Sherrod Brown is jumping on the bandwagon loaded with Democrats who are denying that Issue 3’s crushing victory is a rebuke of Obamacare. The reason? Just like we showed you with Ted Strickland, Sherrod thinks Ohio voters didn’t understand the issue because there weren’t any TV commercials.
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| THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH |
Greg Sargent from the Washington Posts reports:
Stung by the defeat on the Ohio labor referendum, Republicans have sought to focus attention today on the vote that went their way — the Yes vote on the referendum repudiating an individual mandate. They say it represents a rebuke to one of Obama’s signature domestic initiatives in a key swing state in advance of 2012.
On the conference call I referenced earlier, Sherrod Brown was repeatedly prodded on this point. He rejected the claim, arguing that the labor fight had vast resources invested in it from both sides, and the health care fight didn’t.
“I didn’t see one ad,” Brown said. “The language on Issue 3 was confusing. They took one part of the bill and did a message amendment on it that didn’t have a lot of meaning.”
Who does Sherrod think he’s kidding? The wording of the amendment is very clear and straightforward. There is no doubt that people knew this was a referendum on the Obamacare mandate. Even the liberal Sargent agrees:
Here’s the language in Issue 3:
1. In Ohio, no law or rule shall compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in a health care system.
2. In Ohio, no law or rule shall prohibit the purchase or sale of health care or health insurance.
3. In Ohio, no law or rule shall impose a penalty or fine for the sale or purchase of healthcare or health insurance.A Yes vote on this does seem to be a clear a rebuke of the type of individual mandate Obama’s health reform law contained.
Unlike Ted Strickland, Sherrod Brown directly voted for Obamacare. He even voted against an amendment that would have removed the individual mandate.
Almost 2/3 of Ohio voters came out and rejected it. That is a huge margin. And the best explanation Sherrod can offer is that people didn’t see enough ads, and were confused?
We weren’t confused, Senator Brown. It’s clear you want to avoid the fact that your vote for Obamacare is extremely unpopular, but insulting Ohio’s voters isn’t acceptable.
