When Obama denounced as false the claim that this proposed health care system “would insure legal immigrants,” Wilson could hold his tongue no longer. “You lie!” he yelled.
Widely chastised at the time, Wilson had to feel vindicated this week when a report surfaced that 42 percent of new Medicaid sign-ups were immigrants, legal and otherwise. This added weight to the recent revelation that most of those newly insured for Obamacare had been insured through Medicaid.
It has been a good few weeks for Wilson. On November 4, he handily won re-election to Congress from South Carolina’s 2nd congressional district with nearly two thirds of the vote. A week later, the remarks made by MIT professor and self-styled Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber at a 2013 academic conference sobered up those who preferred to think Obama’s broken health care promises were unfortunate but unforeseen.
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If past presidents could boast of signature achievements, Obama could boast of a signature lie. On at least forty occasions, he promised, in one form or another, that “no matter how we reform health care,” no one would take anyone’s existing health plan away, “no matter what.” Obama would build his presidency on this promise. He would pass the Affordable Care Act on this promise. He would get re-elected on this promise. It would prove to be the most consequential lie in domestic political history.
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