The House Republicans have voted dozens of times to repeal all or part of President Barack Obama’s signature health care legislation. This time, Republicans – and five Democrats who voted with them — used the occasion of a repeal vote to punch back at President Obama’s tax on the American people. Picking up on Chief Justice John Roberts’ interpretation of the health care individual mandate as a tax, Republicans pointed out that this particular tax would disproportionately strike the middle and lower classes. Just as importantly, they said, Obamacare would destroy small business.
“As the Supreme Court ruled, the cornerstone of the Democrats’ health care law, the individual mandate, is a massive tax,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) explained. “This is a major tax with major implications. Democrats have argued that the individual mandate was necessary to improve the nation’s health. So what’s next? Will they require you to purchase low-fat or low-salt foods or pay a tax because they think it’s good for you?”
So, what was the point of the vote? Repeal will certainly fail in the Senate – in all likelihood, it will never reach a vote. And even if it were to pass the Senate, President Obama would veto it.
The vote was obviously symbolic. The vote wasn’t just a symbol of American anger over the Obamacare monstrosity – it was a symbol of commitment by Republicans to repeal. As Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) put it in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, “We win, we repeal.” Republicans will keep hammering home this message until Election Day. And, if they get their majority, they’ve now made it clear for the 31st time: Obamacare will be history.