Individual Mandate Survives
Posted by Michelle Moquin on June 28th, 2012
Good morning!
A continuation of the other day…
Rewriting brief history of the mandate
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
We can only be certain of one thing: there will be outrage. No matter how the Supreme Court rules, the ruling will be greeted with howls of protest. As MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell explains in the Rewrite, the decision will still mean absolutely nothing for millions of Americans
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Readers: Oops, I had the above posted beforehand as I am out of town. I’ve taken a day off and spent the evening in Healdsburg with my girlfriend. So after reading the main heading of the HuffPo this morning, please disregard the above unless you’re interested in reading/watching. I think it is worth your time, hence, I’ve decided not to delete it just in case you are interested.
Here’s the latest:
Supreme Court Health Care Decision: Individual Mandate Survives
WASHINGTON — The individual health insurance mandate is constitutional, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, upholding the central provision of President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act.
The controlling opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, upheld the mandate as a tax, although concluded it was not valid as an exercise of Congress’ commerce clause power. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined in the outcome.
The decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius comes as something of a surprise after the generally hostile reception the law received during the six hours of oral arguments held over three days in March. But by siding with the court’s four Democratic appointees, Chief Justice Roberts avoided the delegitimizing taint of politics that surrounds a party-line vote while passing Obamacare’s fate back to the elected branches. GOP candidates and incumbents will surely spend the rest of the 2012 campaign season running against the Supreme Court and for repeal of the law.
Five justices concluded that the mandate, which requires virtually all Americans to obtain minimum health insurance coverage or pay a penalty, falls within Congress’ power under the Constitution to “lay and collect taxes.”
“The individual mandate cannot be upheld as an exercise of Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause,” Roberts wrote. “That Clause authorizes Congress to regulate interstate commerce, not to order individuals to engage in it. In this case, however, it is reasonable to construe what Congress has done as increasing taxes on those who have a certain amount of income, but choose to go without health insurance. Such legislation is within Congress’s power to tax.”
Ginsburg, writing separately for the four liberals, said they would have upheld the mandate under the commerce clause too. “Unlike the market for almost any other product or service, the market for medical care is one in which all individuals inevitably participate,” she wrote. “Virtually every person residing in the United States, sooner or later, will visit a doctor or other health care professional.”
Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito joined in a dissent. Together, Roberts’ controlling opinion, Ginsburg’s concurrence, the four-justice dissent and Thomas’ own dissent add up to 187 pages.
In a section of his opinion joined by the liberal justices, Roberts noted that the conservative dissenters contend that the mandate cannot be upheld as a tax “because Congress did not ‘frame’ it as such. In effect, they contend that even if the Constitution permits Congress to do exactly what we interpret this statute to do, the law must be struck down because Congress used the wrong labels.”
But the majority was not persuaded by that argument. Roberts wrote that the mandate provision “need not be read to do more than impose a tax. That is sufficient to sustain it.”
On Medicaid expansion, the court upheld the expansion but with a critical caveat: The federal government may not threaten the states that don’t comply with the loss of their existing funding. Essentially, the Medicaid expansion is now optional for the states.
“As for the Medicaid expansion, that portion of the Affordable Care Act violates the Constitution by threatening existing Medicaid funding,” Roberts wrote. “Congress has no authority to order the States to regulate according to its instructions. Congress may offer the States grants and require the States to comply with accompanying conditions, but the States must have a genuine choice whether to accept the offer. The States are given no such choice in this case: They must either accept a basic change in the nature of Medicaid, or risk losing all Medicaid funding. The remedy for that constitutional violation is to preclude the Federal Government from imposing such a sanction.”
For their part, the dissenters were not impressed with Roberts’ parsing of the law. “The Court regards its strained statutory interpretation as judicial modesty. It is not. It amounts instead to a vast judicial overreaching,” wrote the four other conservatives.
They then looked to the political future: The majority’s decision, they argued, “creates a debilitated, inoperable version of health-care regulation that Congress did not enact and the public does not expect. It makes enactment of sensible health-care regulation more difficult, since Congress cannot start afresh but must take as its point of departure a jumble of now senseless provisions, provisions that certain interests favored under the Court’s new design will struggle to retain. And it leaves the public and the States to expend vast sums of money on requirements that may or may not survive the necessary congressional revision.”
