Today in Washington, D.C. - Aug 4, 2010 - Missouri Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Obamacare's Individual Mandate

The Senate resumed consideration of the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 1586, the shell bill for a $26 billion state bailout for teachers and Medicaid. This morning, the Senate voted 61-38 to invoke cloture on the motion to concur, allowing the state bailout bill to move forward and also voted 61-38 to waive a budget point of order against the bill. Up to 30 hours of post-cloture debate is now in order.

Later today, the Senate may resume consideration of the nomination of Elena Kagan of Massachusetts to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) will vote for Kagan's nomination over the objections of her constituents.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today, “Missouri voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a federal mandate to purchase health insurance, rebuking President Barack Obama's administration and giving Republicans their first political victory in a national campaign to overturn the controversial health care law passed by Congress in March.” The New York Times adds, “Missouri voters on Tuesday easily approved a measure aimed at nullifying the new federal health care law, becoming the first state in the nation where ordinary people made known their dismay over the issue at the ballot box.” And The Wall Street Journal notes, “With all precincts reporting, 71% of voters supported Proposition C, establishing a state law that says Missouri cannot compel people to pay a penalty or fine if they fail to carry health coverage. Twenty-nine percent voted against the proposition.”

The NYT explains why the Missouri referendum is so important: “The measure was intended to invalidate a crucial element of President Obama’s health care law — namely, that most people be required to get health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Supporters of the measure said it would send a firm signal to Washington about how this state, often a bellwether in presidential elections, felt about such a law.”

Yesterday’s vote is yet another confirmation that Americans continue to oppose Democrats’ massive health care takeover. The WSJ notes in its story, “A June Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 44% think Mr. Obama's health-care plan is a bad idea, while 40% called it a good idea.” But just last month, 2 polls showed support for the law under 40%, while a third, from Democrat polling firm PPP, showed opposition to the law at 53%. And yet in spite of all of this, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) still claims, “Remember, any poll you see today, the majority of the American people support what we did here with health care.”

This hasn’t really been a good week for the health care law. On Monday, “A federal judge has refused to block a challenge to the Obama administration’s health care law brought by the Commonwealth of Virginia,” as the NYT reported. That lawsuit came in part from another state-based repudiation of the individual mandate, where the Virginia legislature, one house controlled by Republicans and the other by Democrats, passed a law saying residents of the state could not be compelled to purchase health insurance. And yesterday, Politico featured a report from the Congressional Research Service declaring it ‘impossible’ to count all the new bureaucratic entities created by the 2,800-page health care bill.

Is it any wonder Americans continue to say they don’t like the health care takeover? Polls show there hasn’t been majority support for the Democrats’ health plan since this time last year.

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell noted this morning, “All throughout the health care debate, Democrat leaders in Washington told themselves they could do what they want, and then persuade Americans after the fact that it was okay. Last night, the voters in Missouri overwhelmingly rejected that notion. The people of Missouri have sent a message to Washington: enough is enough. . . . Americans weren’t kidding when they said they said they opposed this health care bill. And they’re not going away. This is just the beginning. Some of us have been saying it for more than a year: the American people will be heard. Whether it’s the failed Stimulus, the health care bill, or the financial regulatory bill, Americans are more intent than ever on reversing the trend of centralizing more power in Washington.”

House GOP Conference Chair Mike Pence reflected this morning: “The American people have been loud and clear about their opposition to ObamaCare, but Democrats pushed it through against the will of the people. Yesterday’s vote in Missouri is a strong declaration that Americans continue to reject ObamaCare’s job-killing mandates and tax increases. By a margin of more than two-to-one, voters in Missouri rejected this government-takeover of health care that impinges on fundamental freedoms. House Republicans have been listening to the American people, and we continue to work toward repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with common sense legislation that will reduce health care costs and leave individual Americans with the freedom to choose their own health insurance.”

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