In 2010, the GOP ran largely against Obamacare, and won a smashing victory. In 2018, on the other hand, the Democrats focused their campaign on protecting Obamacare, and won back the House. What does this mean?
Very simply, it means the American public is conservative in the true sense of the word–it doesn’t like change very much. In 2010, Obamacare was viewed by many as a complex, confusing, and unnecessary government intrusion into the health care field. Today, it’s the status quo, and the public understandably doesn’t want to give it up in favor of some nebulous GOP plan which is almost certain to make things worse, not better.
There are two messages here. The GOP should finally realize that Obamacare is actually a very moderate, CD-friendly measure which effectively serves as a political shield against a more radical single-payer program. They should let their campaign against it die without further ado and embrace measures to make it more effective. On the Democratic side, the proponents of single-payer would have found it easier to make their case in 2020 if Obamacare had been finished off once and for all. They need to realize that, regardless of what polls tell them, the battle for single-payer will be brutally difficult, and may well be impossible.