Schumer’s Obamacare Mea Culpa & What It Means for 2016

 Schumer’s Obamacare Mea Culpa & What It Means for 2016

By Aaron Goldstein on 11.26.14 | 12:45PM

There was nothing genuine about Chuck Schumer's mea culpa on Obamacare yesterday. Then again there is nothing genuine about Chuck Schumer except that he genuinely wants to become the next Senate Majority Leader.



During a speech yesterday to the National Press Club, Schumer said that reforming health care was "a focus on the wrong problem." Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau responded on Twitter, "Funny, I don't remember Chuck Schumer giving that advice when he was privately and publicly championing the Affordable Care Act in 2010." I can understand Favreau's anger, but does he honestly expect Schumer to stay with a sinking ship?

If Schumer can say that Obamacare was a mistake then look for other Democrats to follow up to and including prospective 2016 Democrat presidential candidates. The only way I can see Democrats vying for the 2016 nomination getting around the Obamacare albatross would be if they were to pledge to "reform" Obamacare (and were specific about the nature of their reforms) and/or if they were to embrace some Republican initiatives (i.e. tort reform, abolishing the tax on medical devices). But I suspect that most Democrats vying for the White House will deny the existence of Obamacare just as the Obama Administration denied the existence of Jon Gruber.