Missouri Screams: "Hands of Our Healthcare" - No to ObamaCare

James Taranto of the WSJ reports about Missouri rejecting ObamaCare:

They told us that Americans would learn to stop worrying and love ObamaCare. To judge by yesterday's election in Missouri, they were wrong.

Official election returns show that citizens of the Show Me State voted overwhelmingly--71% to 29% in favor of Proposition C, a ballot measure described in a pre-election report from Time magazine:

The specific issue boils down to this: Can the government require that citizens buy health insurance? Mandatory insurance is a key element of the health care reforms passed by congressional Democrats and signed by Obama this year. Adding healthy people to the insurance pool spreads the cost of policies for people with health problems. Missouri's referendum rejects that mandate by asking voters whether state laws should be amended to forbid penalties for failing to have health insurance.

Time describes the vote as "largely symbolic." Other states have already passed such opt-out laws via legislative action rather than voter initiative, and the real test will come in the courts. But symbolism matters. If the constitutional question is a difficult one, it's possible that judges will resolve it on the side of public opinion. And of course the public's reaction to ObamaCare is likely to influence the politicians who have control over its implementation and possible repeal.

. . . Another possibly ominous sign for Democrats in the Obama era: Carnahan's opponent, Rep. Roy Blunt, received nearly 410,000 votes in his essentially uncontested primary. She got just 265,000 in hers. (Missouri has an open primary, so that anyone can vote for either party's candidate.) This is thought to be a toss-up race, with Blunt, who served as House Republican whip for three terms starting in 2003, a less than ideal GOP face in an "anti-incumbent" year.

Meanwhile, Time reports that other states will have ObamaCare opt-out measures on the ballot in November. If yesterday's results in Missouri are any indication, Nov. 2 could be a long night for congressional Democrats--and for the White House.

HotAir points out:

High Republican turnout did contribute to the size of the landslide, but as both Ed and Michael Tanner explained this morning, even a unanimous vote on the GOP side couldn’t have gotten you to 71 percent overall. A lot of indies and Democrats — specifically, Democrats motivated enough to vote in a primary — had to be onboard to push past the supermajority threshold.

St Louis Today reporting from the "Show Me" states said:

Missouri voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a federal mandate to purchase health insurance, rebuking President Barack Obama's administration and giving Republicans their first political victory in a national campaign to overturn the controversial health care law passed by Congress in March.

"The citizens of the Show-Me State don't want Washington involved in their health care decisions," said Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, one of the sponsors of the legislation that put Proposition C on the August ballot. She credited a grass-roots campaign involving Tea Party and patriot groups with building support for the anti-Washington proposition.

With most of the vote counted, Proposition C was winning by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1. The measure, which seeks to exempt Missouri from the insurance mandate in the new health care law, includes a provision that would change how insurance companies that go out of business in Missouri liquidate their assets.

"I've never seen anything like it," Cunningham said at a campaign gathering at a private home in Town and Country. "Citizens wanted their voices to be heard."

About 30 Proposition C supporters whooped it up loudly at 9 p.m. when the returns flashed on the television showing the measure passing with more than 70 percent of the vote.

"It's the vote heard 'round the world," said Dwight Janson, 53, from Glendale, clad in an American flag-patterned shirt. Janson said he went to one of the first Tea Party gatherings last year and hopped on the Proposition C bandwagon because he wanted to make a difference. . . .

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