I can’t see how obamacare can be laid at the feet of Republicans: not a single ‘Pubbie voted for it and many have continued to rail against it. The Dem Congress and Senate passed this 2700-page monstrosity without even reading it, with no idea of the far-reaching ramifications. If that doesn’t motivate voters to throw dems out of the House and Senate we truly are finished.
What’s necessary is a general public awareness of the issues, what their root causes are and what’s to blame.
I don’t think that’s going to be possible given the current fractured nature of public dissemination channels. News of the bad effects of Obamacare will be suppressed, and without a strong GOP capable of bypassing the media and being able to effectively make arguments to the general public, there’s not much of a chance of it having an impact. The message has to get out. But it won’t.
Example ... I’m on a once a day prescription medication. I refill every three months. In December a 90-day supply of pills ran me less than a dollar. A couple weeks ago my refill set me back $12.
That’s MASSIVE jump, as a %, in my out of pocket costs. When I asked about it the pharmacist couldn’t provide a good answer. I’ve talked to other people who are on the same meds as me, and different ones as well (and with different insurance providers) and we’re all seeing the same thing.
But in terms of general public awareness (of the issue itself, let alone any sort of causal analysis) there’s nothing out there. Nothing out there means no outrage and no outrage means no issue that can be translated into electoral action.