the Affordable Care Act.  But the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office declared on February 4 that the Obamacare law would suck the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time jobs out of the U.S. economy by 2024.

A mandate for layoffs.  The White House has just made [an] admission about ObamaCare:  Its employer mandate creates an incentive for businesses to lay off workers.  That's not how the administration puts it, of course.  But a new rule requiring certain businesses to certify — on pain of perjury — that layoffs they make are not ObamaCare-related rests on this assumption.  This new requirement is a byproduct of the decision to extend for yet another year the waiver of the health insurance mandate for businesses with 50-99 employees.

Government's insane hallucinations.  Once upon a time, people could start businesses in America and run them as they saw fit.  People can no longer do that.  Instead, businesses must conform to insanely expensive one-size-fits-all health insurance requirements imposed by a group of people who have never run a business, never met a payroll and never had to worry about making a profit.

Government's insane hallucinations.  Obamacare results in higher unemployment as employers shy away from the insane expenses and government requirements endemic in the ACA.  To stay in business, many employers must reduce worker hours or reduce the number of employees.

When Will the Backlash Occur?  In its most updated assessment of the ACA, the government's own Congressional Budget Office caught the Democrats flat-footed by projecting that the law is severely flawed on a number of fronts, matching in many ways what the ACA opponents clearly and repeatedly warned about.  Aside from all of its other negative impacts, millions of jobs will be lost, specifically due to this law.

CBO Obamacare job loss worse than reported.  The Obama machine is scrambling to minimize damage inflicted by the Congressional Budget Office's report that Obamacare will have a negative impact on employment, delaying yet again parts of the employer mandate, and forcing employers to swear Orwellian oaths that they won't cut workers.  But a full reading of the CBO report shows that job loss could be even worse than previously reported.

An Executive Order that Hurts.  Employers with 50 to 99 employees have been given yet another one of these fiat waivers from Obama.  And the employers with over 100 employees can now cry foul, and even a Democrat might see the inconsistencies and injustices of the recent waiver.  Employers with over 100 employees — say 110 — are still bound to obey and incur fines, no taxes, (or is a penalty?).  They are being placed in a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace.

Obama's Corruption of the English Language Comes Right From Orwell's "1984".  Politicians are always trying to put the best face on unpleasant occurrences — what we call spin.  But nothing comes close to the White House response to a study from the Congressional Budget Office that by 2024 ObamaCare will cost the economy the equivalent of 2.5 million jobs.

Obamacare's war on jobs.  In the ongoing saga of the Affordable Care Act, oddly referred to by Democrats as the law of the land even as it is amended at will by presidential fiat, we are beginning to understand the extent of its war on jobs.  First, the Congressional Budget Office triples its estimate of the drop in the workforce resulting from the disincentive introduced by Obamacare's insurance subsidies:  2 million by 2017, 2.3 million by 2021.

At the ObamaCare Improv.  If Mr. Obama really wanted to help alleviate labor market uncertainty, then he'd ask Congress to repeal the mandate permanently.  No business is going to take the long-term risk of hiring and staffing decisions based on a temporary mandate holiday declared through unilateral administrative discretion.

Why Democrats Hate Work.  Last week, the Congressional Budget Office released a report discussing the ramifications of Obamacare.  The report revealed that the work-hour equivalent of approximately 2.5 million jobs would disappear from the workforce, thanks to Obamacare, in a voluntary process in which employees would simply dump out of their jobs, knowing they could get health care through expanded Medicaid and federal subsidies they would lose by working.

Obamacare's $70 billion pay cut.  In his State of the Union address, President Obama urged Congress to "give America a raise."  Well, it turns out that Obama is giving America a $70 billion annual pay cut, courtesy of Obamacare.  That is the overlooked nugget in the new Congressional Budget Office report detailing the economic costs of Obamacare.

Obama Twerks America.  No... you cannot keep your insurance, no matter how much you like it.  You also can't keep your doctor, or your full-time job.  Twenty-nine hours a week or less of gainful employment will have to suffice going forward.  And that's a good thing.  Just ask any Democrat — it's freedom from job-lock.  Americans, thanks to Barack Obama, now have the right to be unemployed. [...] Besides, stop your whining, are there not food stamps, acquirable in an instant?  How much does he have to do for you people?

The Phony 'Job Lock' Escape Defense.  All this job-lock talk was sparked to defend ObamaCare after the Congressional Budget Office reported the work disincentives it creates will lead to the loss of the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time jobs.  But it turns out that the Democrats' claim that millions can't escape the jobs they have solely because of health insurance is debatable.  And to the extent that job lock is a problem, it's far from clear that ObamaCare will solve it.

The Democrats' 'War on Work'.  As with many things, I don't think these liberals believe what they are saying.  They have to have a "War on Work," because if work were good for you, they'd have to explain why the labor participation rate is at or near all-time lows.  Ninety plus million have given up even trying to find employment or, if my guess is correct, are working part time under the table and not reporting their income to the IRS, who are too busy harassing conservatives to notice anyway.  We are moving toward an era like the old Soviet Union where the joke went:  "We pretend to work and they pretend to pay us."  All power to the black market.

Obamacare Is Anything But Compassionate.  The verdict is in, and it's not good: Obamacare is rippling through the U.S. economy with vast implications for American prosperity.  On Friday, we learned that the Obama economy has hit stall speed, with a paltry 113,000 jobs added in January.  Two days earlier, we learned the president's health care law is discouraging Americans from working, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.  The report makes for bracing reading.  The law will reduce the labor supply by the equivalent of 2.3 million full-time workers, the CBO says — up from an estimated 800,000 just three years ago.

MSM Whitewashes CBO Obamacare Report.  Does Obamacare really kill jobs?  For anyone capable of absorbing objective data, the inescapable answer is a resounding "Yes."  In fact, one of the ironies of the "Affordable Care Act" is that it has already caused mass layoffs in the very industry it purports to reform.  It has, for example, forced the Cleveland Clinic to lay off thousands of employees. [...] In other words, the real issue here is that Obamacare is a confirmed job killer.  No informed observer will refute that well-documented reality.

Obamacare Will Reduce Incomes of 80 Percent of Americans, Says Liberal Think Tank.  A new study by the liberal Brookings Institution has concluded that the overwhelming majority of Americans will have their net incomes lowered because of Obamacare.  The study finds that while the bottom 20% of income earners will see their incomes rise, the remaining 80% will see their incomes decline because of the bill passed with 100% Democrat support.

5 Devastating Obamacare Facts From CBO's Latest Economic Report.  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just released its latest analysis of the country's economic and budget outlook, and it's a doozy. [...] It's so bad that there's even a report section entitled, "How Much Will the ACA Reduce Employment in the Longer Term?"  (Spoiler alert:  a lot).  As predicted by its conservative opponents, Obamacare has indeed destroyed jobs, increased spending, and made health care less accessible.

The Risible ObamaCare Counterattacks.  What was striking to me about the CBO report was how it detailed a problem with ObamaCare that had gone all but unnoticed in the debates over its passage and in the criticisms of it since:  The way in which its complex system of subsidies might create perverse incentives for people who receive the subsidies.  The very real possibility is that this "disincentive to work," as the CBO's own director put it to Congress, will be the proverbial straw that breaks ObamaCare's back.  It's not the report itself, in other words; it's what the report reports.

Demonomics.  The CBO report projected that by 2021 under ObamaCare more than 2 million full-time workers will find it financially advisable to quit work entirely or switch to part-time jobs in order to get more subsidies for healthcare insurance.  To most of us who studied real economics or just paid attention to human nature, subsidizing indolence means you'll get more of it.

Lose Your Job and Feel Liberated.  This week, a report from the Congressional Budget Office acknowledged that ObamaCare would reduce full-time employment by 2.5 million over the next ten years.  And that is on top of news that 92 million Americans who could be working are not.  What a devastating assessment for the unemployed or underemployed, particular millenials seeking to transition from internships and part-time jobs to career-building full-time jobs.  Yet the predictable spin from the White House and major media outlets is that this is good news, liberating workers from the chains of employment.

CBO nearly triples estimate of working hours lost by 2021 due to Affordable Care Act.  A historically high number of people will be locked out of the workforce by 2021, according to a report by the Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday [2/4/2014].  President Barack Obama's signature health-care law will contribute to this phenomenon, the CBO said, citing new estimates that the Affordable Care Act will cause a larger-than-expected reduction in working hours — eliminating the equivalent of about 2.3 million workers in 2021.

Obamacare will push 2 million workers out of labor market: CBO.  Obamacare will push the equivalent of about 2 million workers out of the labor market by 2017 as employees decide either to work fewer hours or drop out of the job market altogether, according to estimates released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office.

The Jobless Care Act.  There are 7.8 million Americans working part-time who want full-time work, including a fry cook whose restaurant cut his hours to avoid Affordable Care Act mandates and confronted President Obama in an online Google Q&A last week:  "We can't survive.  It's not a living."  Mr. Obama changed the subject to raising the minimum wage.  But he can't dodge reality forever as the evidence piles up that ObamaCare is harming the labor market.

Elitist lipstick on the CBO pig.  This is elitist clap-trap which appeals to the kind of people who take a sabbatical, but which angers all of those people who struggle to make their car payments, keep Mastercard off their backs, and pay for braces for little Suzie and Johnny.  Jason Furman, Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, embarrassed himself yesterday explaining why it is a good thing that 2.5 million people will leave the workforce thanks to Obamacare, with a performance Brit Hume described as "pathetic."

