What's in a name? A look at how 'health reform' became 'Obamacare'
By Kathy Kiely Jun 28 2012 9:35 a.m.The political backdrop for Thursday's Supreme Court ruling on President Obama's health care law is vividly illustrated in the way rhetoric about the controversial measure has changed. The orange line indicates frequency of mentions for "Obamacare." The pink line is for "health reform."
In the graphic above, created by Capitol Words -- Sunlight's tool for tracking the language used on the floor of Congress -- you can see how the derogatory term "Obamacare," invented and mostly used by Republicans, as seen below. The red line indicates Republican mentions of the term, the blue, Democrats.
If winning a debate means defining the terms, it's interesting to see why the president has been on the defensive over the signature legislative achievement of his first term.
Search the Blog
Related Content
- 2012 election 218
- health care 17
- Health care reform 7
Real Time Ticker
Recent Posts
- Americans for Prosperity takes aim at farm bill
- California billionaire pumps $1 million more into Mass. senate race
- Stealthy super PAC avoids disclosing donors before Mass. special election
- Pesticide industry would benefit from farm bill provisions
- Will Bloomberg's wrath hurt senators who opposed gun bill?
Reporting we're watching
- OpenSecrets: Millionaire Freshmen Make Congress Even Wealthier
- Sunlight Foundation: New G8 Open Data Charter
- Sunlight Foundation: 2Day in #OpenGov 6/18/2013
- Sunlight Foundation: Possible impacts of the Czech political turmoil
- Sunlight Foundation: Announcing a new grant to Sunlight from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
