Merry Christmas, Private Slovik

Just in time for Christmas! Blue state Democrats, smarting over President Trump's penultimate legislative accomplishment, namely the passage of tax reform, are determined to put a lump of coal in the voters' stockings. What could be more Christmassy than a state Obamacare mandate? Not surprisingly the states most likely to explore a coverage requirement are the nearly dozen running their own Obamacare marketplaces, which tend to have Democratic governors.
Replicating the the wisdom of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi at the state level is fraught with challenges. The state of Washington does not have an income tax and creating one just to poke the voters in the eye might be a bit audacious. In California a new tax would require a two thirds vote by both legislative houses. Massachusetts, on the other hand, thanks to political savant, former Governor Mitt Romney, already has a mandate on the books.