Did The New York Times and Chicago Tribune Both Just Hint at an ObamaCare Repeal?

ObamaCare had a bad weekend.

On Friday, the Chicago Tribune ran an editorial calling for the president to recognize the obvious: that it’s time for the Democrats to scrap the healthcare law and start over:

We understand why the president and leaders of his party want to rescue whatever they can of Obamacare. On their watch, official Washington has blown the launch of a new entitlement program … under the schedule they alone set in early 2010.

What we don’t understand is their reluctance to give that failure more than lip service. Many of the Americans who heard their president say Thursday that “we fumbled the rollout of this health care law” would have been pleased to hear him add: So we’re admitting it. This law is a bust. We’re starting over.

Today, the New York Times has added its voice to the public backlash against the President’s health care law, admitting that a repeal of ObamaCare – if the 1989 repeal of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act is any guide – is possible.

The tortured history of the catastrophic-care law is a cautionary tale in the context of the struggle over the new health law, the Affordable Care Act. It illustrates the political and policy hazards of presenting sweeping health system changes to consumers who might not be prepared for them. And it provides a rare example of lawmakers who were willing to jettison a big piece of social policy legislation when the political risks became too grave.

…

Others involved with the passage and repeal of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act see clear parallels with the current situation, in which a very vocal segment that views itself as harmed by the new law has joined with highly organized political operations to rally opposition to it.

“When I saw this massive thing, I said, ‘Boy, if this is anything like catastrophic, they are going to be in trouble,’ ” said Brian J. Donnelly, who led the 1989 repeal effort as a Massachusetts Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee. “It is a very good analogy.”

The law’s failures are mounting daily, and Americans’ frustration and anger with House Democrats and President Obama is growing. HealthCare.gov is an absolute trainwreck, and millions of Americans are losing their insurance policies despite the president’s repeated promises that they could keep them. As the ObamaCare disaster continues to wreak havoc, the call for a full repeal and replacement of the President’s health care law will become louder.