Release:
Columbus - Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine issued the following statement in response to the Ohio Liberty Council's announcement that they have crossed the minimum signature threshold (385,245) to the place the Health Care Freedom Amendment on the November 2011 ballot:
"It's fitting that this announcement from the Ohio Liberty Council comes less than twenty-four hours after America learned of Obamacare's latest $450 billion blunder which would provide three million middle class Americans with nearly free health care insurance under a program typically reserved for our nation's poorest citizens. Sherrod Brown and our Democratic congressional delegation owe taxpayers an explanation as to whether they knew this Medicare provision was in the bill when they voted in favor of it," Chairman DeWine said.
"The thousands of grassroots activists across Ohio who have circulated petitions deserve tremendous credit for their all-volunteer effort. While we still have a long way to go, this important milestone will send a clear message to Joe Biden when he visits Columbus on Saturday: 'Welcome to Ohio, when you leave, take Obamacare with you.'"
Background Information:
The Ohio Liberty Council has announced that they have collected the minimum number of signatures required for the Health Care Freedom Amendment to be placed on November's ballot. "On June 20th, the petition containing signature number 385,245 for the Health Care Freedom Amendment was turned in for cataloging at our central location. Today, two days later, we are just about 10,000 signatures away from passing over 400,000 signatures collected by volunteers. We believe that this is unprecedented in the history of Ohio." (The Ohio Project, Press Release, 6/22/11)
Obamacare allows middle class people to get nearly free insurance under Medicare.Associated Press, 6/21/11) "President Barack Obama's health care law would let several million middle-class people get nearly free insurance meant for the poor, a twist government number crunchers say they discovered only after the complex bill was signed." ("Glitch in Obamacare Could Give Middle Class Insurance Coverage Intended for Poor,"
The Obamacare 'glitch' would end up costing American taxpayers more than $450 billion. "If we do a back-of-the-envelope calculation, in which the average annual Medicaid expenditure per early retiree is $15,000 per year, the ten-year cost of this glitch could be as high as $450 billion. 'It's almost like allowing middle-class people to qualify for food stamps, [Foster] suggested.'" (Avik Roy, "The $450 Billion Glitch: 3 Million Extra Middle-Class Americans Eligible for Medicaid Benefits," Forbes, 6/21/11)
Vice President Joe Biden will be in Columbus on Saturday, June 25. "Vice President Joe Biden will headline the Ohio Democratic Party's state dinner on June 25 in Columbus." (William Hershey, "La. Gov. Bobby Jindal to headline Ohio GOP state dinner," Dayton Daily News, 6/ 8/11)