Careful legal parsing aside, the bottom line is: The Affordable Care Act has survived.
*********
I can see the comments are plenty. I’ll catch up with all of you tomorrow. Until then…
…Blog me what you will.
Peace, Love & Good Health
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June 28th, 2012 at 10:19 am
Ronald Reagan railed against Medicare and today it is one of the greatest benefits ever for the elderly.
That “great” republican president was wrong, but he could afford to be, his health care was being paid for by the citizens.
So too is this true with Affordable Health Care for all americans. Republicans believe they can afford health care so they are indifferent to those that can’t afford it.
The proof of this is evident in the statistics that show that 91% of the republican party is made up of white people and the polls say that two thirds of the white race is against the Affordable Health Care act.
Drake
June 28th, 2012 at 10:22 am
Dear Conservative Friend,
Let me get straight to the point: This month marks the most critical FEC deadline. If we don’t raise $234,084 more by the June 30th FEC End of Quarter deadline, we may not have the resources to take back the Senate and put an end to the most liberal agenda in the history of the United States.
Ronald Reagan once said “…the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn’t so.”
If only Reagan were around to see how bad things have become.
It took just 4 years… 4 years for Democrats to unleash a wave of big government: ObamaCare, energy taxes, government takeovers, and nearly a doubling of our debt. Their agenda is failing. They have left America on the brink and it’s going to take all of us working harder than ever to save this great nation.
We already made huge gains in 2010, taking back 7 Senate seats from Liberals. The real test lies ahead, capturing the 4 seats standing between repealing the Obama agenda or failing every generation before us that lived up to their American duty. The duty to leave the next generation a better United States than the generation had before.
This may be one of the last chances we get before the damage becomes irreversible.
Every day I strive to live up to the responsibility of leaving America better off for the next generation. I ask my Senate colleagues to do the same, and now Conservative Friend, I am asking you to step up and make a donation of just $50, $150, $500 or more to the National Republican Senatorial Committee to help us reach our goal. My Senate colleagues are so committed that some are even stepping up to match, dollar-for-dollar, every donation – helping to ensure we can gain the critical 4 seats necessary to take back the Senate. I’m counting on you to help end Democratic control!
The fight begins with raising $234,084 more by June 30. Please give $50, $150, $500 or more right now to give us the resources necessary to take back the Senate and repeal the Obama agenda. Click here right away!
2012 will determine exactly how far we are willing to fight to live up to that promise – to leave America better for the next generation. Do we burden our children and grandchildren with trillions in debt? Do we allow the government to take over what was once the work of families, charities, and small business? Or do we live up to our Duty like the generations before us?
This is our fight. This is our time. Please join us by contributing to our FEC dealine fund.
Sincerely,
Senator John Cornyn
NRSC Chairman
P.S. Your gift will help give the necessary funds to gain a Republican Senate Majority. It is time to end the big government era and take back the Senate. Please help us complete our goal by contributing just $50, $100, or $500 today.
National Republican Senatorial Committee
425 2nd St NE
Washington D.C. 20001
202-675-6000
June 28th, 2012 at 10:58 am
Eat Chicken Soup and Other Secrets to Healthier Skin
You don’t need to buy lotions and creams at the drugstore or department store to reduce wrinkles, prevent breakouts, add color and moisture to your skin and/or reduce the uncomfortable and unappealing effects of problems such as oily skin, eczema, psoriasis and rosacea.
Not only are lotions and creams usually pricey, but they often are laced with potentially toxic and harsh chemicals such as parabens and formaldehyde that have been associated with hormonal disruption and even cancer.
Even if you feel attached to your favorite brand of skin lotion, it might be time to give it up, because there’s a safer and cheaper alternative—and it doesn’t involve anything external.
You can improve your skin naturally—from the inside out—by consuming certain foods and supplements, advised Daily Health News contributing editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND, founder and medical director of Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines in Southbury, Connecticut.
