Politics

FreedomWorks praises Virginia court’s ruling on individual mandate

Amanda Carey Contributor
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FreedomWorks – the Washington, D.C. based conservative activist organization released a statement late Monday praising the Virginia court ruling on the constitutionality of the individual mandate in the health care bill, essentially calling it the beginning of the end of Obamacare. The organization called the decision a “blow on behalf of limited government and common sense.”

FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe said in a statement, “Freedom Works congratulates Virginia’s Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli on a major victory in the cause of freedom, limited government, and the rule of law. Our million grassroots members will be fighting to sustain this ruling every step of the way.”

The organization’s press release went on to warn that the stakes with this latest ruling are “amazingly high,” and that if the case is overruled by the Supreme Court, America’s “core principles of limited government will effectively dissolve because Washington will be able to order citizens to do literally anything under the guise of regulating interstate commerce.”

In an interview with The Daily Caller, Dean Clancy, FreedomWorks’ vice president of health care policy, reiterated that warning. “It’s a big blow because it ends the denial phase of the debate,” said Clancy. “Liberals regarded the constitutionality of the bill as a slam dunk, and this decision shows that it isn’t.”

He went on to say, “If the individual mandate goes, the core elements of the bill come apart and Obamacare can’t work.”

According to Clancy, the individual mandate was one of the key provisions of the health care law that was put in place to keep insurance costs down. “If people are not required to buy insurance, they’ll wait until they get sick and premiums will soar,” Clancy told TheDC.

Left-leaning organizations, however, are vehemently condemning the judge’s decision. Over at the Center for American Progress, COO Neera Tanden wrote Monday that the judge “ignored precedent, the consensus of his colleagues, and the Constitution itself,” in striking down the mandate.

“The result of this decision will increase costs for people and put insurance companies back in control of our nation’s health care system,” wrote Tanden. “Judge Hudson’s decision is also an outlier: So far, 14 judges have dismissed these meritless challenges to the health reform law.”

But Clancy is optimistic the bill will be fully repealed, citing the fact that many of the incoming members of Congress campaigned on the issue. “It has become Republican Party orthodoxy,” he said.

Right now 21 other states are named as plaintiffs in lawsuits against the health care law. And though it is proceeding at a slower pace, Florida’s case will be the next to pay attention to. There, the judge will be hearing arguments on merits later this week.