In 2010, President Barack Obama and his party exploited enormous congressional majorities to ram through a controversial healthcare law, despite widespread opposition to many of its major components and clear signals from the electorate, such as the people of Massachusetts electing a Republican to the Senate, to stop it.

Democrats sold the law as a panacea that would benefit everyone, with no trade-offs or drawbacks. Republicans challenged virtually every claim made in favor of Obamacare. They were called liars, racists, and Nazis (some things never change). Several black Democratic congressmen even claimed that Tea Party protesters gathered around the Capitol hurled vile racial epithets at them prior to a key vote. Despite the ubiquity of cameras in the vicinity and a sizable reward offered for evidence backing the allegation, zero confirmation was ever produced.