I talked with him to find out exactly which natural foods and supplements can make our skin look and feel great. He started by telling me about a natural potion that you can stir up yourself in your kitchen…
CHICKEN SOUP—THE WRINKLE POTION
Simmer a quartered chicken (skin, bones and all) with some onion, celery, carrots and a bay leaf for two hours in enough water to cover the contents—leave the pot uncovered for the full two hours, which will allow for evaporation and concentrate the liquid.
The poultry and vegetables will give up their flavor and nutrients to the remaining water, and after you remove the solids, you’ll be left with a broth rich in hyaluronic acid (HA)—the same substance that we make in our own bodies that provides skin with fullness, volume and plumpness.
As we grow older, our bodies produce less HA, which causes our skin to wrinkle and sag, so consuming extra HA may help, said Dr. Rubman.
Organic and free-range chickens tend to produce more HA than traditionally-raised chickens because their diets are healthier and they’re allowed to exercise more.
Make a big pot of this concentrated chicken broth, and then freeze half and refrigerate half upon cooling. Have a warmed cup every evening before dinner spiced with a pinch of sea salt and fresh ground pepper for extra flavor.
Feel free to adjust the recipe with your own choice of herbs and spices, and you’ll still get the benefit. Chicken broth that you buy in a supermarket is just not the same,
Dr. Rubman explained, because valuable compounds in the chicken skin and bones don’t make their way into store-bought broths and bouillon cubes.
If you find that this soup isn’t helping your skin enough, ask your doctor about taking extra HA in supplement form, Dr. Rubman advised.
ADD COLOR AND MOISTURE
For great skin, be sure to consume enough of vitamins A, D, and E and the mineral zinc. Many people don’t meet the recommended daily requirements, said Dr. Rubman.
And that’s too bad, because they can help protect your skin from the aging and cancerous effects of the sun’s UV rays and from damaging environmental irritants, such as exhaust fumes and smog that can make skin dry and dull, he said.
Foods high in vitamin A include sweet potatoes, carrots and dark, leafy greens…foods high in vitamin D include salmon, mushrooms and fortified milk…foods high in vitamin E include sunflower seeds, almonds and peanuts…and foods high in zinc include oysters, low-fat roast beef and lentils.
Also, colorful fruits and vegetables are filled with carotenoids, organic pigments that can add color to your skin, giving you a literally healthy glow. (For a whole Daily Health News article on that topic, in particular, read “Eat Your Way to Hottie Status.”) The amount of foods that you should consume depends on how deficient you are.
Dr. Rubman told me that if you eat lots of the foods mentioned above and don’t notice any results within a few months, ask your doctor whether it’s a good idea to take daily supplements containing vitamins A, D and E and zinc, as well as a supplement complex that contains mixed carotenes and other carotenoids including lutein, lycopene and zeaxanthin.
PREVENT BREAKOUTS
Plenty of adults get pimples. The best natural defense: Nuts and seeds, which are packed with antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids that calm systemic and facial inflammation and therefore reduce the frequency and severity of outbreaks, said Dr. Rubman.
Anti-pimple dose: A one-ounce serving per day of almonds, Brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans or sunflower seeds. Try the foods first, and if the effect isn’t strong enough within a few months, talk to your doctor about taking both antioxidant and omega-3 supplements, which might amplify the effect, Dr. Rubman advised.
Your health-care provider can help you figure out how much you need. If you have a peanut allergy, Dr. Rubman suggests trying algae-sourced omega-3s and food-grade coconut oil for antioxidants. Note that those with a severe preexisting allergy should consult their doctors before introducing any new substance.
RELIEF FOR OILY SKIN, ECZEMA, PSORIASIS & ROSACEA
The skin problems listed above are sometimes signs of poor digestive health, said Dr. Rubman. And one key to healthy digestion is making sure that there’s enough “good” bacteria in your gut.
As we grow older, the army of beneficial bacteria that normally crowds out the “bad” bacteria declines, so it doesn’t hurt to “call for backup,” so to speak, in the form of probiotic supplementation, he explained.
Eat a healthful diet—whole foods, not processed—because that creates the best environment for healthful bacteria. But probiotics contained in foods, such as yogurts, don’t build up as well as those found in supplements, said Dr. Rubman.
