Labelling health care reform legislation “Obamacare” was supposed to be an insult. But President Barack Obama and Democrats alike have embraced the name—so much so, in fact, that the legislation now has its own Facebook page.
Take that federal stimulus, nicknamed “TARP.” Where’s your fan page? Oh, that’s right, you don’t have one.
The Obamacare page opens with a statement: “Presidents tried to bring health care reform to America for nearly a century. This President got the job done.”
Filling out the page’s timeline are various moments in the 100-year history of public health care in America, featuring, in particular, previous presidents—of both parties—who supported the idea. The timeline goes all the way back to Republican and progressive Theodore Roosevelt’s 1912 campaign promise to create a national health plan.
The page seems to be the latest in the Obama’s famously social-media-savvy campaigning. Perhaps the smartest part about the page is the fact that it includes Democratic leaders and Republican ones in an attempt to paint the issue as something bigger than politics.
Of course, not everyone who has flocked to the page has been in support of the legislation.
“Obamacare will bankrupt the federal budget within twenty years, or sooner,” wrote Mark Mason. “The plan does contain some positive components but functions as a state-mandated welfare system for the rich healthcare corporations and big pharma. This plan will make the corporations richer than ever while bankrupting the nation.”
While it’s certainly attracted plenty of detractors, it’s has supporters, too. “As a cancer patient being treated by Mayo Clinic, I am thankful to have insurance” writes John Seniff.
Since the page was first created on March 31, more than 40,800 people have liked it. According to the page’s “Like” data, the page is most popular in Chicago, Obama’s hometown.
Photo via the White House
