What editorial writers are saying about Missouri's vote against insurance mandate

Some observers view the action by Missourians as public opposition to government intrusion into personal health care.

Show me ObamaCare

If the practical effects of this conflict between state and federal law are likely to be limited, more importantly, Missouri's vote revealed once again that the country is still aghast over President Obama's health-care presumption. Earlier ... the Congressional Research Service reported that the new bureaucracy the bill created is so complex and indiscriminate that its size is "currently unknowable." Capitol Hill's independent policy arm added that among "the dozens of new governmental organizations or advisory bodies," it is "impossible to know how much influence they will ultimately have." Wall Street Journal, Aug. 5

It's now fact: The public hates Obamacare

The White House no longer has the luxury of turning a deaf ear to the cries of Obamacare opponents. Twenty-one states have filed suit to block the federal mandates as unconstitutional, with Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli ... racking up a key procedural win on his lawsuit. In addition, anti-Obamacare initiatives will be on the November ballot in Arizona and Oklahoma, giving more people a platform from which they can voice their discontent. Washington Times, Aug. 4

A muffled "megaphone" on health care reform

The biggest question about [the vote's] results, of course, is what they mean to the national debate. Not much tangibly, we'd guess, since the Constitution's supremacy clause says that federal law trumps state laws. Prop C, as we've noted before, was a "feel good" issue for people who don't mind when other people don't feel so well and cannot get help. How odd that its supporters should feel good about that. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aug. 4

States fighting Obamacare

The states are restless. Increasingly, states across America are resisting encroachments on their liberties by the federal government. The most recent examples concern objections by two states to the forced adoption of President Barack Obama's health care law. Orange County (Calif.) Register, Aug. 5

The Obama rebellion

On Tuesday, an astounding 71% of voters in Missouri rejected Obamacare's keystone requirement that everyone be required to buy health insurance or pay a fine. That's an amazing consensus. And while the vote is largely symbolic, the sentiment is not: Americans will fight this unprecedented intrusion of federal power in every way possible. Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, Aug. 5