In July, Kristen Wyatt of the Associated Press reported that Colorado was “among the heaviest spenders for marketing and advertising” Obamacare exchanges in the nation. At that point, Colorado had already spent over $21 million in taxpayer funds to promote the controversial law. What has all that spending wrought?

One word: clusterf*ck.

A new Colorado poll and focus group by USA Today finds some serious trouble for the much-loathed legislation. A few key quotes from the USA Today writeup:

  • “By 52%-33%, Colorado residents disapprove of the Affordable Care Act. More than two-thirds say they don’t understand it very well, and a majority predict the overall effect of the law on the country in coming years is going to be mostly negative.”
  • “Among those who disapprove of the law, an overwhelming majority (54%-37%) want elected officials who agree with them to do what they can to make the law fail.”
  • “…approval of the law is lower in Colorado than nationwide, and the opposition is more fervent.”
  • “Just 3% say the law has had a positive effect on them or their families. One in four predict it will have a positive effect in coming years.”
The focus group, consisting of uninsured Coloradans, produced equally damning indictments of the law:
Asked to describe Obamacare in a word or phrase, Robert Widgery says, “Government boondoggle.” Catherine Campbell: “Worried I can’t afford it.” Elizabeth Espinosa: “I don’t know what it is.”

As the below chart via Business Insider demonstrates, the bottom is falling out nationally on support for the healthcare bill three years after it was signed into law:

The thousands of letters going out to Colorado residents informing them their health insurance plans are being cancelled due to Obamacare might, just might, have something to do with this.

Maybe now Colorado reporters will find the story worth their time.