Specter of welfare state jolts Democrats.  The White House and congressional Democrats are trying to limit the fallout from the politically damaging conclusion in a Congressional Budget Office report that the Obamacare entitlement creates a major incentive for some people not to work.  While some critics focused on a finding by the CBO that Obamacare will result in 2.5 million fewer workers over a decade, conservatives said the bigger fundamental issue highlighted in the report is one familiar to the welfare state — that taxpayer-funded government subsidies provide disincentives for full-time work.

More than 2.3 million full-time jobs will be lost because of Obamacare by 2021.  The Affordable Care Act will push the equivalent of 2.3 million full-time workers out of the U.S. labor force by the year 2021, according to a stunning report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday [2/4/2014].  The office's latest estimates threaten to puncture the Obama administration's argument that Obamacare won't be a long-term job killer, since incentives built into the health care law appear to be discouraging taxpayers from working.

CBO: Health-care law will mean 2 million fewer workers.  The Affordable Care Act will reduce the number of full-time workers by more than 2 million in coming years, congressional budget analysts said Tuesday [2/4/2014], a finding that sent the White House scrambling to defend a law that has bedeviled President Obama for years.  After obtaining coverage through the health law, some workers may forgo employment, while others may reduce hours, according to a report by the Congressional Budget Office.

The Left's Lamest Defense Of ObamaCare Yet.  The Congressional Budget Office determined that ObamaCare would discourage work, in large part because many middle-income families will find themselves in what amounts to a 50% marginal income tax bracket as ObamaCare subsidies tail off.  As a result, there'd be 2.5 million fewer "full-time equivalent" jobs and a 1% drop in overall compensation.  This doesn't sound so good.  But to liberals, it's supposed to be music to our ears.  As the New York Times explained, it's "a liberating result of the law."

White House Responds to CBO: Claims That Obamacare 'Hurts Jobs' Not Supported by Facts.  On Tuesday afternoon [2/4/2013], the White House responded to the Congressional Budget Office's new annual budget projection, arguing that the details of the report did not support claims that Obamacare was eliminating jobs.  "Claims that the Affordable Care Act hurts jobs are simply belied by the facts in the CBO report," the statement read.  "CBO's findings are not driven by an assumption that ACA will lead employers to eliminate jobs or reduce hours; in fact the report itself says that there is 'no compelling evidence that part-time employment has increased as a result of the ACA."

Reid: Obamacare Doesn't Cost Jobs, It Turns Workers Into 'Free Agents'.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the Congressional Budget Office report that shows Obamacare will make the labor force lose 2.3 million full-time workers by 2021 is positive because it lets Americans be "free agents." [...] The CBO report primarily looked at how employers would respond to the penalty for not offering health insurance to employees working more than 30 hours per week.  Businesses could respond by cutting people's hours, hiring fewer workers and offering lower wages to incoming workers.

Fry Cook Shifted to Part-Time Work Confronts Obama.  During a Google Hangout session on Friday [1/31/2014], fry cook Darnell Summers told President Obama that his hours were cut due to the Affordable Care Act.  "We were broken down to part time to avoid paying health insurance," he said.  Summers explained that he makes $7.25 an hour and has been on strike four times seeking a wage increase.  "We can't survive, it's not livin'," he said.  The president responded by urging states to increase the minimum wage.

Bill Clinton's favorite DC restaurant shuts down buffet due to Obamacare.  One of former President Bill Clinton's favorite restaurants has eliminated its Friday buffet due to Obamacare.  "We regret we had to make this decision but unfortunately we face new expenses as a result of the Healthcare reform and the Friday Buffet, though wonderful, was not profitable and required extra staff which we can no longer sustain," a notice at the Georgetown Italian restaurant's website reads.

Ersatz.  They said health rationing would never come, that if you liked your plan and doctor, you could keep it.  They lied, and now that that's over let's move on.  Since it's the government's doctor not yours any more, Maryland has announced a bold deal with state and federal officials not to treat people unnecessarily. [...] Yes, progress is not treating people.  Hospitals are preparing for this brave new world by firing employees.

Protecting Volunteer Firefighters from Obamacare.  Rep. Lou Barletta (R., Pa.) introduced a bill Tuesday [12/10/2013] that will exempt volunteer fire departments from having to pay for their members' insurance benefits.  The current IRS policy defines volunteer firefighters as employees for federal tax purposes.  If voted into law, the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act will redefine volunteers as non-employees, which will relieve fire departments from the burden of paying for volunteers' health insurance.

Obama's Recovery: Still 7.3 Million Jobs Below Average.  The average monthly growth over the past four years is just 158,000.  During the Reagan recovery, in contrast, monthly job growth averaged 244,000 (at a time when the U.S. had a much smaller population).  Indeed, had Obama's recovery been merely as good as the average recovery since World War II, there would be 7.3 million more people employed today.  Unfortunately, despite promising this week that he will "relentlessly push a growth agenda," Obama continues to saddle the economy with anti-growth policies — massive regulations, higher taxes and, worst of all, the job-killing ObamaCare employer mandate.

Small Businesses Say ACA's Aggregation Rules Unfair.  Donna Baker of Adrian, Mich., owns an accounting firm, payroll company and retail store.  Her husband, Kim, is the sixth generation owner of a dairy farm.  While the four businesses are separate entities, they count as one employer under the health-care law due to a technicality — Mrs. Baker is a minority stakeholder in the 1,800-acre property that her husband's farm sits on, plus she helps out with some of the farm's bookkeeping.  As a result, the Bakers are subject to aggregation rules in the U.S. tax code, which means they would be required to offer health-insurance benefits to their combined full-time staff — if it reaches 50 employees — starting in 2015, or pay a penalty.

Top US hospital laying off staff due to Obamacare.  The Cleveland Clinic, which is ranked among the top four U.S. hospitals, is making layoffs and cutting its budget more than $100 million as a direct result of the Affordable Care Act, the Daily Caller has learned.

ObamaCare's arrogance, corruption and abuse is just beginning.  Stories are surfacing of cancer patients — now facing the loss of insurance policies that paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars in life-saving treatments — who cannot access the government run exchange.  Or, if they are successful, their premiums are now dramatically higher, and they can no longer access the clinics and doctors that kept them alive.  Businesses around the country are replacing full-time employees with part-time hires to avoid paying rising, burdensome premiums for qualifying workers.

Obamacare casualty: David's Bridal moves workers to part-time.  Corporate heads for David's Bridal shops have reportedly sent out notices to their employees that due to Obamacare, their full-time services will no longer be needed.  The employees are being shifted into part-time status, The Daily Caller reported. Store managers can't discuss the situation, the news outlet said, and have referred all calls for information to the headquarters office, located in Pennsylvania.  But at least one Twitter poster confirmed the situation and so did a handful of store employees, The Daily Caller reported.

Is ObamaCare A Job Killer? Evidence Suggests Yes.  Is the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) a job killer?  Along with the fate of HealthCare.gov, this question stalks the ACA.  Critics — including me — say "yes." We argue that businesses will try to avoid the requirement to provide health insurance to workers by changing their employment practices.  This would include cutting hours to ensure that workers are "part time" under the ACA, exempting them from coverage.

Obamacare Costs One Indiana School District $6 Million.  It would cost $6 million a year to provide health care to every employee who works more than 30 hours, says the superintendent.

A job engine sputters as hospitals cut staff.  Hospitals, a reliable source of employment growth in the recession and its aftermath, are starting to cut thousands of jobs amid falling insurance payments and in-patient visits.  The payroll cuts are surprising because the Affordable Care Act (ACA), whose implementation took a big step forward this month, is eventually expected to provide health coverage to as many as 30 million additional Americans.

The Editor says...
Obviously the hospital administrators know they won't be paid nearly as much by the government as they were by the private insurance companies.  It is difficult to understand how the writers at USA Today could be surprised by this news, even as they report it.

ObamaCare and the Part-Time Economy.  There are times when the Obama administration makes statements so disconnected from economic reality that you wonder if any White House official has talked with anyone in business.  A case in point:  the administration's mantra that ObamaCare's definition of full-time employment as 30 or more hours per week had no effect on employers' hiring practices.

Survey: Opposition to ObamaCare At All Time Highs; Up to 7 Million Jobs Lost.  Opposition to ObamaCare hit new highs just as it officially gets off the ground, according to the latest IBD/TIPP poll. [...] Nearly one in 10 said that either they or someone in their household has had their hours cut back because of ObamaCare.  That translates into as many as 9 million people.  Meanwhile, 6% say they or another household member has lost a job because of ObamaCare.  In other words, the health law is responsible for as many as 7 million lost jobs.

Obamacare creates jobs — in India.
Obamacare has hidden benefits — for India.  As millions of Americans are encouraged to enrol in health insurance plans under the new system, executives in India's generic drug and software industries foresee an upswing in business.  Nearly 40% of the generic drugs used in the US now come from India, and industry insiders say sales will grow as the reforms collectively known as Obamacare roll out.

Study: Obamacare Costing 66,000 Jobs in Illinois.  The president's health care law is driving down employment in his home state, according to a recent report.  Employers in Illinois are cutting worker hours to avoid costly penalties from Obamacare's employer mandate, where employees in the lowest wage sectors are the hardest hit.  The Illinois Policy Institute studied the three employment sectors — retail, food, and merchandise — whose average hours were closest to 30 hours per week prior to the Affordable Care Act.

IRS Sued Because Obama Amended Obamacare Unconstitutionally.  Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, sued the IRS and the Treasury Department because Barack Obama unlawfully amended Obamacare without Congress.  That caused harm to Dr. Kawa who has 70 employees and made financial expenditures to meet the employer mandate.  There are numerous other companies across the USA that did the same.  Obamacare has already caused millions of job losses nationwide.  More are anticipated.  The majority of Americans have opposed Obamacare because it costs more and has inferior health care.

