In the summer of 2012, the Twitter hashtag #ObamaCareInThreeWords enjoyed a brief burst of popularity from opponents of the health-care overhaul. Until Thursday morning, the most recent tweet with the hashtag dated back to June 29, when Speaker John Boehner retweeted a statement by @GOPWhip: “We. Will. Repeal.”
#fullrepeal RT @gopwhip: #ObamaCareInThreeWords –> We. Will. Repeal.
— Speaker John Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) June 29, 2012
For no apparent reason, the long-dead hashtag rose again today to become one of the top-trending tags in the world, after the White House offered a long-delayed counter: “It’s. The. Law,” The tweet included a photo of the bill Obama signed in 2010.
It’s. The. Law. #ObamaCareInThreeWords, twitter.com/whitehouse/sta…
— The White House (@whitehouse) May 16, 2013
Sure, the White House tweeted a factual statement: Obamacare is indeed the law of the land. But it likely won’t persuade anyone who opposes the legislation. It’s a textbook example of the logical fallacy known as “Just Because” or “Because I Said So.”
In response, many Twitter users sent the White House historical examples where the argument “It’s the law” did not prevent people from opposing a particular policy:
So. Was. Slavery. RT @whitehouse It’s. The. Law. #ObamaCareInThreeWords
— Right Scoop (@trscoop) May 16, 2013
So was segregation RT @whitehouse: It’s. The. Law. #ObamaCareInThreeWords, twitter.com/whitehouse/sta…
— Amy Lutz (@amylutz4) May 16, 2013
#DreddScott ‘Logic’! | RT @/whitehouse “It’s. The. Law. #ObamaCareInThreeWords, twitter.com/whitehouse/sta… “
— Adam Baldwin (@adamsbaldwin) May 16, 2013
Some of the examples not only broke the hell out of Godwin’s law but stomped the resulting fragments into powder:
#ObamaCareInThreeWords NAZI DEATH CAMPS!
— minuteman1812 (@minuteman1812) May 16, 2013
Other tweets focused on present-day problems, rather than historical issues.
Way. Over. Budget. m.washingtonexaminer.com/cbo-obamacare-… #ObamacareInThreeWords
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) May 16, 2013
That said, for every tweet expressing disdain for either Obamacare or the White House tweet about it, you could find one wholeheartedly supporting the plan:
Mammograms are covered. #ObamacareInThreeWords.
— LiberalPhenom (@LiberalPhenom) May 16, 2013
Affordable health care #ObamaCareInThreeWords
— Hispanic Caucus (@HispanicCaucus) May 16, 2013
It just goes to show, what goes around, comes back around—even on Twitter.
Photo via The White House/Flickr