Did the right wing critics of PPACA think it through when they saddled the act with the name Obamacare? This was a big mistake for the right wing.
Fox "News" and their Tea Party devotees coined the term Obamacare during the many months the Republicans held up and to some extent weakened the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But insurer denial of coverage is inevitably going to be a thing of the past in the U.S., and the laws that make this a reality will probably be known as Obamacare.
In 2009 and 2010 would Republicans have come out as the supposed protectors of Medicare if it had been called Johnsoncare? What inflammatory meme would they have used instead to bolster senior turnout at town halls and in the mid term election?
How would perceptions of the Democratic Party have been different over the past 60 years if Social Security was known as FDRcare? For retirees, it would mean a check every month announcing that the Democrats have your back, and they’ll see that you get what you’ve earned.
But the right wing wasn't steered as much by a media machine when those policies developed, and the country may not have been as polarized. Medicare and social security weren't retagged for political purposes, or at least not successfully.
Aside from doctrines on international policy (Monroe, Bush), the names of presidents who oversee major new policies are rarely imbedded into the name of the policy. There’s no Lincolnabolition, Trumannuclear, or JFKcorps. There are exceptions. Jeffersonian democracy for the Federalists, and Reaganomics for the Republicans come to mind.
Jefferson aside, as legacies to represent a political party I’d take FDRcare or Johnsoncare over Reaganomics any day (especially since it got us into the current economic mess). Now thanks to the Fox/Tea News/Party it looks like the Democrats will have Obamacare for at least a generation or two. As the policy improves, this is going to be a great legacy for the party.
Roger Ebert has a great op ed on Obamacare:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/...