Obamacare will be a huge voting issue for Republicans - that's already clear. They'll turn out in droves because they hate the law. What's less clear is how Democrats will get their supporters to the polls to say, "hey, thanks for health reform."

Two weeks ago, amid great fanfare, there was a special election in Florida to fill the unexpired term of Republican C.W. "Bill" Young, who passed away in 2013. Young had held the seat since Richard Nixon's first term and was the longest serving Republican member of Congress at the time of his death.

Because President Obama had narrowly carried the district, many expected the Democratic candidate to prevail in the election.

David Jolly, a former Young staffer turned lobbyist, was the Republican nominee. His key message was that he would vote to repeal Obamacare. Alex Sink, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2010, was his opponent. She said she wouldn't repeal it, that there were some good things in the bill, but that there was plenty that needed to be fixed. She said she would work to fix the bad things and keep the good things.

On Election Day Jolly's clear and simple message carried him to victory.

Now, many Democrats are in full retreat. They figure that because a Democratic congressional candidate in Pinellas County, Florida was defeated in what many called a referendum on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), that they are in serious jeopardy of losing the Senate majority. And some say Democrats shouldn't even think about picking up seats in the House.

Perhaps, but only if Democrats refuse to embrace the law. After all, Democrats passed it and President Obama signed it into law without a single Republican in sight.

Sure, the website launch was flawed and the law is complex. It is also much harder to explain the provisions of the ACA than it is to attack it. But there is much to be proud of in making health care more available and affordable. Democratic candidates should make it their mission to redefine it, then own it.

Here's what I recommend for Democratic candidates: begin all town hall meetings, every debate and discussion by talking about the Affordable Care Act. Start by explaining why it makes sense for everyone to have health insurance, how much sicker the uninsured generally are before they see a doctor, how inefficient it is to have 44 million people accessing the healthcare system without health insurance, and how much all of this is costing America.

Talk about how unfair it is to refuse to cover someone with a pre-existing condition, explaining how that can hamstring productivity and lock people into jobs they hate, and show how we can cover even the sickest among us, but only if everyone is paying into the system. Talk about how lifetime caps on insurance coverage are just plain wrong.

In other words, treat voters with respect.

The reason the Democratic candidate lost in Florida was poor turnout. Obamacare haters showed up; defenders, given no good reason to make the time to vote, stayed home. It is up to Democrats to aggressively redefine the terms of the debate, to explain how all of us are better off with the ACA than without it. Democrats should stand up and be proud of the law they passed, keep the debate at a high level and force Republicans to explain why they favor repeal.

Democrats have allowed ACA opponents to drive the debate for far too long. It's time for Democrats everywhere to be clear about what they stand for.