Krugman has never had trouble in his column empathizing with the uninsurable and the very poor, who in many cases will benefit from Obamacare. But it is harder to empathize with the millions of Americans who are not poor, yet must constantly worry about money. These are the people most affected by and angriest about Obamacare now – and they also have little or nothing to gain from it.

Those inflated Obamacare premiums won’t make these people homeless. But they will put a lot of extra pressure on their household budgets. Obamacare will cancel date nights and trips to visit family; it will force less generous Christmases for children. It will mean that for all your hard work, you’ll still be driving that piece of junk a few more years before you can afford to replace it with something more reliable.

To some writers, the experiences and aspirations of this entire “middle class” are so foreign that these people might as well all live half a world away in Benghazi. But they are real, and they vote. And if the media tried to ignore their story, the very stones would cry out.