Columnist Charles Krauthammer scorched Obamacare during a panel discussion on Special Report Tuesday night, calling the health care law the "classic liberal approach" of creating subsidies, dependency and ultimately constituencies.
"Once you have that, you can't repeal them," he said. "I think Obamacare is such a mess that it probably will not have that effect in the end, because they will affect so many people adversely that it'll end up creating animosity against it."
Obama and former President Bill Clinton promoted the law Tuesday at the Clinton Global Initiative, where Clinton pointed out a flaw in the law's ability to keep costs low. Labor unions that staunchly supported Obama and other Democrats have also come out in force against the law, which Krauthammer said was key to ultimately defeating it.
"Look, the idea that only Ted Cruz is speaking out against Obamacare is not exactly true," Krauthammer said. "The head of the AFL-CIO is speaking out against it. As you reported a couple of weeks ago, the unions in the meeting of the AFL-CIO were railing against it and wanted it repealed. I think it's more effective that the labor unions, who are the most loyal Democrats in the country, are railing against Obamacare."
KRAUTHAMMER: This is the classic liberal approach which is to create subsidies, to create dependency and then you create constituencies. And once you have that you can't repeal them. I think Obamacare is such a mess that it probably will not have that effect in the end, because they will affect so many people adversely that it'll end up creating animosity against it. There actually was one entitlement that passed in 1988. It was a catastrophic care bill attached to Medicare which everybody assumed would be unrepealable. It was so unpopular it was repealed the next year in 1989, so I think this will probably happen to Obamacare.
Look, the idea that only Ted Cruz is speaking out against Obamacare is not exactly true. The head of the AFL-CIO is speaking out against it. As you reported a couple of weeks ago, the unions in the meeting of the AFL-CIO were railing against it and wanted it repealed. I think it's more effective that the labor unions, who are the most loyal Democrats in the country, are railing against Obamacare. This, what we're seeing tonight, is pure theater. It will have no effect. What might have an effect, if you want to attach something on to the resolution, you've got to have something that the country entirely agrees with. Attach on to this a provision that no one in Congress and no staffer in Congress is going to be exempt from all of the provisions of Obamacare and they will not be eligible for any subsidies and that will advertise to the country, because this is all theater anyway, that we're trying to make a point. It would make a point of the utter hypocrisy of the Democrats in Congress who passed it for everybody else but exempted themselves. That I think would be an effective point but defunding it? It's not going to happen.