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What 2016 Hopefuls Think of King v. Burwell Obamacare Decision

  • Ken McIntyre

    • Rick Perry: 'Americans deserve better.' (Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters/Newscom)

    Most of the major candidates running for president responded quickly to the Supreme Court’s upholding of Obamacare subsidies, with Democrats generally hailing the ruling and Republicans panning it.

    Within minutes of the release of the high court’s 6-3 decision in King v. Burwell, the 2016 presidential hopefuls took to Twitter to offer their opinions.

    >>> Republicans in Congress Plot Next Steps after Ruling

    “Yes!” exclaimed Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, who spearheaded a failed effort to enact a health care law during her husband’s presidency.

    Nine minutes later, Clinton followed up with a second tweet including an old photo of her as secretary of state, about to hug President Obama in the White House.

    Far from distancing herself from the president’s signature domestic policy achievement or her own bruising history with health care in the 1990s, Clinton recently launched a video promoting, among other things, her connection with the issue:

    Among 13 Republicans officially in the race for the White House so far,  former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a veteran of the 2008 presidential primaries, appeared to be the first to tweet out a reaction.

    Within 20 minutes, Huckabee tweeted out a full statement

    A stream of six tweets from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., captured a formal statement in which he described himself as “committed to repealing this bad law and replacing it with my consumer-centered plan that puts patients and families back in control of their health care decisions.”

    Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, also making his second bid for the Republican nomination,  was the first to email a statement to reporters. Released in Austin at 10:30 a.m. eastern and tweeted minutes later, his reaction decried the ruling and called for repeal of the “heavy-handed, one-size-fits-all” Affordable Care Act.

    Perry said:

    With individual premiums up more than 50 percent and nearly 5 million people losing their health plans, Americans deserve better than what we’re getting with Obamacare. It’s time we repealed Obamacare and replaced it with truly affordable, patient centered-health care reform, and I look forward to laying out my ideas on this issue.

    “Republicans must outline a clear and coherent vision for health care to win the trust of the American people to repeal Obamacare. And right now, I am the only candidate to put forward a comprehensive plan,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who entered the Republican race Wednesday, said in remarks emailed to reporters at 11:06 a.m.

    Jindal added:

    Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, the debate will grow.   Conservatives must be fearless in demanding that our leaders in Washington repeal and replace Obamacare with a plan that will lower health care costs and restore freedom.

    Several tweets from Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO who is the only woman in the GOP race, previewed her lengthy statement on Facebook.

    Clinton’s strongest opponent so far in the Democratic primaries, Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, welcomed what he called a “common sense” ruling:

    https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/614085461540212736https://twitter.com/ChrisChristie/status/614085054227214338

    Sanders soon put out a full statement:

    Also on the Democratic side, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley celebrated the defeat of what he called “an ideological attempt to stop” Obamacare.

    Lincoln Chafee, the former Rhode Island governor and senator who entered the Democratic race three weeks ago, also welcomed the news.

    https://twitter.com/LincolnChafee/status/614083615337672707

    Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., issued a statement in Washington at 11:05 a.m. vowing that as president he would “make it my mission to repeal” the Affordable Care Act and “propose real solutions.”

    “Obamacare,” Paul said, “raises taxes, harms patients and doctors, and is the wrong fix for America’s health care system.”

    This tweet quickly followed:

    Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who took to the Senate floor shortly before 1:30 p.m. to talk about the King v. Burwell ruling, campaigns for the GOP nomination while calling for repealing “every word” of Obamacare and replacing it with patient-centered reforms.

    One unannounced GOP hopeful, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, focused on what he says are Obamacare’s adverse effects on many working Americans.

    New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another prospective Republican candidate, weighed in with two blunt tweets:

    Another sitting governor expected to enter the Republican race, Ohio’s John Kasich, put out a statement saying Obamacare “has driven up Ohio’s health insurance costs.”

    George Pataki, a Republican making his first run for president after three terms as New York governor, had this to say:

    Another former governor in the GOP race, Jeb Bush of Florida, tweeted out a link to a statement and video pledging if elected to work with Congress “to repeal and replace this flawed law with conservative reforms.”

    Rounding out the reactions from Republican 2016ers were tweets from Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania; Ben Carson, the retired pediatric neurosurgeon; and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina:

    Vice President Joe Biden, who appears increasingly disinclined to seek the Democratic nomination, remains the subject of a draft effort. After Biden appeared with Obama at the White House as the president made a celebratory statement, the vice president’s staff tweeted this:

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