With the Supreme Court of the United States expected to rule Thursday over the constitutionality of the federal health-care law that President Barack Obama signed in 2010, with a poll showing that Americans want the measure repealed, Republicans continue to fire away at it.
Rasmussen Reports released a poll this week showing that 54 percent of likely voters want to see the law repealed while 39 percent oppose repeal. The poll shows voters on both sides have passionate feelings on the issue, with 43 percent of those surveyed strongly supporting repealing the law and 28 percent strongly opposed to repealing it. The poll of 1,000 likely voters was conducted from June 23-24 and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
Since March 2010, Rasmussen has taken almost 100 polls on whether or not the law should be repealed. In every single poll, more voters favored repealing the health-care law than opposed it. In every one of the polls, save one taken in April 2011, a majority of those surveyed supported repealing the law.
With the wind at their back, at least in regard to public opinion on repealing the measure, opponents of the federal health-care law came out swinging against it on Tuesday.
Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for presumptive Republican presidential candidate former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, insisted that her boss would repeal the law if he is elected in November.
Three years ago, President Obama chose to ram through his partisan, job-killing Obamacare legislation rather than focusing his full attention on the economy, said Saul. The results of this decision are in Obamacare will raise taxes on job creators, force jobs abroad, and hinder small-business hiring. On day one, Mitt Romney will take immediate action to repeal and replace Obamacare with a plan that empowers individuals and frees job creators from the burdens this president has imposed on them.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who rose to political prominence by opposing the federal law and has been a staunch backer of the constitutional challenge to it from Florida and more than 20 other states, doubled down on his opposition to the law on Tuesday.
"I organized a group in 2009 to make sure we reduced the cost of health care for Americans, Scott said in a statement on Tuesday. Unfortunately, Obamacare passed. Obamacare will ration care for patients. It will make it more difficult for individuals looking for a job because employers will have to pay more for their employees' health care and will raise taxes on Floridians. I am very optimistic that the Supreme Court will declare it unconstitutional; but if not, it needs to be repealed."
The Obama team continues to defend the law, though; during a campaign swing on Monday to the battleground state of New Hampshire and safely Democratic Massachusetts, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney talked more about health care than the president did.
In terms of anticipating the Supreme Court decision, I can say only what I've said before, which is that the president and his team remain confident that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, and the administration has pressed forward with implementing the various aspects of the Affordable Care Act, and will continue to do so, Carney told the media on Monday.
I think that it's important to note that while some in Washington are changing what they have to say about this law and the arguments presented, legal experts continue to believe this law is constitutional.
We remain confident that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional and we are ready for whatever decision is rendered by the Supreme Court, added Carney.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
