On CNN's State Of The Union, Grover Norquist Pretends Conservatives Haven't Fought Obamacare Implementation

Conservative activist Grover Norquist falsely claimed that “nobody is keeping anybody out” of the Affordable Care Act and that “the idea that Republicans have not been trying to help is wrong.” Norquist's rhetoric ignores Republican efforts to delay implementation of the program, attempts to repeal the law, and activist campaigns discouraging enrollment.

From the August 18 edition of CNN's State of the Union:

In fact, Republicans and conservatives have made multiple attempts to discourage adoption of the program by citizens.

House Republicans have voted to repeal the law 40 times, while some Republican members of Congress and activists are currently promoting the idea of defunding the law.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) wrote a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Gooddell in order to dissuade the league from taking part in a public service campaign to educate consumers about the law.

The House Republican Conference suggested members engage in media tours to “to emphasize the need to repeal ObamaCare” during the August recess.

26 states with Republican governors or Republican dominated legislatures have refused to set up insurance exchanges in their states, delaying implementation of the law. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, as of March 2013, “10.8 million uninsured under the new Medicaid expansion limit reside in states where governors oppose the expansion or ar still weighing options.”

Outside groups are also working against enrollment, as reported by Reuters:

FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity, a conservative issue group financed by billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, known for funding conservative causes, are planning separate media and grassroots campaigns aimed at adults in their 20s and 30s - the very people Obama needs to have sign up for healthcare coverage in new online insurance exchanges if his reforms are to succeed.

“We're trying to make it socially acceptable to skip the exchange,” said Dean Clancy, vice president for public policy at FreedomWorks, which boasts 6 million supporters. The group is designing a symbolic “Obamacare card” that college students can burn during campus protests.

Furthermore, Reuters also reports that Crossroads GPS, the pressure group backed by Fox News pundit Karl Rove, plans a dishonest campaign “aimed at elderly voters” that will claim Medicare funds are being used to pay for the new law. A Crossroads spokesman told Reuters that they hope “there may be some traction to repeal the worst parts of the law and eventually repeal the law entirely.”