For Immediate Release

The Libertarian Party calls on members of the U.S. House and Senate to defund Obamacare now .

‘Incumbent politicians — especially Republicans with a majority in the House — will have no excuse if they refuse to fully defund Obamacare,’ said Carla Howell, political director for the national Libertarian Party. ‘Now is the time. The president’s approval ratings are low, and voters are learning that Obamacare will impose shockingly high costs and debilitating regulations on taxpayers, businesses, and medical consumers if it takes effect.’

‘If Democrats and Republicans fail to do the right thing and stop this disastrous program from unfolding, the blame for patients’ suffering and for striking a fatal blow to the fragile American economy will rest squarely on their shoulders,’ she warned.

As members of Congress negotiate spending during the next few weeks, special interests that profit from Big Government will guide the actions of Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

Among the groups that donate generously to their campaigns while pushing to keep Obamacare in place are: pharmaceuticals and other medical suppliers, insurance companies, cartels, and the Service Employees International Union, which is rapidly unionizing the health care industry.

As powerful as these special interests are, their force may be dwarfed by the growing number of private sector workers and taxpayers – all potential voters — who have suffered the devastating effects of Big Government health care:

radically increased drug prices and medical insurance premiums

rationed care in the form of denied treatment; those who are ‘insured’ often cannot get the care they need

long waits for medical appointments — and doctors who don’t have time to give patients adequate care

medical bankruptcies

layoffs, reduced hours, and discontinuation of insurance plans by employers who can’t afford health care mandates

Despite President Obama’s tax-funded propaganda campaign to convince voters that Obamacare will not make things worse, Americans are seeing the truth. All these problems will become critical — and, in some cases, life-threatening — if politicians refuse to defund and block Obamacare.

Will either Democratic or Republican incumbents and their respective majorities in the House and Senate survive the 2014 elections if they continue to ignore the will of the people to stop this train wreck? Especially in the next few weeks when they have their best chance to derail it?

Libertarian Party candidates are lining up now to challenge incumbents who refuse to defund and end Obamacare.

Libertarian Henry Herford, candidate for U.S. House in Louisiana’s Oct. 19 special election, aims to ‘exempt everyone from Obamacare, not just Congress.’

‘I will fight to repeal Obamacare and I will sponsor legislation to defund it,’ he said.

Other Libertarian candidates who have declared their run for federal office include Matt Schnackenberg, Ray Netherwood, and Lucas Overby running for Congress in Florida; Chris Clemmons for Congress in Kansas; and David Patterson for U.S. Senate in Kentucky.

More Libertarians every day are expressing interest in running for office in 2014 who will campaign to nullify, defund, and repeal Obamacare. They will not seek to ‘repeal and replace’ it with more Big Government alternatives — as many Republicans vow. Rather, Libertarian candidates will seek to replace failed Big Government medicine with low taxes and low-cost, high quality care delivered by the private sector .

The Libertarian Party advocates reducing and removing government mandates, taxes, red tape, and prohibitions that drive up the cost of health care, reduce quality, and put Americans’ lives at risk. This will enable medical providers to cut prices, improve the viability of their practices, and give their patients much better care. It will make insurance plans affordable and responsive to individuals’ needs. It will allow private practices and businesses to innovate and to provide safe, effective solutions to medical problems. Charities will abound, providing low-cost or free care to people in need.

‘A free and unencumbered health care industry — with generous charity, and quality-controlling market regulation — will give Americans access to low-cost, accessible, and dignified care that relieves suffering and maximizes human health and longevity,’ Howell said.