Emory Healthcare Lays Off 101 Workers Due to Obamacare.  101 employees are losing their job at Emory Healthcare due to Obamacare, the WSBTV reports.  This is just one layoff out of the thousands of companies giving layoffs or reduced hours due to Obamacare.  "I don't like people losing their jobs... A lot of people are going to lose their homes and cars and everything they worked all their life for," said a local resident on hearing the news of the Emory healthcare Obamacare layoffs.

How ObamaCare Wrecks the Work Ethic.  Before the recession, a decision to work would benefit public treasuries by an amount equal to 40% of the compensation from the job.  The worker and his family got the other 60%.  In the years 2015 and beyond, full-time workers with median incomes will keep only half of the compensation created by their decisions, with the other half going to the government in the form of additional taxes and savings on subsidy payments.  By keeping 50% rather than 60%, workers will find that the reward for holding a job will have fallen a damaging 17%.

US employers slashing worker hours to avoid Obamacare insurance mandate.  Forever 21, the clothing store, told staff last month in a memo leaked to the press that it planned to cut hours and reclassify some full-time workers as part-time.  The move, which the company denied had anything to do with President Barack Obama's health reforms, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), will nevertheless help it avoid a mandate under the legislation requiring companies with 50 or more employees to offer those working 30 hours a week or more health insurance.

Welcome to Obamacare — fax us your money!  Months ago, the government that could hardly administer a Cash for Clunkers program had to bail on the "employer mandate," pushing the start date back to Oct. 1, 2015.  That means businesses with more than 50 full-time employees are exempt from Obamacare.  But small businesses, the backbone of the American economy, are still forced to comply with the regressive law.

ObamaCare Employer Mandate: A List Of Cuts To Work Hours, Jobs.  ObamaCare's impact on jobs is hotly debated by politicians and economists.  Critics say the Affordable Care Act, with its employer mandate to provide health insurance, gives businesses an incentive to cut workers' hours.  This year, report after report has rolled in about employers restricting work hours to fewer than 30 per week — the point where the mandate kicks in.  Data also point to a record low workweek in low-wage industries.

The Wrecking Ball Known as ObamaCare.  Daily, one learns that ObamaCare is a job destroyer.  The graph here shows that deep cuts to jobs will continue as "ObamaCare kills off at least two percent of the U.S. full-time workforce."  The list of companies cutting hours for workers continues to grow.  Employers seek to keep staff below the 30-hour threshold set by the not-so Affordable Care Act.  Thus, "according to an April survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 41% of 603 small business owners" are delaying hiring.  In fact, "one in five [have] already cut hours, while 20% have reduced payroll."

Obamacare May Wipe Out 2% of America's Workforce.  If this seems rather terrible, it's what some of the worst European economies already look like with part time jobs for most younger people and a limited reserve of full time jobs for union members and government employees.

Harvard Pilgrim lays off 65 workers, almost all of them in Massachusetts.  In a statement, Harvard Pilgrim said the cutback was "part of a strategic plan to align... organizational structure with the changing health care environment."

Is there a con man in the Oval Office?  Since January 77% of all jobs created in America under Obama have been part-time jobs.  Not surprisingly in a nation with only crummy part-time jobs, the income picture is degenerating into a nightmare.  Real household income has dropped in every year of Obama's Presidency.  A new Census Bureau report reveals that the typical American family under Obama now earns less today than it did in 1989.

Study: Obamacare Could Shrink Workforce by 900,000.  According to a new study, if you're single, earning less than $22,000 annually, and are getting health insurance through your employer, President Obama's law may make you reconsider showing up for work in 2014.  If low-income workers are able to buy reduced-price health insurance through the new federal exchanges, there may be less of an incentive for those workers to keep or find a job, according to three researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a national think tank.

Barnabas Health lays off employees, cites healthcare reform.  Barnabas Health, the second-largest private employer in the state, said today it was forced to lay off employees because of pressures brought about by healthcare reform.  The company refused to say the total number of employees who lost their jobs [...]

Indiana University Lays Off 50 Workers Because of Obamacare.  Indiana University, which currently spends $215 million a year on health care, will shift 50 maintenance and custodial employees to an outside contractor that will hire them and will manage their hours.  According to Indiana's WRTV, the university is doing so to avoid paying for health insurance for the workers — Obamacare will require that all hourly employees who work 30 or more hours a week be provided with "affordable" health insurance.

Four Years Ago Today, Barack Obama Offered America a Pile of Empty Promises.  Obamacare's 30-hour work week has made America a part-time nation.  Forced with the choice of paying for Obamacare's mandates or dropping insurance for their workers, many employers are dropping coverage and cutting work hours down to less than 30 hours per week.  Nearly all of the jobs created during Obama's presidency have been part-time jobs.  Unemployment among the young and minorities is at crisis levels, but Obama is ignoring this crisis. [...] So, rather than scrap the law that clearly isn't working, the Obama administration is going to spend 12 million taxpayer dollars advertising.

Labor Day Lies.  From January 1 through July 31, 77% of the jobs created were part-time.  Less than one out of four people hired got full time work — the opposite of a normal economy.  In April, news about employers shifting to part-time hiring grew to a drumbeat.  Numerous employers cited Obamacare for the change.  The new health law requires employers with fifty or more full-time employees to provide health benefits or pay a fine.  Adding a $5,000 health benefit is affordable when you're hiring lawyers but not entry-level workers.

The Obamanomics decline.  In a healthy economy, when someone leaves his job, it opens up a space for someone else.  Nowadays, full-time replacements aren't being hired — more than two out of every three jobs created this year have been part-time.  That's reflected in the dismal labor-force participation rate that's 3 points lower than it was a decade ago.  That may not sound like much, but it means we have 7.3 million people who've gone from being productive members of society to being idle.  A good deal of the blame for that development can be pinned on the increased costs of hiring full-time employees under Obamacare.

It's Fact, Not Anecdote, That ObamaCare Is Turning Us Into A Part-Time Nation.  The Obama administration continues to discount the huge impact its health overhaul law is having in turning America into a part-time nation, calling reports anecdotal and not based on complete data. [...] An avalanche of "anecdotes" continues to pile up as workers across the country are having their hours cut and their health benefits slashed across a broad range of industries.

Five Groups At Risk of Losing Plans Under ObamaCare.  [Scroll down]  Other part-time workers who currently get coverage from their employers are at risk, as businesses try to minimize costs involved with ObamaCare.  The fact that companies know these workers will be able to buy coverage in the exchanges will likely encourage this trend.  On top of this, businesses are increasingly shifting to more part-time work to avoid the costs of complying with the ObamaCare mandate, since the law will only require that employers offer benefits to those clocking 30 or more hours a week.

Will Obamacare Destroy Jobs?  Before the recession, Richard Clark's cleaning company in Florida had 200 employees, about half of them working full time.  These days it has about 150, with 80% part-time.  The downturn explains some of this.  But Mr Clark also blames Barack Obama's health reform.

Obamacare Leads to More Part-Time Employees.  In order to avoid paying for insurance benefits mandated by President Obama's health care law, employers are moving rapidly to shift their workforce to more part-time and temporary employees.  Employers are also finding other strategies to minimize their exposure to the law's heavy regulatory burdens, according to Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute.  "ObamaCare is the single biggest deterrent to job creation in our economy," said Turner.

Uh-oh.  Your job just went from 30 hours a week to 20.
Sorry: Businesses cannot avoid Obamacare by switching to part-time staff.  The administration has popped the bubble of hope some small business had that switching to part-time staff would let them escape the high costs of Obamacare.  The Small Business Administration on Thursday [8/1/2013] created a website to explain to businesses that the government will simply tally up the number of part-time employees firms have to determine if enough hours have been worked to essentially create a "full-time equivalent."

Obamacare call center hired part-time employees — denying them the health care benefits they are promoting.  A call center due to open in the fall to tell the public about ObamaCare has been criticized for offering half of its employees part-time work, which will deny them the very benefits they have been hired to promote.  Staff and city officials in Contra Costa County have been left dismayed that the successful bid to run one of three Californian call centers has ended in employees being left without benefits.

The full-time White House horror show.  If the failing economy doesn't kill you, Obamacare will. [...] Many businesses, some large and some small, are moving toward an ever-larger part-time roster of workers, all with no health insurance.  Employers are rarely happy with a part-time arrangement; employees never are.  Employers get workers only 50 percent loyal to the company, and employees are often expected to perform full-time work at half pay.

74% of small businesses will fire workers, cut hours under Obamacare.  Despite the administration's controversial decision to delay forcing companies to join Obamacare for a year, three-quarters of small businesses are still making plans to duck the costly law by firing workers, reducing hours of full-time staff, or shift many to part-time, according to a sobering survey released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  "Small businesses expect the requirement to negatively impact their employees.  Twenty-seven percent say they will cut hours to reduce full time employees, 24 percent will reduce hiring, and 23 percent plan to replace full time employees with part-time workers to avoid triggering the mandate," said the Chamber business survey provided to Secrets.

Obamacare's panicked Democrats.  [Scroll down]  Witness the rise of the Obamacare "Forty-Niners."  No, this is not some Keystone Kops version of a San Francisco football team.  The Forty-Niners in the age of Obama is the class of struggling small businesses forced to keep their payroll below 50 full-time employees or face the Democrats' wrath.  If you are the 50th employee, good luck keeping your job.

