The one year anniversary of Obamacare took place this week…excuse me- I’m supposed to refer to it as the “Affordable Care Act,” even though the law has made health care even less affordable.
That being said, you would think that after one year the law would be a little more popular. Judging by the latest polls, public opinion has turned even more sour.
Despite the clear lack of support for the federal health care law, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), facing a tough re-election fight in 2012, continues to defend tha law and his vote in support of it. Judging by his latest defense of the law, you would think he is pretty proud of the legislation. Apparently not. Check out his latest squabble with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as reported by Politico.
Here’s a line Democratic Sen. Jon Tester can expect to hear a lot from Republicans over the next year and a half: He was “the 60th vote” for the health care law.
Tester’s office was ready, though. His aides e-mailed the video of the Senate roll call vote in December 2009 — which clearly shows Tester casting the 52nd vote.
If this health care bill were such a good law, you would think the Senator would be proud of the fact that without his one seat in the US Senate, the health care bill would not be the law of the land today. It’s an interesting dance that Tester is attempting to two-step here; defend the law, while at the same time trying to distance himself from the law.
Meanwhile, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), the lead author of the federal health care bill says Americans no longer have a choice with regard to the health care law. Click below to watch the video.
All this, as another Obamacare supporter, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) is seeking a waiver so that the entire metropolis of New York City won’t have to suffer from the realities of the federal health care law. Which got me thinking: what if we just get the entire state of Montana a waiver from Senator Tester and Senator Baucus’ health care bill?
As an update, Ed Morrissey at HotAir.com is also picking up on Senator Tester’s hilarious response, with the headline “Tester: Hey, I was only the 52nd vote for ObamaCare!”
But in truth, every Democrat in the Senate was the 60th and deciding vote. Had one of them decided not to vote for cloture, the bill would have died on the floor of the Senate, and Barack Obama would have had to work with Republicans for actual reform in health-care finances. Whether that vote got cast as the 52nd vote, the 14th vote, the first or the last, each and every Democrat in the Senate had the personal and individual opportunity to stop ObamaCare.