Kinder: Obama Reelection Wasn't 'Mandate' on ObamaCare

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The U.S. Supreme Court upholds it and the American people re-elected its namesake. That doesn't mean the fight over what critics call "ObamaCare" is over in Missouri, though.

Republican Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder rejects the idea that November's Presidential election results are a mandate for the new law.

"He did not seek a mandate on ObamaCare," said Kinder on "Missouri Viewpoints." "He didn't even talk about it in the campaign. There can't be a mandate if you didn't lay a program before the people and say, 'I want to be reelected on the basis of the program.'"

Kinder opposes any effort to set up a government health insurance exchange, which is required by the national law. Missouri is one of several states that have not complied with that part of the law.

In 2010, more than 70 percent of Missouri voters approved a measure declaring individual mandates for health insurance illegal. The federal government is offering to cover the cost of the expansion for three years.