The Lawless President.  [Scroll down]  This shift to part time work is only further reducing real middle class incomes, which have declined steadily under Obama's Presidency. [...] This is directly attributable to the Obamacare employer mandate, which requires employers of 50 full time workers or more to buy the health insurance for their workers that the government specifies they must buy, or pay a $2,000 fine per worker every year.  Full time is defined as those working 30 hours a week or more.  As a result, many employers are cutting back their workers to 29 hours a week, to avoid the cost increases of Obamacare.

America's second-largest employer is a temp agency.  Behind Wal-Mart, the second-largest employer in America is Kelly Services, a temporary work provider.  Friday's disappointing jobs report showed that part-time jobs are at an all-time high, with 28 million Americans now working part-time.  The report also showed another disturbing fact:  There are now a record number of Americans with temporary jobs.

The Obamacare Jobless Rate Soars from 13.8 percent to 14.3 percent.  While it's true that job growth was robust, it came from the growth of PART-TIME jobs, which are the only kind available.  On a net basis, the economy lost 326,000 fulltime jobs.  Obamacare changes the definition of full time employment to 30 hour a week from 32 hours and requires companies over a certain size to purchase health benefits for all fulltime employees.  As a result, companies are doing what we all knew they would:  They are cutting fulltime employment and replacing it with part-time help.

Part-Time America.  The U.S. labor market may be gaining a little more steam, judging by Friday's June jobs report.  Imagine how much better it might do if ObamaCare weren't encouraging employers to hire so many part-time workers. [...] The disappointments include a big jump of 247,000 in the number of "discouraged workers," those who have stopped looking for a job.

June Jobs Report: Part-Time Jobs Up, Full-Time Jobs Down.  Overall unemployment stayed steady in June at 7.6%.  The economy reportedly created 195,000 jobs in the month.  [But the] quality of the jobs created is not good. [...] This is the ObamaCare effect.  Obama's health care law incentivizes employers to drop workers to below 30 hours per week in order to avoid incurring liabilities or fines.

America's Job Recovery Is Only For Part-Timers.  Certainly five years of "stimulus" by President Obama and quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve haven't helped.  And thousands of pages of new regulations, higher taxes on entrepreneurs and a deep philosophical antipathy toward healthy free markets by this administration have made businesses wary of hiring.  The No. 1 culprit, though, is ObamaCare.  The added costs this monstrous piece of legislation has imposed on employers of full-time workers encourages them to hire only part-timers, who get few benefits and no health care.

Delaying ObamaCare's Employer Mandate Solves Nothing.  The reason the administration delayed the Obama-Care employer mandate was because it was turning into a monumental catastrophe. [...] Businesses that were supposed to benefit the most from it were instead cutting workers, trimming employees' hours and doing whatever else they could to minimize the mandate's costs.  The administration made this problem worse by decreeing that 30 hours constituted full-time work.

Small Businessman Describes Obamacare Hardships.  The owner of Los Angeles based restaurant/bar chain "Barney's Beanery" David Houston described challenges Obamacare is posing to his business Monday [6/24/2013] on "Your World."  Houston said a quarter to a third of his profits "will be eaten up" by increased healthcare costs directly attributable to Obamacare.  However, predicting exactly how much of his profits will be consumed by healthcare reform is difficult because of uncertainty surrounding the law, Houston said.

Dear entrepreneur, we are canceling your health insurance.  As President Obama's health care overhaul begins to change how Americans get their health insurance, the nearly 22 million people who are self-employed will see some of the most dramatic changes, with perhaps half of them headed for the new health exchanges in the fall.

ObamaCare Hits School Districts, Employees.  School districts across the country are digging through the details to see how the Affordable Care Act, known as ObamaCare, will impact their budgets starting January 1, 2014.  The law's mandates are causing schools to fire employees, reduce employee hours, and otherwise slash education spending.  "Since most of [school districts'] budget is people, it is likely that, absent special federal or state funding, there will be some cutbacks.  The exact magnitude will be driven by the size of the cost increases — something that we will not know until they unfold over the next few years," says Michael Shires, a professor of public finance at Pepperdine University.

Poll: 41 percent of small businesses have frozen hiring because of ObamaCare.  The carnage from the worst legislation in modern history keeps piling up.  The latest damage assessment comes from a Gallup poll that shows "Forty-one percent of small businesses surveyed have frozen hiring" because of ObamaCare, while an equally astonishing 19 percent have actually reduced the number of employees in their business specifically as a result of the President's health care reform.  38 percent said they have pulled back on expansion plans.

Still More Evidence That ObamaCare Is Costing Jobs.  'It's about jobs."  That was how then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described ObamaCare shortly before President Obama signed it into law.  Turns out she was right, although not in the way she meant.

Donnelly proposes change to healthcare law.  Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a measure Wednesday [6/19/2013] that would change the definition of a full-time worker under the Affordable Care Act.  The proposal is aimed at preventing workers from having their hours scaled back as businesses try to cope with the additional cost of providing insurance.  Under the ACA, businesses with 50 or more employees must provide healthcare coverage to full-time workers.  Currently, anyone who averages 30 hours or more per week is considered full-time.  But, Donnelly says that's not in line with reality.

Bipartisan bill would soften ObamaCare mandate.  A pair of centrist senators introduced a bill Wednesday [6/19/2013] to soften the employer mandate in President Obama's healthcare law.  The healthcare law requires employers to offer coverage to employees who work more than 30 hours per week.  Some employers have said they will reduce workers' hours to avoid the mandate.  Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) proposed a bill to move the threshold to 40 hours per week, saying the employer mandate should match the traditional definition of a full-time worker.

D.C. restaurant mulls cutting meal portions, staff hours to save money ahead of Obamacare.  Rising costs associated with President Obama's Affordable Care Act has a D.C. restaurant mulling the possibility of making their meals less affordable, less filling, or even cutting costs at the expense of staff.  "For one to two years [Obamacare has] been the No. 1 issue on our radar," Clyde's Chief Financial Officer Jeff Owens told NPR.  "We're not trying to run away from it, but it's a frightening proposition."  Obamacare is forcing the restaurant chain to "rethink its business plan," according to NPR.

More Bad Obamacare News.  Schools in Indiana are being forced to cut back on part-time employee hours to avoid Obamacare's mandates and penalties.

The Only Jobs Obama is Creating Are Low Paying McJobs.  It's a recovery.  A recovery consisting of low end minimum jobs that the Gang of 8 Amnesty would swallow in less than 5 minutes.

ObamaCare's $96 an hour cost spike may end 30-hour workweek.  For a worker making $16 an hour for 29 hours per week, the 30th hour of work each week could cost an employer $112.15.  In other words, ObamaCare could cost an employer as much as $96.15 extra an hour — or six times the going hourly wage in this example.  Here's how:  Employers who offer health coverage that is deemed either too pricey or too skimpy will owe $3,000 for each full-time, 30-hour-per-week, worker who taps ObamaCare subsidies.

ObamaCare's 30-Hour Work Week: Fulfilling a Longtime Leftist Dream?  It turns out that the idea of a 30-hour work week in the U.S. is at least nearly a century old.  Its lineage ultimately goes back to Karl Marx's long-discredited idea of "surplus labor."  In 1919, the 30-hour week was a central but ultimately abandoned demand in nationwide negotiations between unionized coal companies and their United Mine Workers members.

Obamacare Scares Head Start Staffers More than Budget Cuts.  You'd think that at a national Head Start conference, sequestration, across-the-board federal spending cuts, would be the top issue.  No.  Instead, Head Start teachers and administrators told The Daily Caller that the health care law is their biggest headache.

ObamaCare Is Blocking Job Creation, Economic Growth.  On Friday the government will release its unemployment report for April.  The jobs numbers last month were a huge disappointment.  Americans can't afford more bad news.  Washington needs to break the cycle of weak job growth month after month.  To do that, we need to honestly deal with one of the main roadblocks to job creation:  President Obama's health care law.  At a press conference this week, the president proved once again that he doesn't understand how his law threatens Americans' jobs, their care and their paycheck.

The ObamaCare Train Wreck Is Already Here.  Democrats fret about a "train wreck" when ObamaCare goes into effect next year.  But the law is already a disaster for workers who've seen their hours and benefits cut as employers try to avoid its costs.

Train Wreck: ObamaCare Blocking Job Creation, Economic Growth.  On Friday [5/3/2013] the government will release its unemployment report for April.  The jobs numbers last month were a huge disappointment.  Americans can't afford more bad news.  Washington needs to break the cycle of weak job growth month after month.  To do that, we need to honestly deal with one of the main roadblocks to job creation:  President Obama's health care law.  At a press conference this week, the president proved once again that he doesn't understand how his law threatens Americans' jobs, their care and their paycheck.

Employee Benefits Fall As Firms Brace For ObamaCare.  Employer spending on benefits rose at the slowest pace on record in the first quarter, as companies began bracing for higher health costs with next year's launch of ObamaCare.  Total benefits, such as insurance and pension contributions, rose just 0.1% vs. the end of last year, the smallest gain in Labor Department data going back to 2001.  By comparison, payroll employment grew by a half-million, or 0.4%, in Q1.  So benefits-per-worker declined.  Total employee benefits provided outside of government jobs declined outright.

Part-timers to lose pay amid health act's new math.  Some workers are having their hours cut so employers won't have to cover them under Obamacare.

Employee Benefits Fall As Firms Brace For ObamaCare.  Employer spending on benefits rose at the slowest pace on record in the first quarter, as companies began bracing for higher health costs with next year's launch of ObamaCare.  Total benefits, such as insurance and pension contributions, rose just 0.1% vs. the end of last year, the smallest gain in Labor Department data going back to 2001.  By comparison, payroll employment grew by a half-million, or 0.4%, in Q1.  So benefits-per-worker declined.

