Rejected: Missouri Gives Obamacare A Resounding No
Written by Brian Garst, Posted in Health Care, Welfare & Entitlements, The Courts, Criminal Justice & Tort, The Nanny State & A Regulated Society
As I predicted back in December, the fight over Obamacare has moved to the states. Several big developments have hit recently which do not bode well for supporters of unconstitutionally government-run health care.
First, a Federal District Court Judge Henry Hudson rejected the government’s attempt to dismiss Virginia’s lawsuit against Obamacare (full decision here). The establishment line was that legal challenges to Obamacare were just partisan grandstanding, and that of course government has the power to tax a non-economic non-activity through the Commerce Clause. They were wrong as Judge Hudson noted that Obamacare’s constitutional argument “literally forges new ground and extends Commerce Clause powers beyond its current high watermark.” Whether or not the court eventually reaches the right conclusion and declares Obamacare’s individual mandate to be unconstitutional remains to be seen, but this is an important first step.
On top of this, the voters in Missouri turned out yesterday to give Obamacare their disapproval.
Tuesday’s 71 to 29 percent blowout vote on Proposition C left no doubt where voters stand as they handed President Obama’s health care law a stunning rejection.
The proposition attempts to protect Missourians from the new federal mandate to buy insurance.
It also tries overturning the new federal prohibitions on insurance companies selling insurance directly to people.
This is just the beginning of the long fight against massive government expansion and government-run healthcare. But so far, the battles are being won by the side of smart policy and Constitutional governance.