Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) remarks Tuesday that Democrats erred by passing Obamacare in 2010 before the economy was fixed did not sit well with Obamaworld.
“Unfortunately, Democrats lost the opportunity the American people gave
them. We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong
problem — health care reform,” the No. 3 Senate Democrat said at the National Press Club, arguing that his party should have focused on middle class woes at the time instead. He added: “It has been reported that only a third of the uninsured are even registered to vote.”
Former aides to President Barack Obama took to Twitter to knock Schumer.
Tommy Vietor, Obama’s former National Security Council spokesman, kicked things off:
Shorter Chuck Schumer – I wish Obama cared more about helping Democrats than sick people.
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) November 25, 2014
Jon Favreau, a former Obama speechwriter, chimed in:
Funny, I don’t remember Chuck Schumer giving that advice when he was privately and publicly championing the Affordable Care Act in 2010
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) November 25, 2014
…And swatted away criticisms:
.@mrwaltershapiro yeah, it was terrible watching Barack Obama lose to President Mitt Romney in 2012 because of health care
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) November 25, 2014
Jon Lovett, another former Obama speechwriter, also joined the conversation with what he preemptively called a “rant.”
I’m sure Chuck Schumer has his reasons for wanting to debate 2009 Democratic political tactics but I’m also sure those reasons are terrible.
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) November 25, 2014
Yes, there was a debate about whether to pursue health care. But the biggest question was whether Democrats could get it done. And we did.
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) November 25, 2014
So what exactly does Chuck Schumer believe was the error? Does he believe that the goal of winning office is winning office?
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) November 25, 2014
The tweets prompted Dan Pfeiffer, currently senior adviser to Obama, to also weigh in:
@jonfavs @MrWalterShapiro the broader point is Obama ran to solve long festering politically hard problems that others shy away from
— Dan Pfeiffer (@pfeiffer44) November 25, 2014