McDonald's Franchisee: 'Obamacare will negatively hit us like nothing else'.  You know it's bad when such a successful company like McDonald's says "the future looks BLEAK!" because of Obamacare.

ObamaCare Bites Unionized Educators.  Union representatives are now sending their members letters stating that "the Affordable Care Act [aka ObamaCare] has defined full time as anyone working over 30 hours a week or 130 hours a month."  Many of these hardworking and well-meaning local labor representatives, who were duped — I mean, told by the American Federation of Teachers Union (AFT) that Obama was the one who would bring all good things to pass — now find themselves in an untenable position.

The culture war is all Obama has left.  Obama's signature domestic accomplishment, Obamacare, remains highly unpopular.  Health care premiums are rising, as its opponents predicted, and numerous newspaper stories are now highlighting how the law is either discouraging new hiring altogether or forcing more Americans into part-time work involuntarily.

Study: Obamacare threatens 3.2 million small business jobs.  Over one-third of the 9.1 million full-time jobs among America's diverse business franchises could be cut back or eliminated by Obamacare as small businesses struggle to maintain profitability while coughing up money to pay for Washington-mandated health care coverage, according to the International Franchise Association.  The threat of hitting 3.2 million full-time workers as the Affordable Care Act takes effect next year is prompting the owners of fast food restaurants, service companies and other franchises to urge Congress to make significant changes in Obamacare.

ObamaCare Turns Three: 10 Disturbing Facts Americans Have Learned.  [Scroll down]  The Federal Reserve's March beige book on economic activity noted that businesses "cited the unknown effects of the Affordable Care Act as reasons for planned layoffs and reluctance to hire more staff."  Around the same time, Gallup reported a surge in part-time work in advance of ObamaCare's employer mandate.  It found that part-timers accounted for almost 21% of the labor force, up from 19% three years ago.  Meanwhile, human resources consulting firm Adecco found that half of the small businesses it surveyed in January either plan to cut their workforce, not hire new workers, or shift to part-time or temporary help because of ObamaCare.

Pelosi: Obamacare Means 'You Could Be A Photographer or Writer'.  Marking the third anniversary of Obamacare's passage, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the health care law fulfills the promises of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness because it allows people to leave jobs that include health insurance as a benefit:  You can become a "photographer or writer."  "I've always said that the Affordable Care Act is something that was transformative," Pelosi said Wednesday during a press conference on Capitol Hill marking the upcoming anniversary of the law on March 23.

And so it begins: ObamaCare kills jobs.  When Democrats passed ObamaCare, they told us it wouldn't affect the private insurance coverage any of us already had.  "If you like your coverage, you can keep your coverage," is what Obama said.  Just one problem.  You can't keep your coverage if, thanks to ObamaCare, it no longer exists.

Future costs and regulations are unpredictable.  A recent study found that 33 percent of business owners cited new requirements in Obamacare as either the biggest or second-biggest obstacle to hiring.  In addition, Dennis Lockhart, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said, "We have frequently heard strong comments to the effect of 'My company won't hire a single additional worker until we know what health insurance costs are going to be.'"

Obamacare Kills Jobs.  President Obama may think that the private sector is "doing fine", but in all reality the last thing our economy can handle is even more hurdles to job creation, which is precisely what Obamacare represents.  Obamacare's employer mandate will not only slow growth, but will penalize businesses that want to hire workers.

Obamacare is a Job Killer.  Automation Systems Inc. has expanded to include 37 employees today, and [Carl] Schanstra says he wants to hire more — maybe as many as 200 or 300 in the next 10 to 15 years.  But once the business crosses the 50-employee threshold, it will have to pay $40,000 in penalties, plus $2,000 for each additional employee.  That's because of the so-called employer mandate, a fee imposed on businesses that get too big without providing health care the federal government deems acceptable.

Recovery Stalled After Obamacare Passed.  The law discourages employers from hiring in several ways:  Businesses with fewer than 50 workers have a strong incentive to maintain this size, which allows them to avoid the mandate to provide government-approved health coverage or face a penalty;  Businesses with more than 50 workers will see their costs for health coverage rise — they must purchase more expensive government-approved insurance or pay a penalty;  and Employers face considerable uncertainty about what constitutes qualifying health coverage and what it will cost.

End the Madness at the EEOC.  Over 89 million Americans are presently out of the labor force.  The New York Times seems to offer a muddled explanation for the fact that employers have money to hire but aren't doing so even when they need extra help.  The Federal Reserve's vision is less cloudy.  In its latest beige book the Fed indicates that uncertainty about the impact and requirements of Obamacare is playing a significant role in the national job freeze cutting into sales and hiring.

ObamaCare and the '29ers'.  Here's a trend you'll be reading more about:  part-time "job sharing," not only within firms but across different businesses.  It's already happening across the country at fast-food restaurants, as employers try to avoid being punished by the Affordable Care Act.

The Real State of the Union.  [Scroll down]  Many employers are also clearly doing all they can to keep all but a few key employees from toiling more than 30 hours per week, because ObamaCare will compel them to treat employees who work 30 or more hours as "full-time," forcing them to either provide mandatory health insurance coverage or pay a fine if they don't.

In Health Care, One Law Is Working Like a Charm.  "We have to pass the bill so you can find out what's in it," said Nancy Pelosi during the debate over Obamacare.  The Affordable Care Act passed, and Americans are now finding out.  It's not a pretty picture.  Take employment.  "Medical device makers in Massachusetts and elsewhere are warning of potential job losses," reports The Boston Globe, because of a 2.3-percent tax on medical devices imposed by law.

Retail Workweek Hits 3-Year Low In ObamaCare Shift.  The fly in the ointment of January's jobs report was the apparent shift to part-time work ahead of a key ObamaCare deadline.  Although retail payrolls grew by 32,600, total hours worked in the industry dipped, Labor Department data out Friday [2/1/2013] showed.  The explanation?  Rank-and-file retail workers logged the shortest workweek since early 2010:  just 30.1 hours, on average, vs. 30.4 in December.

Universities Slash Teachers' Hours to Evade ObamaCare.  When the Affordable Care Act passed in early 2010, many in academia — faculty and students alike — cheered on.  But now that its provisions are going into effect, some of these same people are learning firsthand that Obamacare has some nasty side effects.

Confused professors shocked schools are cutting their hours to avoid Obamacare penalties.  Robert Balla, an adjunct professor of English at Stark State College, in North Canton, Ohio received a letter in which he was told that "in order to avoid penalties under the Affordable Care Act ... employees with part-time or adjunct status will not be assigned more than an average of 29 hours per week."  He told the Journal that the move cut his $40,000 salary by about $2,000 and that he cannot afford health insurance.

Universities Slash Teachers' Hours to Evade ObamaCare.  If you want someone to lie to you and tell you how troubling it is when anyone's income is cut in Obama's economy, you'll want to stop reading right about now.  I'm only willing to go as far as to say that I wish ObamaCare wasn't the cause of all this.  But it simply is a beautiful thing to see the very institutions that carry Obama's water and attempt to brainwash more of his minions, deal first-hand with the consequences of their thoughtless advocacy.

Wendy's and Taco Bell Franchisees Talking About Cutting Hours To Avoid ObamaCare Fines.  One of the least-wise provisions of the Affordable Care Act is a plan to fine firms with over 50 employees that don't provide health insurance to their workers to the tune of $2,000 per full-time worker.  The natural response for many firms is to do exactly what Ned Resnikoff reports some Wendy's and Taco Bell franchisees are doing and cut workers' hours to below the 30 hours per week threshold, thus avoiding the fine.

IRS Warns Employers: Do Not Try to Avoid ObamaCare Insurance Mandate.  The Internal Revenue Service warned employers in a new regulatory proposal not to come up with clever schemes to avoid Obamacare's employer health insurance mandate.  The IRS said it would soon issue "anti-abuse rules" to discourage employers from taking advantage of any regulatory loopholes.

Obamacare Layoffs, Hiring Freezes Begin.  Obamacare opponents warned that forcing companies employing 50 or more full-time workers to buy healthcare would prompt employers to slash jobs and worker hours.  And that's exactly what's happening, says one of President Barack Obama's favorite economists, Mark Zandi of Moody's Analytics.

Dems Finally Spot Blindingly Obvious Problem With Ocare's Medical Device Tax.  Opponents of ObamaCare have long known that one of its most idiotic provisions calls for a 2.3 percent tax on medical device manufacturers.  This provision is not only a sure job killer, it is essentially a tax on innovation, as Paul Hsieh explained nearly two years ago.

Nevada Restaurant Owners on Obamacare: 'We Can't Pay For This'.  Nevada restaurant owners — increasingly anxious about the future of their businesses under the Affordable Care Act — are echoing statements by national restaurant chains about the excessive costs President Obama's health care law will impose on them. [...] The biggest concern restaurant owners express about the law is Section 1513, the Employer Mandate.  Going into full effect in January 2014, it requires businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to provide federally approved health insurance plans or pay penalties of up to $2,000 per employee.

The Mass Firings Begin.  Had Romney won, many of these companies would now be hiring.

On CBS, Cheesecake Factory CEO Warns ObamaCare Will Be 'Very Costly'.  On Monday's [12/3/2012] CBS This Morning, Cheesecake Factory CEO David Overton spotlighted the looming economic impact of Obamacare's implementation, especially on small enterprises:  "For those businesses that don't cover their employees, they'll be in for a very expensive situation."  Overton also warned that the cost of the law would be passed on to customers.

