Half way through the work week, and the White House has had an unusually difficult week concerning the progress of their signature piece of legislation. Let’s recap:
On Monday, a federal judge cleared a lawsuit brought forth by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli regarding the Constitutionality of the recent health care legislation—specifically the individual mandate. This case will almost certainly be decided by the Supreme Court, but this was an important first step in that process.
Later that day, reports came out that Secretary of HHS Kathleen Sebelius had caught heat regarding misleading statements that claimed ObamaCare would simultaneously pay for the coverage of an additional 30 million Americans and extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund. The $575 billion that CMS claims the Medicare program will save as a result of the legislation can be used for one purpose or the other, but not both.
Yesterday, a Congressional Research Service Study announced that it is impossible to estimate the number of new agencies created as a result of ObamaCare. Most estimates have the number at around 100, but CRS claims that the final tally is “unknowable” because of the uncertainty surrounding some of the language.
Meanwhile, throughout the course of the day yesterday, voters in Missouri were busy voting in favor of Proposition C, a law that would exempt the citizens of Missouri from the requirement to purchase health insurance, the centerpiece of ObamaCare. The referendum passed by a 3-to-1 margin, but the breakdown of votes is even more telling.
Nearly 670,000 people voted in favor of the proposition, approximately 85,000 votes more than the number of Republican and third-party primary votes. Even if the 40,000 or so voters who apparently cast a vote for Proposition C but not for a primary candidate all voted in favor of proposition, as well as every single Republican and third-party voter, that still leaves nearly 45,000 Democrats who must have also voted with their Republican constituents in upholding their right to obtain health insurance on a voluntary basis.
Keep in mind that these are not just ordinary, uninterested voters. These are the base of the Democratic Party, the most politically active citizens, and yet somewhere between 12-25% of them decided to oppose the individual mandate, notably in a state that is often the bellwether of national election campaigns.
If things continue this way, repeal should be on its way by next week.