Democrats seeking to reclaim control of the House and Senate in the 2018 midterms are finding themselves in a tough spot messaging-wise.
According to a new report from Politico, Democrats, for the first time in a decade, are embracing running on the accomplishments of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, and blaming Republicans for sabotaging the health care law.
Through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law in late 2017, the Obamacare individual mandate — arguably its least popular provision, but also one of its most necessary provisions — was repealed. Now, Democrats are running ads highlighting people who have been helped by the law. Take Bobby Kaple, Democratic candidate for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, telling the story of his two children, Camden and Alice, who were born three months prematurely and how they were helped by being covered under Obamacare.
This week, Democrats are attempting to connect the dots that health insurance premium hikes are directly tied to Republican lawmakers and the decisions they made to dismantle the ACA.
This makes sense considering that, since April 2017, Obamacare has had a net-positive approval rating, according to the Kaiser Health Tracking poll.
However, it’s important to highlight what has changed for Democrats in the three months since the massacre in Parkland, Fla.
Gun control was essentially the central issue that Democrats were championing in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were killed and 17 others were injured.
According to Gallup, a record high 13 percent of Americans felt that gun control was the top issue facing the country in March. But that number dropped to 6 percent in April.
The Democratic strategy of tackling gun control simply wasn’t resonating with the average American voter. Yet, in the same Gallup poll, “dissatisfaction with government” was bigger than any other issue. Couple that with positive polling on Obamacare, and you have a cohesive message that might help get Democrats to the finish line, fulfilling the prophecy of the impending blue wave.
Whether any of this will work for them, well, look at every election since Obamacare was passed in 2010 showing scores of Democrats losing, and you have ample reason to remain skeptical.
