It was back on March 23, 2010, that President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. It’s had a rocky road to say the least, but it has survived several repeal votes and was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Plus, it’s a campaign issue.

Overall I think Obamacare has been a good thing – a thing that could be much better if the Democrats and Republicans would work together to make it better. Repealing it now or in the future might harm more people than it would help. Still, it needs work.

It was a campaign issue in 2012, but it did not help Republican Mitt Romney as he lost to Democrat Barack Obama 51% to 47%. Here in the Montana U.S. Senate race, Republican Denny Rehberg tried to tie Obamacare to Democratic Senator Jon Tester and lost 49% to 44%.

Some reports say there have been 50 votes to repeal Obamacare in the U.S. House of Representatives.

It will be a campaign issue in 2014, but even if the Republicans continue to have a majority in the U.S. House and take over the majority in the U.S. Senate (as some are predicting), the President would veto any bill to repeal it. In 2016, if the Republicans won the White House and still controlled the House and Senate, there might be a slim chance of a repeal, but the Republican Party is so fractured they probably can’t be united enough to do anything. We’ve recently seen how the political parties act when they control the House, Senate, and White House and they have basically crashed and burned.

If you don’t believe me about Obamacare being a campaign issue in 2014, look at Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Daines’ Facebook page which has at least four recent entries about Obamacare being a failed healthcare law.

I check the Daines for Senate campaign site to see what his ideas are for healthcare if he’s elected to the U.S. Senate and Obamacare is repealed and could not find an “Issue” or “Vision” area or anything that explained his views. On the other hand, Democrat John Walsh has a “What John Fights For” area, but it’s lacking anything about Obamacare.

Candidates running for U.S. House and U.S. Senate should address this issue on their campaign websites.

The boys and girls running the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) website were nice enough to say “Happy Anniversary” to Obamacare recently. Although they normally screw up campaigns, they are still good for a giggle.

If you are going to vote over and over to repeal it, it would be nice to see your plan.  There are some alternatives to Obamacare from the Republicans that will be unveiled to help them win elections in 2014 (it’s all about the next election in Washington, D.C.). You can read about them HERE and HERE.

The President has said several times that he is ready to hear proposals from anyone that will help make the law better. Meanwhile, as of today you only have seven days to “Get Covered” (unless they change the deadline).

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