Obamacare Cheapshot: Republicans Use Cats to Rib ACA's Tech Pitfalls

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — There's been no shortage of criticism about the tech problems plaguing Obamacare at Healthcare.gov, but this morning on his website, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) took a cheapshot at the kerfuffle in a BuzzFeed-style post: "8 Cats Who Called 1-800-ObamaCare but Still Couldn't Get Healthcare."

"According to Clay Johnson, a former member of President Obama's technology team, HealthCare.gov was created by a "sloppy" team of contractors," the website reads. "What's worse, these 'sloppy' contractors charged taxpayers half a billion dollars for a website that doesn't work."

As it tries to get the online Affordable Care Act exchanges to work, the Obama Administration has suggested that people sign-up by phone. That's where Issa went for the jugular.

"The Obama Administration has setup a 1-800 problem that will solve all your problems," the website ironically said. "Here's 8 cats who've struggled to signup for ObamaCare."

Playing on the LOlcat meme, the listicle-style post presents felines--ranging from the cute to the ferocious--in various states of despair over telephonic frustrations suffered when trying to get healthcare.

"O HAY...STILL ON HOLD," reads the text on a picture of a bored cat snuggled up with a flip phone.

The humor reaches its pinnacle in #2:

"I HAS A SAD," reads the caption on a picture of a white kitty. "KITTEH LOST RECEPTION."

Of course, as a colleague points out, Issa--who made his fortune in car alarms--is hardly one to throw stones for tech malfunctions.

--Written by Ross Kenneth Urken for MainStreet