Debunking the “ObamaCare is Conservative” Myth, Part 1

Principles & Policy ^ | July 21st, 2012

[Sark]

One myth has been prevalent, if not pervasive, throughout the entire debate over health care reform, from President Barack Obama’s first overtures for universal coverage to this very moment. When the left is thrown on the defensive over a point of principle or policy, they almost always resort to invoking this singular myth. What’s the myth? Let me summarize it:

“'ObamaCare' is a conservative health care law whose main tenet (the individual mandate) was originally created by the conservative Heritage Foundation and proposed as a bill by conservatives in 1993. Now, a conservative-appointed Chief Justice leading a conservative Supreme Court has upheld that conservative law, and the only reason conservatives are so intent on attacking 'ObamaCare' is partisanship/racism/political gamesmanship/fill in the blank."

Wow. Pretty damning stuff. If all of that is true, doesn’t it mean that we conservatives are just big, fat hypocrites? Sure. Fortunately for us, every element of this myth is either incorrect or, at the very least, misleading. Before we go through each individual accusation in that summary, however, we need to lay a bit of groundwork first.