NPR Lets Republicans Drive Narrative On Obamacare

Word decisions are necessarily subjective. The tone you hear in a word may be different from how I hear it. Has "Obamacare" entered the general vocabulary enough that it has overcome its origins? I don't think so. But who among us will absolutely know when – or if – it does?

These stories invariably refer to the Affordable Care Act as "Obamacare." In using this term, I believe NPR is falling into a trap set by the Tea Party, conservatives and the health care industry. Why do you use this term instead of its actual name? No other acts are referred to by NPR by the name of the president in office when the act was passed. This supports, or helps create the notion that the Affordable Care Act is a unique creation of the Obama Administration. This act is originated from the ideas and laws of many parties, and much of it was originally the idea of Republican politicians. By using the Obamacare term NPR helps sustain the position that this is the work of one man/administration and is outside of the norm of American politics.

Congressional Republicans find themselves bitterly divided during their August recess over Obamacare. What they don't agree on is how to end it. They've tried dozens of times to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Republicans coined the term "Obamacare" during the debate over the Affordable Care Act, seemingly as a means to generate opposition to the president's health care initiative. During that time, NPR avoided using the term "Obamacare." Since passage of the legislation and its enactment into law, the president has said he rather likes the term "Obamacare" and it has gradually come into the vernacular as a shorthand for referring to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I'm confident that NPR listeners and readers understand that whatever its origins, the term "Obamacare" has lost its pedigree as a politically charged term.