College Professors Get What They Asked For, Don't Like It Much.  [The Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC)] has just announced that because of ObamaCare, it will have to slash the hours of 400 of its employees, about half of whom are adjunct instructors.  This is because under the new law, companies and other organizations employing 50 or more employees are required to provide full health care insurance (at high cost, because of a host of new mandates the law includes) for all employees working 30 or more hours a week.  This means that employers have a tremendous incentive — indeed, virtually a gun at their heads — to either cut hours for employees to under 30 hours per week or eliminate workers outright (by outsourcing, offshoring, contracting out, and automating), or to keep the employees under 50 by simply not expanding.

Health Care Law Pushes Employers to Cut Hours.  As the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is implemented, the American workforce slowly becomes a nation of part-timers.  The law is discouraging public and private sector employers from hiring full-time workers and pushing them to slash hours for part-time workers to keep them under the magical 30-hours-per-week limit.

College cuts work hours to duck Obamacare.  To avoid paying for health insurance, a Pittsburgh community college will cut the work hours of 400 adjunct instructors and support staff.  Under Obamacare, employers don't have to provide insurance for employees working less than 30 hours a week.  Community College of Allegheny County will save $6 million.

Menu Labeling: Another Job-Killing Regulation in ObamaCare.  The government is addressing the nation's growing obesity epidemic with a regulation:  Section 4205, the menu labeling provision attached to ObamaCare meant to "aid consumers in selecting more healthful diets."  As currently written, however, the regulation will likely have job-killing effects and result in little, if any, significant reductions in obesity rates and/or improved health.

Obamacare will make us a part time nation.  There are already 8 million Americans working part time who want to work full time.  It seems likely that number will skyrocket once Obamacare is implemented.

Surprise: PA College Slashes Instructors' Hours to Avoid Obamacare.  Pennsylvania's Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) is slashing the hours of 400 adjunct instructors, support staff, and part-time instructors to dodge paying for Obamacare.

Kaiser Permanente confirms 530 layoffs in Southern California.  The Kaiser Permente [sic] layoffs come as the health care industry implements provisions of the federal Affordable Health Care Act, commonly called "Obamacare."

Medical giant Stryker cuts 1,170 jobs, citing ObamaCare.  Medical supply giant Stryker is the latest company to announce job cuts in anticipation of coming costs associated with ObamaCare, even though the man who inherited a fortune from the company's founder is a fan.  The company will cut 1,170 jobs, or five percent of its worldwide workforce, despite the fact that the founder's grandson was one of the largest contributors to President Obama's re-election campaign.

Denny's to charge 5% 'Obamacare surcharge' and cut employee hours to deal with cost of legislation.  President Obama's election victory ensured his Affordable Care Act would remain the centerpiece of his first term in power — but that has left some business owners baulking at the extra cost Obamcare [sic] will bring.

Restaurant Chain CEO to Impose Obamacare Surcharge on Customers.  It seems with each passing day since the President was re-elected another business owner is coming out to address how he or she is going to make up for the additional costs that will occur once health care reform is fully implemented.  On Wednesday [11/14/2012], John Metz, the CEO of Hurricane Grill & Wings restaurants said that he's going to impose an Obamacare surcharge on customers.

Papa John's prepares for food fight over Obamacare.  Down-heartened pizza tycoon John Schnatter received some pre-holiday cheer on Friday when a conservative group declared it to be national Papa John's Appreciation Day. [...] Devastated by Mitt Romney's failure to secure the presidency and with it a repeal of the health care legislation, Schnatter has been threatening to raise the price of a pizza by 14 cents and to lower worker's hours.

Obama keeps his job; others lose theirs.  After an election campaign that featured jobs as a central issue, some of the nation's businesses have responded to President Obama's victory with a series of layoff announcements related to a variety of factors including the New Year's "fiscal cliff."  A number of companies had hoped the election of Republican Mitt Romney would raise the chances of avoiding the cliff's $1 trillion in federal spending cuts, half of them defense-related, plus higher taxes from the expiration of the George W. Bush-era tax cuts.  Other factors in the spate of layoff notices included costs related to Mr. Obama's health care plan and environmental regulations.

Calls to boycott Applebee's after CEO threatens hiring freeze and layoffs over Obamacare.  Papa John's came under fire this week when CEO John Schnatter floated a plan to cut worker hours to reduce spiking employee health care costs under the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.  Now, Applebee's is being boycotted after a major New York area Applebee's franchise owner Zane Tankel threatened a hiring freeze and possible layoffs as a result of the president's healthcare plan.

Death spiral: Hours cut, workers pushed to part-time due to Obamacare.  As Twitchy has been reporting, the layoff bomb has detonated.  Many companies, both large and small, have been forced to lay off workers due to President Obama's re-election.  With no hope of Obamacare being repealed, they are now forced to lay off employees in order to stay in business.

Progressives Launch Revenge on Applebee's as Company Downsizes in Response to ObamaCare.  The business community's had the writing on the wall for some time.  The election simply cleared up the uncertainty in the decision-making environment.

Obama's welfare socialism sparked this crisis, not the Constitution.  [Scroll down]  On top of all of this, Obama came up with Obamacare — the programme behind the shutdown.  Crucially, the Democrats did not negotiate with the Republicans over its content and the only way they could get its patently unAmerican concept of a mandated-purchase into law was for the Supreme Court to redefine it as a tax.  If the Republicans oppose it then they do so because it is expensive, may do damage to business and isn't concomitant with the American Way.

Kathleen Sebelius Advocates for GaybamaCare.  Along with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Barack must feel it's time that fairness be extended to the gay community.  That's why, for those who tend toward melancholy and depression, if ever there were a time to be gay, this would be it.  Why?  Because in addition to reassuring college grads that free birth control should give them peace of mind and sharing the roster at Girl Scout conferences with late-term abortionists, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wants to commemorate LGBTQ month by making it one of her priorities to actively advocate on behalf of the sexually confused, conflicted, and/or questioning.

Sebelius tells pediatricians to promote 'Obamacare'.  President Obama's top health official asked the nation's pediatric groups on Monday [5/6/2013] to spread the word about benefits within the federal health care law, a plea that coincides with mounting pressure to implement the ambitious overhaul before its main provisions kick in next year.

Obama's Electronic Medical Records Scam.  In theory, modernizing record-collection is a good idea, and many private health care providers have already made the change.  But as with many government "incentive" programs, the EMR bribe is a tax-subsidized, one-size-fits-all mandate.  This one pressures health care professionals and hospitals across the country into radically federalizing their patient data and opening up medical information to untold abuse.

Think NSA Spying Is Bad? Here Comes The ObamaCare Hub.  The Health and Human Services Department earlier this year exposed just how vast the government's data collection efforts will be on millions of Americans as a result of ObamaCare.  Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., asked HHS to provide "a complete list of agencies that will interact with the Federal Data Services Hub."  The Hub is a central feature of ObamaCare, since it will be used by the new insurance exchanges to determine eligibility for benefits, exemptions from the federal mandate, and how much to grant in federal insurance subsidies.

Obamacare will be used for much more than medical insurance:

My name is "your doctor," you are sick, prepare to die.  The National Institutes of Health is directing people to an absolutely absurd paper published in the journal Advances in Health Sciences Education.  I have no idea how prominent the journal is, but I have a decent idea of the prominence of the NIH.  A government agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, they essentially determine medical education in this country.  The NIH actually invited these authors to lay out their theories of medical education.  The paper is scary [...]. Not quite Canadian medical murder scary, but very very scary nonetheless.  Why so frightening?  Well, our NIH is promoting the idea that it is time to dump our current medical education system based upon science-based Western medicine in order to replace it with a more diverse and inclusive one.  Our current system is racist, sexist, homophobic, and every other super-bad thing that the woke are desperate to destroy. [...] Sidenote:  run away from any article that uses the word "praxis."  It is Marxist.  For some reason it is one of their favorite words.

Obamacare Mutates for the Labor Market.  With the announcement this week that the Biden administration will attempt a takeover of U.S. labor markets by forcing private companies to vaccinate their employees, the limits of our Constitution are being tested before our eyes.  With 210 million Americans now vaccinated with at least one dose against COVID-19, we're seeing 300 percent of the national cases that we saw one year ago, when nobody was vaccinated.  As a public benefit, the vaccine has failed to accomplish its most vital public goal, which is neutralizing the virus.  On the contrary, it appears to have accelerated its spread and possibly its mutation.  Ignoring the questionable efficacy of the vaccines in providing public benefit, we've decided that lashing out at the remaining third of eligible individuals who haven't received the vaccine is now an appropriate response.  It makes exactly zero sense that the unvaccinated are now the greatest threat to those protected by the vaccines.  Where have the rational scientific minds gone?

Biden HHS Lays the Groundwork for the Chemical Castration of Children.  On Monday [5/10/2021], the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) laid the groundwork for forcing doctors and hospitals to perform transgender surgery in the name of fighting "discrimination."  HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine (a biological male who identifies as a woman) announced that HHS would adopt the Orwellian redefinition of "sex" to force transgender ideology in the medical field, mainstreaming the arguable chemical castration of children.  "The Supreme Court has made clear that people have a right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex and receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation.  That's why today HHS announced it will act on related reports of discrimination," Becerra announced in a statement.

30 of The Biggest Lies & Hoaxes Perpetrated on The American People.  [#5] The Health Industry:  It is narrated by producers of falsified info to create fear, so as to monopolize the industry, keep you sick, and line their pockets, while holistic doctors are mysteriously dying.  Big pharma equals big bucks.

