Libre Initiative Echoes Extreme Right-Wing Media Response To Supreme Court Health Care Decision

Written by Jessica Torres

Published

The Libre Initiative's outrage over the Supreme Court's decision to uphold health insurance tax credits for millions of Americans mirrored the conservative media's extreme response, despite massive gains in insurance rates among Latinos since the Affordable Care Act was implemented.

Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Tax Credits For All Americans

Supreme Court Upholds The Affordable Care Act's Insurance Subsidies. On June 25, the Supreme Court upheld a provision of the Affordable Care Act that allows for tax credits to aid millions of Americans who obtained health insurance through the federal exchanges, as opposed to those operated by their state. According to The New York Times:

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that President Obama's health care law may provide nationwide tax subsidies to help poor and middle-class people buy health insurance.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the majority opinion in the 6-to-3 decision. The court's three most conservative members -- Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. -- dissented.

The case concerned a central part of the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Obama's signature legislative achievement. The law created marketplaces, known as exchanges, to allow people who lack insurance to shop for individual health plans. [The New York Times, 6/25/15]

The Libre Initiative And Conservative Media Both Express Outrage Over Supreme Court's Decision

Libre's Executive Director: “Words No Longer Have Meaning.” According to Libre's executive director Daniel Garza, the Supreme Court health care decision signals that the Court “now gets to rewrite law at will.”

[Twitter.com, 6/25/15]

Breitbart.com's Shapiro: “Words Don't Mean Anything.” Breitbart.com editor-at-large Ben Shapiro responded to the decision by writing, “Words don't mean anything. Laws don't mean anything” in a tweet:

[Twitter.com, 6/25/15]

Libre's Garza: The U.S. Constitution Is “Being Made Irrelevant.” In a tweet, Daniel Garza claimed that the Supreme Court justices' health care decision was designed to “fit personal views,” rendering the Constitution “irrelevant.”

[Twitter.com, 6/25/15]

Fox's Todd Starnes: Supreme Court Ruled That “You Can't Keep Your Constitution.” Fox News Radio's Todd Starnes commented on the decision by claiming that the Supreme Court's ruling meant “you can't keep your Constitution.”

[Twitter.com, 6/25/15]

Libre's Press Secretary: “So We're Just Not Gonna Follow The Rule Of Law?” Libre press secretary Josh Rivera tweeted the following about the Supreme Court decision:

[Twitter.com, 6/25/15]

Breitbart.com's John Nolte: "'I Meant To Say That' Is Now Law."  Breitbart.com editor-at-large John Nolte tweeted that the decision means "'I meant to say that' is now law."

[Twitter.com, 6/25/15]

Libre's Communications Director Suggests Court Decision “Punishes Poor People.” Brian Faughnan, communications director for the Libre Initiative, questioned the health care decision, tweeting that a “law that punishes poor people for not buying insurance makes them buy insurance”:

[Twitter.com, 6/25/15]

Fox's Charles Payne: ACA Will “Cost Working Americans A Fortune” And Is “Another Giant Step Toward Banana Republic.” Fox Business Network host Charles Payne tweeted that the health care law will “cost working Americans a fortune” and that upholding the subsidies is “another giant step toward Banana Republic.”

[Twitter.com, 6/25/15; Twitter.com, 6/25/15]

Libre Opposes The Affordable Care Act

El Paso Times: “Libre Initiative Targets Obama's Affordable Care Act.” The El Paso Times newspaper reported on Libre's efforts to roll back the ACA, quoting Latino Decisions' Matt A. Barreto, who says Garza is “flying in the face of Hispanic opinion” :

Garza claims to be speaking in the interest of Hispanics, but in opposing Obamacare, he's flying in the face of Hispanic opinion, said Matt A. Barreto a political scientist at the University of Washington. Barreto directs the Washington Poll and studies political participation by minorities.

“There's overwhelming support for a government role in health care among Hispanics -- it's probably the highest of any group,” Barreto said Friday. “It's also the group with the greatest percentage of uninsured. They have the most to benefit from health care reform.” [El Paso Times, 2/9/14]

Libre Urged Hispanics To Not Vote For Democrats Who Supported The ACA. ThinkProgress noted that Libre has been campaigning against the Affordable Care Act,and urged Hispanics to vote against congressional candidates that supported the law:

LIBRE's executives insisted to ThinkProgress that since its founding in 2011 the group has been non-partisan. “We want to help Hispanics be prosperous,” said National Coalitions Director Michael Barrera, “and teach them the best way to be prosperous is through the free market.”

President Obama won about 67 percent of the Latino vote in 2008 and 71 percent in 2012. If all eligible Hispanic voters in Arizona had turned out in this past election, the state would have gone for Obama and Senate candidate Richard Carmona. Recent studies show most Latinos in every age group identify with the Democratic Party. The Kochs' initiative is one of a flurry of conservative and Republican groups that have emerged to try to change that.

While LIBRE may not tell their members who to vote for, they have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into telling them in English and Spanish who not to vote for--specifically, four Democratic House members who support the Affordable Care Act. [ThinkProgress, 9/30/14]

Majority Of Latinos Support ACA, And Have Seen “Biggest Gains” Since Its Implementation

HHS: 4.2 Million Latinos Gained Health Insurance Since ACA Took Effect. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, among Latinos, “the uninsured rate dropped by 12.3 percentage points against a baseline uninsured rate of 41.8 percent, resulting in 4.2 million adults gaining coverage” since open enrollment began in October 2013. [Department of Health and Human Services, 5/5/15]

NBC News: Latinos Saw “Biggest Gains” In Insurance Rates After ACA Implementation. According to reporting by NBC News, while there is still progress to be made in insuring the Latino population, Hispanics experienced the “largest gains in insurance” across all demographics. [NBCnews.com, 3/16/15]

Most Hispanics Have A “Favorable Opinion” Of The ACA. According to a press release from the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative, Hispanics “find it easier to afford healthcare than they did in September 2014.” Among Hispanic women, the uninsured rates dropped from 20.8 percent to 8.4 percent. Nationally, Hispanics have a 60 percent favorable opinion of the ACA. [Florida Atlantic University, 4/16/15]