NM Reactions to the Supreme Court Health Care Ruling

By Joey Peters

Reactions around New Mexico to today's Supreme Court decision to uphold most of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are following predictable partisan lines.

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In a statement, New Mexico Republican Party Chair Monty Newman said the United States is now down to one last hope: Mitt Romney.

"Now, the only way to save the country from the White House's government takeover of health care is to elect a new president," Newman said in a statement.

Rep. Steve Pearce, R-Las Cruces, says it's time to "get back to work" repealing what the high court considered a tax.

"The Supreme Court, which has the responsibility of interpreting the law, found this overreach acceptable as a tax," Pearce said in a statement. "While I do not agree, I respect its authority to make this interpretation."

Reps. Ben Ray Luján, D-Santa Fe, and Martin Heinrich, D-Albuquerque and Democratic nominee for US Senate, both released statements praising the ruling and telling the GOP to get over it.

"Young adults will be able to remain on their parents' insurance plan, those with pre-existing conditions will be assured that they will have health insurance, and seniors will continue to pay less for prescription drugs and receive free preventive care," Luján said in a statement. "It is now abundantly clear that the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and that the people of New Mexico will continue to benefit from its many important provisions."

Heinrich's message focuses more on telling Congress to move on.

"The finger-pointing needs to end and Washington needs to get its priorities straight," he said in a statement.

In that vein, the lefty ProgressNow New Mexico started a petition today calling for Gov. Susana Martinez and the state legislature to fully implement the Affordable Care Act. It also launched an online "Thanks For Health Care" campaign to build off the momentum of the ruling.

Over at New Mexico Telegram, SFR contributor Matthew Reichbach is working on a comprehensive post collecting more local responses. His post will be updating throughout the day.

Outside of New Mexico, BuzzFeed collected amusing tweets from people on the right critical of ObamaCare threatening to move to Canada, which has single-payer health care.

Photo courtesy Organizing for America.

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