David Gregory: GOP Thinks 2014 Hopes Dimmed as ‘Obamacare May Be Neutralized Some’

Appearing on MSNBC with Andrea Mitchell on Friday, Meet the Press host David Gregory reported that President Barack Obama‘s announcement on Thursday that 8 million enrolled in the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges may have reduced the GOP’s chances for retaking the Senate in November. He said that Republicans he talks to think “Obamcare may be neutralized some” as a result of the president’s announcement.

Advertising

Gregory began by noting that the president urged his fellow Democrats on Thursday to defend the Affordable Care Act. He said the White House believes the number of enrollees is a “miracle.”

Gregory added that, if Democrats can frame the argument in 2014 as a “binary choice” between having access to health care and the Republicans’ efforts to take it away, “they like their chances.”

“Even some conservatives I’ve talked to this week have more question marks about whether Republicans will do as well in some of these as

tough states for the senate than they thought before, because they think that Obamacare may be neutralized some,” Gregory insisted.

Mitchell noted that the counterargument to the White House is the uncertainty surrounding the number of enrollees who have paid for coverage and the nature of the mix of enrollees and its effect on premium rates.

Gregory agreed. “For the political calculus, I think uncertainty is the friend of the Republicans,” he added.