Where do you stand, Vince? Where is the Democratic nominee on Obamacare?

DOES SHEHEEN’S APPEARANCE TONIGHT WITH OBAMACARE PROPONENTS SIGNAL HIS SUPPORT?

Columbia, SC – July 29, 2010 – During the biggest public policy debate in recent memory – whether the federal government should go to a European-style socialized medicine model – there have been no shortage of opinions offered.

On the other hand, Vince Sheheen’s silence on the issue has been deafening, as he’s refused to tell the public where he stands on “Obamacare,” and what he would or wouldn’t do as governor when it comes to implementing the new law’s mandates at a state level.

Sheheen will appear tonight at a fundraiser in Washington, DC with establishment liberals Jim Clyburn and John Spratt, two of the nation’s biggest Obamacare proponents. Spratt was Nancy Pelosi’s point man on passage of the bill. Clyburn once criticized Attorney General Henry McMaster’s attempt to block unconstitutional provisions of the bill, calling it a “civil rights issue.”

Estimates put the 10-year cost of Obamacare at $2.5 trillion, and beyond the big- picture question of whether Sheheen believes it’s a good idea to mortgage the futures of generations of South Carolinians for a risky healthcare scheme, there are real and practical questions he would have to answer as governor:

– Will he try to stop the eligibility expansion of Medicaid in South Carolina, which will put our state’s taxpayers on the hook for an additional $523 million tied to new Medicaid requirements? Or will he simply raise taxes to cover the costs?

– Will he abide by existing state policy of refusing to administer expensive and dangerous federally mandated “high risk” pools – a decision also adopted by 18 other states – or will he bow to the wishes of Nancy Pelosi and President Obama in adopting the plan?

– Will he roll over in adopting federal mandates on rate regulations and coverage rules that experts say will lead to less affordable and less accessible healthcare, caused when insurers cease doing business in the state and large employers
determine it is cheaper to pay fines than provide insurance?

SCGOP Chairman said tonight’s appearance with Spratt and Clyburn provides Sheheen with the perfect opportunity to let South Carolinians know where he stands on Obamacare.

“While dodging questions on Obamacare might be the politically wise course of action for Senator Sheheen, individuals and businesses across the state deserve to know whether he’ll stand for them, or for his liberal colleagues in Washington, D.C.,” Floyd said.

“Not only will Obamacare bury future generations under an insurmountable mountain of debt, it will also do irreparable harm to hardworking South Carolinians who need affordable healthcare coverage for themselves and their families. Vince Sheheen needs to stand up and be counted on Obamacare, and owes us some answers on who he’d represent as governor – South Carolina taxpayers, or the Obama Whitehouse.”

Click here for sourcing, and for more about the dangerous impact of Obamacare on South Carolina and other states.