Concern for protecting the American culture and wayof life is strongly associated with opposition toObamacare

President Obama’s signature health care reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, recently reached its five year-anniversary, with little end yet in sight to the controversy its implementation has caused, especially among conservatives. But how can we explain such widespread opposition to the ACA? In new research which looks at attitudes across the U.S., Benjamin Knoll and Jordan Shewmaker find that those who support the protection of American culture and way of life – ‘nativists’ – are much more likely to be against the ACA. For many Americans, they explain, reforms such as Obamacare are increasingly becoming associated with “foreign” political values and practices, especially for strong Republicans. They also comment that for those with stronger nativist attitudes, President Obama’s perceived foreignness likely played a role in shaping their opposition toward the ACA.