7 Reasons Why the Equality Act Is Anything But.  [#5] It could be used to coerce medical professionals.  Under state sexual orientation and gender identity laws, individuals who identify as transgender have sued Catholic hospitals in California and New Jersey for declining to perform hysterectomies on otherwise healthy women who wanted to pursue gender transition.  If these lawsuits succeed, medical professionals would be pressured to treat patients according to ideology rather than their best medical judgment.  The Obama administration tried to coerce medical professionals into oering transition-airming therapies through a regulation in the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare.

Judge blocks Trump rules letting more employers opt out of birth control coverage.  A federal judge on Sunday [1/13/2019] partially blocked President Trump's push to let a wide range of employers ignore an Obamacare-related rule requiring them to insure birth control in their health plans.  The preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam applies to 13 states, plus D.C.  Judge Gilliam, presiding in California, noted strong arguments on both sides of the debate over former President Barack Obama's mandate, which devout business owners and religiously affiliated nonprofit employers have blasted as a violation of their faith or moral beliefs.

Texas judge halts federal transgender health protections.  A federal judge in Texas on Saturday [12/31/2016] ordered a halt to another Obama administration effort to strengthen transgender rights, this time over health rules that social conservatives say could force doctors to violate their religious beliefs.  U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor granted a temporary injunction stopping federal health officials from enforcing rules that are intended to ban discrimination by doctors and hospitals against transgender persons.

U.S. judge blocks transgender, abortion-related Obamacare protections.  A federal judge in Texas on Saturday [12/31/2016] issued a court order barring enforcement of an Obama administration policy seeking to extend anti-discrimination protections under the Affordable Care Act to transgender health and abortion-related services.  The decision sides with Texas, seven other states and three Christian-affiliated healthcare groups challenging a rule that, according to the judge, defines sex bias to include "discrimination on the basis of gender identity and termination of pregnancy."

Federal judge overturns Obamacare rules for transgenders.  A federal judge in Texas has struck down rules issued by HHS that would force doctors to help with gender transition procedures for transgender people even if it vioilated [sic] their religious beliefs.  Conserviatve [sic] groups hailed the decision as a victory for reliigious [sic] freedom.

To Save Obamacare, the President Plots a Massive Bailout of Health Insurers.  Distracted by the presidential election and the news that ACA insurance premiums will increase by an average of 25 percent in 2017, many have failed to notice the administration's plan to use a special U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) fund, called the Judgment Fund, to funnel billions of dollars to insurers without congressional approval.  If it successfully executes this plan, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will have circumvented Congress to secure a taxpayer bailout for insurers — directly contradicting Congress's intentions as expressed by multiple spending bills, and possibly violating federal law.

The care you get from your doctor may depend on his or her political views.  Even in our increasingly partisan society, you might have figured that your doctor's office would be neutral territory.  But that just goes to show how naive you are.  A new study from researchers at Yale University details significant differences in the way primary care physicians from across the political spectrum approach medical issues that touch on hot-button topics, such as abortion and gun control.

Obamacare Just Spread $11 Billion of Wealth Around.  New IRS disclosures from the 2014 tax year reveal the specifics of how the so-called "Affordable Care Act" helped to facilitate Obama's desire to, as he famously told "Joe the Plumber", "spread the wealth around."  To be precise, in 2014, Obamacare spread $11.2BN of wealth around, in the form of healthcare premium tax credits, with nearly 80% going to taxpayers reporting less that $35,000 of adjusted gross income.  Moreover, the average tax filer received $3,600 of healthcare premium support with those in the lowest tax bracket receiving over $5,500 per person.  Equally disturbing is this fact:  8.1mm tax filers, those who elected to forgo health insurance, were hit with $1.7BN in Obamacare penalties... call it the "young and healthy tax".

Dem Lawmakers Ask VA to Cover Sex-Change Operations.  Six Democratic lawmakers have written the Secretary of The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) urging the removal of a rule banning VA coverage of sex-transition surgeries for veterans.  "We urge you to move forward with publishing a proposed rule to remove the arbitrary and outdated restriction that prohibits VA from providing medical services to treat gender dysphoria," the letter states.  Current VA regulations prohibit the covering of "gender alterations."  The letter says that regulation is in violation of The Affordable Care Act.

Buying votes, in the long run:
California Dems Push For Obamacare For Illegal Immigrants.  California Democrats advocated for President Barack Obama to sign a waiver allowing undocumented immigrants to buy healthcare plans through the Obamacare exchanges Wednesday [9/14/2016], claiming the change would not be federally subsidized.  California's Democratic delegation sent a letter to the administration Monday pushing to make the state the first exemption from the Affordable Care Act's provision preventing illegals from purchasing plans.

New Obamacare Rule Prohibits 'Sexual Stereotyping' — People Can Be 'Male, Female, Neither, or a Combination of Male and Female'.  Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell cited a new rule added to the Obamacare law to prevent discrimination, including "sexual stereotyping," as one of the Obama administration's successes in advancing homosexual rights.  "We took a major step just last month in the final rule of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act," Burwell said at an event on June 9 at the agency in Washington, D.C., to mark Gay Pride Month.

Obama Administration Coy on Expanding Obamacare to California Illegal Immigrants.  California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill to expand Obamacare to cover illegal immigrants, but now it's up to the Obama administration to determine if the nation's largest state will get an exemption related to a specific promise the president made when trying to sell the health care law.  The Golden State will be asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for a "State Innovation Waiver" under Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.  This would allow illegal immigrants in the state to purchase private health insurance plans from the California exchange, Covered California, but would not make them eligible for federal subsidies.

'Do No Harm Act' Would Forbid Religious Objection to 'Any Healthcare' Service.  Reps.  Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.) introduced the Do No Harm Act Wednesday, which would amend the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to specify that religious exceptions should not apply to "protections against discrimination or the promotion of equal opportunity" and "access to, information about, referrals for, provision of, or coverage for, any health care item or service."  The legislation is intended to "clarify that no one can seek religious exemption from laws guaranteeing fundamental civil and legal rights."

Obamacare Regulation Pressures Insurers to Cover Sex Change Operations.  The Department of Health and Human Services issued a final regulation Friday [5/13/2016] that will pressure health insurers to cover sex change operations, which could then be subsidized by taxpayers through Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare.  The final rule comes the same day the Obama administration ordered schools to let children use whatever bathroom or locker room matches "their chosen gender identity," or risk losing federal funding.  The agency released its final "Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities" rule, which enforces Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.

Follow the law, or follow your faith: Obama's outrageous order.  Long before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — a/k/a ObamaCare — became law on March 23, 2010, pro-life advocates, myself included, recognized that it could lead to serious moral clashes between faith and law, particularly in the areas of abortion and contraception.  And we were right.  The law empowered the Department of Health and Human Services to compel employers to provide contraception and abortion-inducing drugs and devices to their employees through their health-insurance plans.  The case of Priests for Life vs. HHS, one of seven cases comprising Zubik vs. Burwell, now challenges that mandate in the Supreme Court, with oral arguments on March 23.

Chelsea Clinton reveals her mom thinks it is 'important' to extend Obamacare to illegal aliens.  [Scroll down]  So the billions of impoverished people worldwide now have an invitation to come to America and sign up for what used to be the finest health care system in the world.  If you can't afford Obamacare, why no problem.  The rest of us will cheerfully pay our taxes and endure further increases in our insurance costs because after all, we owe it to the rest of the world.

Planned Parenthood Pres.: ObamaCare is Giving 55 Million Women Free Birth Control.  Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards told a crowd of Hillary Clinton supporters, "as a result of the long, hard fight for the Affordable Care Act, 55 million women in America are getting birth control — and no co-pay."

Why Obamacare Might Force Doctors to Perform Sex-Reassignment Surgeries.  You've heard about the Obamacare Individual Mandate.  That's the one that requires every person in America to get government-approved health insurance or face significant IRS penalties.  You've heard about the Health and Human Services (HHS) contraception mandate.  That's the one that requires private employers, including religious institutions like the Little Sisters of the Poor, to help provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs or face millions in IRS fines.  Well, now Health and Human Services has a "Gender Identity Mandate" in the works.  This one would require doctors and insurers to provide or cover "gender transition" treatments or face discrimination charges and loss of federal funds and Medicaid reimbursements.

Maryland Democrats push to use Obamacare as voter registration drive.  Maryland Democrats hope to break new ground in the push for universal voter registration, planning to wage a fight in the General Assembly this year to automatically sign up everyone who visits certain state social services agency or buys coverage through the state's Obamacare exchange.  State Sen. Victor Ramirez, Prince George's County Democrat, and state Sen. Roger Manno, Montgomery County Democrat, have already pre-filed automatic registration bills ahead of the legislative session, saying they are trying to cut down on barriers that keep poor people from showing up at the polls on Election Day.

The Editor says...
The riff-raff who are living on government handouts are exactly the people who should not vote.

Obamacare as Permanent Welfare.  President Reagan gauged the success of a welfare program by how quickly people were able to move off government assistance and into remunerative work.  Yet President Obama, the White House, and their allies are measuring the success of Obamacare by how many people can be enrolled in their new government entitlement programs.  The president celebrated the law's "success" in getting seven million people enrolled in Medicaid and eight million (or so) people enrolled in exchange coverage, 87 percent of whom are receiving government subsidies for their insurance.

Los Angeles Health Director: Obamacare Should Pay for Homeless Housing.  Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Director Mitch Katz says Obamacare should be used to cover housing costs for the homeless.  "If I can take care of someone at a lower cost by providing them with housing, why wouldn't the federal government let me?" Katz told The Atlantic.  Katz says homelessness spawns illness and should therefore be considered a health-related expense.

