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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

House Democrats Want Republicans to Stop Saying 'Obamacare' (The Atlantic Wire)

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.

Related: Brooks and Olbermann Kill the Bill

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.


View the original article here