It's not so much that people found the subject confusing, it's that they all wanted a free lunch. There was broad support for public healthcare (like I said, 97% of voters picked a presidential candidate that promised strong interventions), but they also wanted cheaper healthcare.
I'm curious where in that paragraph you see a lack of support for a public option. Best I can see is a couple polls that showed less than majority support, which is (?) offset by polls indicating majority support.
As I said, they wanted pie in the sky, with ice cream. What they needed was reform
before the country went bankrupt as the existing system exploded. What they got is the ACA, which isn't pie in the sky with ice cream, but won't bankrupt the country. Looks like a win.
The republican party is trying to capitalize on it
not being pie in the sky with ice cream, while not mentioning that they couldn't produce that either. I
would say that they are just mad because they didn't think of it...but in fact they did.
Initial sounding of alarm that the health care system was headed for bankruptcy without reform before the baby boomers got old: Richard Nixon.
Source of major concepts: Rand corporation study commissioned by Richard Nixon.
Proof of concept: State level system in Massachusetts installed under governor Mitt Romney.
Too bad the republicans never got around to implementing their solution to the problem that they pointed out. It would work just the same, and we wouldn't have to listen to them blustering and acting like fools about it.