Sen. DeMint says law needs to be done away with in its entirety
It’s no secret that South Carolina is a political red state and no surprise that lawmakers in leadership disapprove of today’s Supreme Court ruling that upholds most of the Affordable Care Act – derisively known as Obamacare.
Senator Jim DeMint told South Carolina Radio Network that he hopes that changes to the law will now happen at the ballot box. “A lot of us had hoped that the Supreme Court would make our work a little easier dealing with this national takeover of health care…while we are disappointed we are certainly not discouraged. The bill was passed by the president and a Congress and Congress and a new president need to repeal it.”
The high court ruled that an individual mandate to purchase health insurance can be upheld– as a tax, not a commercial penalty. Conservatives are now seizing on the tax issue . DeMint says, “This is a tax, not only on the rich, but the poor and the middle class, every America is going to pay a lot more taxes in order to get a health plan that we may not want.”
AUDIO: Interview with DeMint on SCOTUS ruling
Senator Lindsey Graham says he wants to hear from Democrats who denied that they would increase taxes, “Now that the court said the only way you can uphold this bill is to use the power to tax, will you accept this as a tax increase and if you won’t accept it, will you work with Republicans to find a better way?
Graham has been pushing for repeal since the bill passed in 2010.
Graham is calling on Republicans running for office to make repeal part of their platform. He says he wants to go back to a bill he co-sponsored that allows state’s to entirely opt-out of the health care law.
Graham and DeMint say an incremental, free market approach will bring about improvements to health care prices and coverage
