Tea Party supporter William Temple of Brunswick, Ga., protests against President Barack Obama's health care law outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Thursday, June 28, 2012. Saving its biggest case for last, the Supreme Court is expected to announce ruling on President Barack Obama's health care law. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Will today’s landmark Supreme Court ruling galvanize Republican foes of “Obamacare” in Connecticut and around the country?
Republicans on the ballot are already recrafting their message in the wake of decision, which they say opens the door to higher taxes on small businesses without fixing the ills of the health care system.
And so resumes the talk of repealing the controversial legislation.
Here’s what they’re saying:
U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon:
“Today’s decision by the High Court is extremely disappointing. The American people were told that this legislation would lower costs. It hasn’t. They were told that it would not increase taxes. It does.
The tax increases that finance this will devastate small businesses and middle class families.
Our choice this November is all the clearer. The majority of Americans oppose the President’s health care plan because it raises taxes on small businesses, cuts Medicare by $500 billion and increases costs. I opposed it because Connecticut small business owners have told me about the negative impact it has had on their ability to create jobs. But now the real work begins, and that’s why it is so important for Connecticut voters to send someone to Washington who will implement common-sense, market-based solutions that increase patient choice, control costs, and expand access to coverage for all Americans.
I know what it’s like for the millions of Americans who lie awake at night worried about what they would do if, God forbid, something happened to a loved one and they couldn’t afford the medical care they need, because I’ve been there. When I found out I was pregnant with my son Shane, we didn’t have health insurance because we couldn’t afford it. As we reform our health care system, we should always remember those Americans, including many here in Connecticut, who every day face the uncertainty and fear of being without insurance or access to quality care.”
Former Congressman Christopher Shays, also a candidate for Senate:
“The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the constitutionality of the individual healthcare mandate just reaffirms the need to send someone to the United States Senate who has the ability to repeal this destructive law. Obamacare is the single greatest infringement on our individual liberties and personal freedoms that we have seen in my generation. This was a power grab of the U.S. health care system by Chris Murphy, a Democratic Congress and the Obama Administration.
The Supreme Court ruled that the President’s healthcare plan is constitutional based on the fact that the individual mandate is a tax, in spite of the fact that the Democrat-controlled Congress and the Administration repeatedly insisted it was not a tax. This hypocrisy is why Americans have a right to be fed up with Washington.
Obamacare is increasing health insurance premiums, reducing patient choice, threatening the quality of care, and impeding medical progress. On top of that, six years of Obamacare ‘benefits’ are paid for with ten years of taxes.
Obamacare takes $500 billion away from Medicare, a vital program for our senior citizens that was already heading for insolvency, and uses it for other purposes.
Now more than ever we need experienced leaders who can navigate the process so that we can repeal the President’s so-called ‘Affordable Healthcare Act.’ ”