House on ObamaCare Vote: Now We're Repealing a Tax

GOP gleefully bandying about 'T' word in 31st vote
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 11, 2012 7:36 AM CDT
Updated Jul 11, 2012 7:49 AM CDT
House on ObamaCare Vote: Now We're Repealing a Tax
John Boehner and other GOP House leaders face reporters after a closed-door political strategy session, July 10, 2012, on Capitol Hill.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Republicans will vote to repeal the health care reform law today, and if that sounds familiar, it's because they've done it 30 times already. But this time House leaders are gleefully bandying about the "T" word in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling that the law was constitutional, but counted as a tax, the AP reports. "The individual mandate is a massive tax," Ways and Means Chair Dave Camp said during the floor debate yesterday. "This is a major tax with major implications."

Democrats complained that the two-day debate-and-vote process was a waste of time. "As a psychiatrist, I'm qualified to say this," Rep. Jim McDermott said. "One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. The game is over. The referee, John Roberts, blew the whistle." But Republicans see the vote as an opportunity to score political points; GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy is confident that even some Democrats will vote to repeal. (More health care reform stories.)

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