Obamacare Used to Register Voters.  The voter registration outreach is the result of an aggressive lobbying campaign.  Advocacy groups pushed hard to argue that the new Obamacare healthcare exchanges fall under The National Voter Registration Act of 1993.  It requires states to provide residents who are receiving public assistance opportunities to register to vote.  Some state officials had questioned whether the healthcare exchanges fell under the federal mandate or what the mandate required.  And some activists raised objections to the idea of using Obamacare to register new voters.  California's exchange was not initially registering voters, but soon faced legal challenges from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the League of Women Voters, and others.

The Editor says...
Exactly the opposite should be done:  Anyone signing up for welfare benefits should be prohibited from voting, not encouraged to vote, while they have their hands in the taxpayers' pockets.

Local couple upset after receiving pre-marked voter registration card from Covered California.  A local couple called 10News concerned after they received an envelope from the state's Obamacare website, Covered California.  Inside was a letter discussing voter registration and a registration card pre-marked with an "x" in the box next to Democratic Party.  The couple — who did not want their identity revealed — received the letter and voter registration card from their health insurance provider Covered California, the state-run agency that implements President Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Voter registration papers have Democratic Party pre-selected.  Under California law, residents signing up for government services like welfare or other public assistance must also be sent a voter registration card.  But a couple of lifelong Republicans were shocked this week when the state's Obamacare registrar sent theirs with 'Democratic Party' already checked off.  Following a lawsuit from a voting-rights group, Covered California began sending out more than 4 million voter registration forms last week.  But they're supposed to be completely blank.

Obamacare could increase food stamp rolls.  Republicans have another reason to hate Obamacare:  It could grow the number of people on food stamps.  The Obama administration has ordered a study to determine whether the Affordable Care Act, by increasing the number of people eligible for Medicaid, will also increase the number of people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program based on how states enroll people.

Obamacare Creates 50 New State Databases [for] Gathering Potential Voter Information.  Since the passage of Obamacare, all fifty state Medicaid agencies have been forced to create a new standalone database that contains nothing besides the contact information of Medicaid applicants who used Healthcare.gov.  Some of these new databases mail out voter registration forms automatically.  You cannot refuse them.  No worthwhile verification occurs before the forms are mailed.  Apply for Medicaid and the form will be mailed to you, [...]

ICE memo: Obamacare eligibility info will not be used to enforce immigration law.  The Obama administration is assuring immigrants that applications for Obamacare will not be used to enforce immigration law.  "[Immigration and Customs Enforcement] does not use information about such individuals or members of their household that is obtained for purposes of determining eligibility for such coverage as the basis for pursuing a civil immigration enforcement action against such individuals or members of their household," a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo reads.  The memo explains that such information may only be used for administering the Obamacare program and determining eligibility.

The Editor translates...
Don't worry, you won't be deported; but as long as you're on the web site, would you like to register to vote?

Obamacare Pledge: Info on Applications 'Won't Be Used For Immigration Enforcement Purposes'.  Under "Disclosure of immigration status," the [Healthcare.gov] site goes to great lengths to explain that Marketplaces, whether federal or state, are not permitted to ask for the immigration status of family members who are not applying for coverage or benefits.  States can't deny benefits because the applicant doesn't provide the SSNs of people who aren't applicants for benefits or recipients of Medicaid or CHIP benefits, or those not required to provide SSNs," the site explains.

Obamacare "navigators" use third-party private properties for meeting places, without the knowledge or consent of the owners:
ObamaCare Screw Up Sends Callers To Cupcake Shop.  In yet another bungle for the botched government insurance rollout, the state Health Department has mistakenly listed numerous non-health-related business as enrollment sites — including a Brooklyn cupcake shop that has been besieged by callers.

Cupcake store, car repair shop listed as Obamacare signup sites.  Apex Car and Limousine Service fixes bodies, but they belong to cars not people, so the owner of this repair shop was stunned to find out it was listed as an enrollment site for Obamacare — and he's not the only one. [...] The state Health Department said that a signup site is anywhere a navigator could meet with an enrollee, even a car repair shop.

Election Integrity Activists: Obamacare 'Biggest Voter Registration Fraud Scheme in History'.  Several election integrity activists have alleged that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or Obamacare, does not appear to have been an effort to conduct healthcare reform to fix what was described in 2009 and 2010 as a broken healthcare system.  The law passed Congress with just Democratic Party support.  Instead of being an honest attempt to fix America's healthcare woes, "I think [it] is the biggest voter registration fraud scheme in the history of the world," said Gregg Phillips, the founder of the election integrity group Voters Trust, in an interview with Breitbart News Wednesday morning.

Is Healthcare.gov Designed To Register Dem Voters?  The crash-prone government health-care site asks applicants if they want to register to vote as they try to sign up for ObamaCare.  By sheer coincidence, a plurality of the uninsured are likely Democratic voters.

Obamacare Websites Encourage Voter Registration After Application Completion.  The Obamacare exchange website does more than merely register you for an insurance program.  According to a report from the MacIver Institute, once you complete the process, you are then immediately asked to register to vote — a propagandistic strategy designed to make government beneficiaries into lifetime Democratic voters.

Why Obamacare Offers Voter Registration: Because it has always has been a vote-buying scheme.  During the past week conservatives have been all atwitter, as it were, about a development that shouldn't have surprised anyone with the slightest familiarity with the Obama administration or the Democrat party.  It seems that the online application drafted by HHS for those who wish to buy health coverage through Obamacare's insurance exchanges asks applicants if they would like to register to vote, and facilitates that process if the answer is "yes."  Conservatives are outraged that "reform" is being used to bolster the roles of registered Democrats.

Obamacare is being used for political retribution.
ObamaCare price hikes hit 'red states' hardest.  Experiencing sticker-shock at the price of insurance on ObamaCare exchanges?  That's more likely if you live in a "red state" that didn't vote for Obama, according to price data compiled by the Heritage Foundation.  In red states, premiums for 27-year-olds rose an average of 78% on ObamaCare exchanges, whereas in "blue states" that voted for Obama, premiums rose a smaller 50%.

Obamacare discourages marriage.
Married couples at disadvantage under ObamaCare.  Couples enrolling in ObamaCare now face a de facto marriage penalty, with the law making it much harder for those who are married to qualify for subsidies.  According to the conservative Heritage Foundation, married couples could pay as much as $10,000 more per year than their unmarried counterparts, due to the way subsidies are calculated.  The subsidies under the Affordable Care Act are based on income.  The less you make, the more money you can get from the government to help pay for insurance.  An individual making above $45,960 would not qualify.  For a married couple, the income cut-off is $62,040.

The Hidden Marriage Penalty in Obamacare.  Any married couple that earns more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level of $62,040 for a family of two earns too much for subsidies under Obamacare.  "If you're over 400 percent of poverty, you're never eligible for premium" support, explains Gary Claxton, director of the Health Care Marketplace Project at the Kaiser Family Foundation.  But if that same couple lived together unmarried, they could earn up to $45,960 each — $91,920 total — and still be eligible for subsidies through the exchanges in New York state, where insurance is comparatively expensive and the state exchange was set up in such a way as to not provide lower rates for younger people.

Report: ObamaCare Discourages Marriage.  For example:  consider the case of two unmarried college students who move in together, each of whom earn about $23,000 annually.  If that same couple married, their combined household income of nearly $46,000 would rise as a percent of the poverty level from 200 percent (individually) to 296 percent for a married family of two.  As a result, their premiums in the health insurance exchange would be capped at a higher percentage of their income, providing a smaller total subsidy.  Individually they would each qualify for a subsidy of about $1,087, or $2,174 per household.  If that same couple were to marry, their subsidy would fall to $753.  Thus, their marriage penalty is $1,421.

Obamacare encourages prostitution.
Thanks Obamacare: Prostitutes Say It Is "Truly a Blessing".  Taxpayers will be happy to know they not only fund abortions under the Affordable Care Act, they also help prostitutes stay healthy.  Prior to Obamacare, brothel workers at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch in Nevada said they were unable to find coverage under their profession.

These Hookers Love Obamacare Because Insurers Hate STDs.  "The Affordable Care Act has been touted as a boon to America's self-employed," reporter George Warren narrates.  "That includes the independent contractors at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, otherwise known as prostitutes."

Nevada's legal prostitutes say they can finally get health insurance thanks to Obamacare.  President Obama's beleaguered health care programme has received a ringing endorsement — from Nevada's legal prostitutes.  The controversial scheme — otherwise known as Obamacare — is accused of being too expensive by some critics and faced anger after crippling glitches on its website prevented many from signing up when it first launched.  But the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has enabled the legal prostitutes to get health insurance cover for the first time.

Kickbacks?
CA Obamacare Director Reveals Counselors Paid $58 for 'Each Successful Enrollment'.  Dana Howard, the deputy director of California's Healthcare Exchange program, appeared on conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt's program on Friday [11/22/2013] where he revealed an interesting detail about the incentives for Affordable Care Act navigators.  Howard revealed that enrollment counselors are paid $58 for each individual they successfully enroll in the California's insurance exchanges.

All the President's On-the-Job Training.  One of the aspects that makes Obamacare unique is its destructive speed.  It took decades for the notion that FDR's Social Security was an insolvent Ponzi scheme to reach fruition.  LBJ passed his Great Society programs in the mid-'60s; it took about two decades before President Reagan could accurately point out, "In the sixties we waged a war on poverty, and poverty won."