Obamacare Survives Election with Obama Victory

After enduring months of campaigns and political rhetoric, Americans voted on Tuesday to re-elect Barack Obama as president of the United States, guaranteeing that Obamacare would live on.

So where is the country now? Unfortunately, it’s more or less where it was a few years ago.

Obama is still president, the House of Representatives is still held by Republicans and Democrats maintained their hold in the Senate. The president is still going to be faced with a divided Congress.

Obama won the presidency with 303 of the electoral votes (Florida’s 29 still hadn’t been awarded as of Wednesday morning) to Mitt Romney’s 206. Obama had 50.3% of the popular vote, Romney held 48.1% and 1.6% went to other candidates.

The win was closer than his victory in 2008 when Obama had 53% of the popular vote, John McCain had 45.7% and other candidates had 1.3%.

As of Wednesday morning Florida had still been too close to call, although Obama was leading by a small margin. With those 29 electoral votes, Obama would have 332 votes total to Romney’s 206.

Following Obama’s victory stocks fell on Wednesday morning with the Dow down 118 points. Despite the initial reaction from the market, the truth is that the stock market doesn’t care if the president is a Republican or Democrat. However, now that the election is over, investors have turned their eyes to the so-called “fiscal cliff” and Europe’s weak economy.

With the re-election of Obama, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been cemented, but it’s possible (and likely) that the Republican-controlled House will attempt to delay implementing the act and all of its parts for as long as possible. While Obama’s first term will be remembered for getting the health reform law passed and upheld by the Supreme Court, in his second term he will have to fight for the law to be implemented.

Close to 1 a.m. on Wednesday, Romney took the stage in Boston, Mass., to concede the election, mentioning that he had called to congratulate the president.

“The nation as you know is at a critical point,” Romney said in his concession speech. “At a time like this we can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders need to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work.”

And don’t think this is the last you’ve seen of Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan. Since Romney lost the election, the vice presidential hopeful won re-election in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District.

Obama took the stage in Chicago, Ill., for his victory speech after 1:30 am EST.

“I just spoke with Gov. Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign,” the president said. “We may have battled fiercely, but it’s only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future.”

In his victory speech, Obama related another story of a family that was benefitting from ACA and spoke about the importance of passions and discussion in politics. It’s clear that Obama doesn’t expect his second term to be any easier than his first.

“Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated. We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy.

“That won’t change after tonight, and it shouldn’t. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty. We can never forget that as we speak people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did today.”

Tuesday night was also a big night for two topics: marijuana and gay marriage. Recreational marijuana production, sale and possession was legalized in Colorado and Washington state; Massachusetts legalized medical marijuana; Maine and Maryland have voted for marriage equality; Minnesota denied a ban on marriage equality; and Wisconsin elected its first openly gay U.S. senator.

Lastly, Puerto Ricans decided in a non-binding referendum that they wanted to change their ties to the U.S. and become a state. Obama has said in the past that he will respect the vote, but the measure would have to be approved by Congress. The U.S. territory is represented in D.C. by a non-voting delegate and residents cannot vote in the presidential election.

Read more:

Obama Ends the Night with His Best Speech in Years — Business Insider

Romney Concedes Election to Obama — Business Insider