Make Democrats Own ObamaCare

By Kimberley A. Strassel,

In the states that will determine control of the Senate, the health law is falling apart.

“You bet I voted for that bill. I’m proud I did it!” yelled Russ Feingold at a Wisconsin campaign stop in 2010. That pride—in ObamaCare—lost the three-term Democratic senator his job. Now his party’s ownership of the health-care law may once again decide the Senate.

ObamaCare is roaring back as a political liability to Democrats in a way not seen since that 2010 wave election. Right in time for this fall’s presidential contest, insurers are bailing out of the government system, leaving millions of voters with dwindling options and skyrocketing premiums. ObamaCare was always destined to crack up, but there is something notable that it comes precisely as so much control of Washington is up for grabs.

Especially since the health law is playing an outsize role in the states that will matter most for which party controls the Senate. At least three crucial elections feature Democrats who provided the final Senate votes to make ObamaCare the law of the land. Several other high-profile races are playing out in states where the health law has wreaked particular damage.

Start with Wisconsin, where Mr. Feingold is running to regain his old seat. Once again he is lugging along his 2010 vote for the law, which is expected to impose rate increases of as much as 31% on Wisconsinites in 2017. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, the businessman who defeated Mr. Feingold six years ago, is already reprising his 2010 hammering of ObamaCare. He has accused his opponent of having a “blasé attitude” about the law’s crushing effects, perhaps referring to a Politico interview last year in which Mr. Feingold said he thought ObamaCare, over time, would work out, and “that’s exactly what’s happened.”

In Indiana, Republican Rep. Todd Young is running for the Senate against another Democrat hoping for a comeback. Former Sen. Evan Bayh voted for ObamaCare in 2010, though when it proved unpopular he chose to retire rather than face voters. Now that his replacement, Republican Sen. Dan Coats, is stepping down, Mr. Bayh wants his seat back.

Then there’s Colorado’s Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, also a deciding vote for ObamaCare. Republican challenger Darryl Glenn is making an issue out of last year’s collapse of Colorado HealthOP, the state-run ObamaCare co-op. Its failure left 80,000 Coloradans without coverage and state taxpayers with a potential bill of $40 million.

The Democrats in these races appear to be comfortably ahead. Then again, no real polling has been done on them since the ObamaCare meltdown in August. And the fall ad blitz is only about to commence. Those TV spots could make the difference in tight races, where competitors are scrambling within the margin of error.

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