Yesterday Over 2.2 Million Ohioans Voiced Their Displeasure With ObamaCare
Yesterday, Ohioans went to the ballot box and expressed their deep frustration with President Barack Obama and Senator Sherrod Brown’s $2.5 trillion government-run healthcare law that forces every Ohioan to purchase health insurance by supporting Ohio Health Care Amendment Issue 3.
Senator Brown was a strong proponent of President Obama’s government-run healthcare initiative and even voted, separately and specifically, to keep the individual mandate in the healthcare bill, because he said it was the way to implement ObamaCare.
- Brown Voted To Kill An Amendment That Would Have Removed The Individual Mandate From The Health Care Bill. “Baucus, D-Mont., motion to table (kill) the Ensign, R-Nev. amendment no. 3710 that would repeal provisions of the 2010 health care overhaul law that provide for IRS penalties for certain taxpayers that do not obtain basic health insurance coverage.” (H.R. 4872, CQ Vote #101: Motion agreed to 58-40: R 0-40; D 56-0; I 2-0, 3/25/10, Brown Voted Yea)
- SHERROD BROWN: “‘Maybe it’s not ideal – it’s certainly not communism,’ said Mr. Brown, who voted for the reform measure and wrote part of the law. ‘It’s the best way for the most people in the country.’” (Julie M. McKinnon, “Sen. Brown Defends Rule Requiring Insurance,” Toledo Blade, 1/3/11)
As the Columbus Dispatch reports:
Ohio voters yesterday overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment voicing their displeasure with a federal law requiring most Americans to buy health insurance by 2014 or face fines. … Yesterday’s vote is politically significant, said Attorney General Mike DeWine, a Republican who supported the measure, because “a major, significant state has voted against Obama health care.” That sends a message that voters in a presidential battleground state do not want the individual insurance mandate imposed on them, DeWine said. (Catherine Candisky, Voters say no to health-care intrustion and older judges, Columbus Dispatch, 11/09/11)
“Ohioans sent Barack Obama and Sherrod Brown a loud message, by voicing their strong displeasure with their job-killing healthcare bill,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox. “We hope that next November, Ohioans remember that not only did Sherrod Brown help make President Obama’s health care bill the law of the land, but he actually went out of his way to ensure that the individual mandate was kept in the bill.”
BACKGROUND
Sherrod Brown Provided One Of The Deciding Votes For ObamaCare
Brown Voted To Pass The Senate Version Of The $2.5 Trillion Obama-Reid Health Care Bill. (H.R. 3590, CQ Vote #396: Passed 60-39: R 0-39; D 58-0; I 2-0, 12/24/09, Brown Voted Yea)
- Brown Provided The 60th Vote To Invoke Cloture On The Senate Health Care Bill. (H.R. 3590, CQ Vote #395: Motion agreed to 60-39: R 0-39; D 58-0; I 2-0, 12/23/09, Brown Voted Yea)
Brown Voted To Pass The Health Care Reconciliation Bill. (H.R. 4872, CQ Vote #105: Passed 56-43: R 0-40; D 54-3; I 2-0, 3/25/10, Brown Voted Yea)
Sherrod Brown Supported The Individual Mandate
Brown Pushed A Senate Bill That Would Require Every American To Have Insurance. “Brown is pushing a Senate bill that would require every American to have insurance, mandate that businesses offer coverage to their employees and prevent insurers from turning away those with pre-existing conditions.” (Jim Siegel and Jonathan Riskind, “Health-Care Supporters Rally,” The Columbus Dispatch, 9/2/09)
Brown Said “Maybe” The Mandate Is “Not Ideal,” But “It’s The Best Way For The Most People In The Country.” “‘Maybe it’s not ideal – it’s certainly not communism,’ said Mr. Brown, who voted for the reform measure and wrote part of the law. ‘It’s the best way for the most people in the country.’” (Julie M. McKinnon, “Sen. Brown Defends Rule Requiring Insurance,” Toledo Blade, 1/3/11)
Brown Voted To Kill An Amendment That Would Have Removed The Individual Mandate From The Health Care Bill. “Baucus, D-Mont., motion to table (kill) the Ensign, R-Nev. amendment no. 3710 that would repeal provisions of the 2010 health care overhaul law that provide for IRS penalties for certain taxpayers that do not obtain basic health insurance coverage.” (H.R. 4872, CQ Vote #101: Motion agreed to 58-40: R 0-40; D 56-0; I 2-0, 3/25/10, Brown Voted Yea)
Sherrod Brown Co-Authored, And Strongly Advocated For, A Public Option
Brown Was A Co-Author Of The Senate Public Option Proposal. “And Brown is a co-author of a Senate proposal to create a government insurance plan, or so-called public option, to compete with private plans.” (Stephen Koff, “Town Hall On Health Care Peppered With Shouts Of ‘Liar,’” Plain Dealer [Cleveland, OH], 9/2/09)
- BROWN: “Senator Whitehouse And I Wrote The Public Option Language.” (CNN’s, “The Situation Room, 9/9/09)
BROWN: “[A] Really Good Plan’s Got To Include A Public Option.” (MSNBC’s, “The Ed Show,” 6/23/09)
Brown Said The Public Option Wouldn’t Cost Taxpayers Because It Saved Money. BROWN: “Well, it won’t cost taxpayers. The public option saves money because it does several things. It’s simply an option. It gives people a choice.” (MSNBC’s, “Countdown,” 10/28/09)
In September 2009, Brown Said He’d Have “Great Difficulty” Voting For A Bill Without The Public Option. BROWN: “I’d have great difficulty voting for it without the public option.” (MSNBC’s, “Countdown,” 9/23/09)
Brown Said The Public Option Would Inject Competition Into The Industry, Keep The Insurance Companies Honest, And Bring Down Costs. BROWN: “The public option’s simply injecting competition in with the insurance industry. People aren’t wild about the way the insurance industry denies care, the way the insurance uses pre-existing conditions to keep people from getting insurance. The public option will do several things. It’ll keep the insurance industry honest, it’ll — the public option can help bring costs down.” (MSNBC’s, “Morning Joe,” 7/30/09)
