Arguing that Obamacare is at this point a derogatory term, House Democrats want to ban the term from mailers sent from Congressional offices, reports Roll Call's Jonathan Strong. Democrats on the House Committee that oversees their franking privileges -- that is, the right to send campaign mailers to constituents thinly disguised as official correspondence for free -- say Obamacare violates the rules against sending mailers for "personal, partisan, or political reasons." For example, Republicans got Democrats to stop sending mailers that claimed Rep. Paul Ryan would "end" Medicare.
Obama tried to reappropriate Obamacare back in August, pulling some reverse discourse action: "I have no problem with folks saying 'Obamacares' ... I do care," Obama said. Back then, ABC News's Jake Tapper wondered if the president made it okay to use the term again. But House Republicans really know what's up. "You know, if it was popular they’d be all about calling it Obamacare," a Republican source told Strong.
Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at rgreenfield at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.



User Comments
Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register