United States
Almost a quarter of Republicans think Obama 'may be the Anti-Christ' as 14 states sue over h/care
President Barack Obama has stirred up emotions in the U.S. with his planned overhaul of the country's $2.5trillion healthcare system.
So much so that a poll taken at the height of the debate found that almost a quarter of Republicans think he 'may be the Antichrist'.
Another 38 per cent of Republicans agreed Obama was 'doing many of the things that Hitler did'.
More than half of the Republicans quizzed by Harris Poll, 57 per cent, believed the president was secretly Muslim, something he has consistently denied. And 67 per cent of Republicans who responded believed Obama was a socialist, despite his central leanings.
The startling results came as lawyers representing 14 U.S. states filed lawsuits yesterday challenging an overhaul of the country's $2.5trillion healthcare system, minutes after President Barack Obama signed the landmark legislation.
One joint lawsuit by a dozen Republican attorneys general and a Democrat claims the sweeping reforms violate state-government rights in the U.S. Constitution and will force massive new spending on hard-pressed state governments.
Virginia went to court separately, while Missouri Republican Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder said he would like to join the suit.
The joint suit, led by Florida, was filed with a federal court in Pensacola, according to the office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum.
In addition to McCollum, the Republican attorneys general from Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington joined the suit.
The lawsuit says the law - which expands government health plans for the poor, imposes new taxes on the wealthy and requires insurers to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions - violates the Constitution's commerce clause by requiring nearly all Americans to buy health insurance.
Mr McCollum said: 'It forces people to do something - in the sense of buying a healthcare policy or paying a penalty, a tax or a fine - that simply the Constitution does not allow Congress to do.'
Mr McCollum, who is seeking the Republican nomination to run for Florida governor, said the healthcare reforms would add $1.6billion to Florida's spending on the Medicaid health program for the poor.
The Justice Department, which is responsible for defending U.S. law in court, pledged to vigorously fight any challenges to the new healthcare law.
'We are confident that this statute is constitutional and we will prevail,' said Justice spokesman Charles Miller.
The White House agreed the suits would fail.
'There have been hearings about the constitutionality of the law, and I think there's pretty much widespread agreement that it is constitutional,' Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, said.
'I think we have governors who might be aiming for higher office who are starting to just send a message.'
The suits were filed just moments after Mr Obama signed the healthcare reforms into law.
But on the most historic occasion of his presidency so far, vice-president Joe Biden managed to put his foot in it.
Gaffe-prone Mr Biden inadvertently broadcast the F-word to America after he introduced the President to sign his much vaunted health reform bill into law yesterday.
After hugging Mr Obama at a a ceremony in the White House, Mr Biden leaned in and whispered in the President's ear: 'This is a big f****** deal.'
The remark was caught on microphones recording the event that was shown live across the country. By last night, the clip was being replayed all over the internet.
White House aides seemed to be unembarrassed, with press secretary Robert Gibbs later tweeting: 'Yes, Mr Vice-President, you're right.'
It was a jarring note of comic relief as the president made history.
Mr Obama signed the bill - the political price for which he and his party may pay for years to come - alongside 11-year-old Marcello Holmes. The young boy's mother, who did not have adequate healthcare insurance, died, and he has since become an advocate for Mr Obama's cause.
Mr Obama dedicated the signing to his mother, who he described arguing with health insurers as she died of cancer. But the bitter public backlash against the so-called Pyrrhic victory has begun.
The Secret Service has been called in to investigate assassination threats against the president on Twitter as angry Americans made their stand against the reforms, which have been likened to civil rights legislation for the 21st century.
'Assassination! America, we survived the assassinations of Lincoln & Kennedy. We'll surely get over a bullet to Barrack Obama's head,' wrote one user who identified himself as 'authentic African American' and conservative blogger Solly Forrell.
Shortly after, Forrell posted a message that actively called for someone with 'a clear shot' to kill Mr Obama.
'The next American with a Clear Shot should drop Obama like a bad habit. 4get Blacks or his claims to b[e] Black. Turn on Barack Obama,' he wrote.
Another ruser, identified by ABC News as Jay Martin, wote: 'You Should be Assassinated!! @Barack Obama.'
He added chillingly: 'If I lived in DC. I'd shoot him myself.'
The Secret Service told ABC that the threats are being investigated.
'We respect the right of free speech, but in such instances we have a right and an obligation to ask questions and determine intent,' a spokesperson said.
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Originally Posted by Arawn
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