The New York Times reports a survey that confirms what many of us have known all along: Many Americans are ignoramuses who pay no attention whatever to what is going on in the world around them.
A sizable minority of Americans don’t understand that Obamacare is just another name for the Affordable Care Act.
This finding, from a poll by Morning Consult, illustrates the extent of public confusion over a health law that President Trump and Republicans in Congress hope to repeal.
In the survey, 35 percent of respondents said either they thought Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act were different policies (17 percent) or didn’t know if they were the same or different (18 percent). This confusion was more pronounced among people 18 to 29 and those who earn less than $50,000 — two groups that could be significantly affected by repeal.
To say that the Republicans have exploited that ignorance is an understatement.
The Affordable Care Act has benefited millions, and dramatically slowed the rate of growth in health care costs. By any sane measure, it is a success. That’s not to say that it’s perfect; it isn’t. But as I’ve insisted for years, it should be improved as experience reveals problems; it should not be repealed wholesale.
I am sure, and I think most clear-headed observers would agree with me, that hatred of Obamacare/ACA became a proxy for America’s subterranean racism, and that it was then transformed into an alt-right shibboleth: Hate Obamacare, or you’re not one of us. Mercifully, since reality always has the last word, it appears that the Republicans are now headed toward doing what they should have done years ago: Cooperate to repair the law.