He suggests asking your doctor about taking a supplement containing both Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria, which may help restore a proper balance of bacteria in your intestine…and lead to healthier, better-feeling, better-looking skin.
Source: Andrew L. Rubman, ND, founder and medical director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut. He is medical advisor to the nationally syndicated radio show Bottom Line on Your Health.
June 28th, 2012 at 11:27 am
For the first time in history a US Attorney General will be charged with contempt. Oh and this is the first time the job has been held by a black man.
Coincidence right?
Yeah, believable only if you are white. Well I’m white but I don’t believe it is a coincidence. This is racism plain and simple. It is an attempt to embarrass Obama and an attempt to remove a black man from an office no black has ever held.
The fact that the NRA has entered the fray to force some dems to join in on the vote for contempt is the proof. The only reason the NRA has entered is to force dems in states highly effected by the NRA’s influence to vote for the contempt. The reason they are doing it is to make it seem like the vote for contempt was by partisan.
Lies, and the staging of lies and deliberate misrepresentation of facts to deceive the American people.
Dan
June 28th, 2012 at 11:43 am
Dear MoveOn member,
Two years ago, my mother, Rhonda, lost her job. Then she lost her health insurance. She needed major surgery, but was so worried about bankrupting our family with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills that she waited. She waited until she couldn’t hold off any longer without risking her life.
The Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) came along just in time. It saved her life, and has already helped many more Americans get desperately needed health care. And it happened because we fought for it in Congress, online, on the phones, and in the streets.
Now that the Supreme Court has upheld Obamacare and its protections, my mother—along with millions of other Americans—can feel confident that they’ll be able to get the care they need. And that makes me very thankful.
Let’s join together in thanking President Obama for his work to pass Obamacare and protect the lives of millions of Americans.
Under the Affordable Care Act, my mother was able to afford a state health insurance plan that included the highest-ranked surgeon in the state. She had her surgery and is almost completely recovered. There are thousands of stories like hers out there, showing how Obamacare literally saves lives.
My mom is joined by 86 million Americans who have gotten free preventive care through the Affordable Care Act, 105 million who no longer need to worry about lifetime benefits caps, and 17 million children who can’t be denied care because of pre-existing conditions.
I’m glad to be a part of the millions who came together to fight for the Affordable Care Act, and to have a president who stood up for health care for all Americans.
Thanks!
–Jen Job
June 28th, 2012 at 11:47 am
Well, time for small businesses to drop below 50 employees, or to drop healthcare alltogether (businesses provide 54% of all healthcare insurance to Americans) and let employess fend for themselves since they will be mandated to do so.
In many cases, it will be more cheaper to pay the penalty tax that to offer health coverage. Congratulations to Justice Roberts for betraying the nation.
June 28th, 2012 at 11:49 am
Everyone here that is so happy about the law being upheld are ignorant to what this decision really means in the big picture. This law is “Constitutional” because it is a tax.
This gives the federal government pretty much absolute power to make any law as long as its a “tax”. So for example the federal government could say that all Americans must buy a super green car that gets 500 miles to the gallon by 2014.
The car could cost $100,000.00 and failure to buy the car would cause a tax penalty of $100,000.00. Since every American would be required to buy this car, the laws of supply and demand would be the reason for such a high price for the car in this example.
So you can celebrate this “victory” all you want but don’t come crying to me when they pass a law you don’t like under the guise of a “tax”.
June 28th, 2012 at 11:49 am
Good luck people, finding a good affordable health policy. They will not exist because insurance companies will just sell other products and bail out of the health industry.
Those that haven’t already, because the cost to all of you will be prohibitive…. and you will pay those cost.
June 28th, 2012 at 11:51 am
This was a lovely high drama, but don’t we now owe our souls to the insurance corporations? We should get healthcare because we are citizens and pay taxes to the nation.
They deny us real healthcare and give billions of taxpayer dollars to foreign countries and to pay for wars. Americans should come first and then the extra money goes to foreign nations if they need help.
Why do they make us pay taxes and tell us we should not ask for healthcare. I want some value and security for my tax dollar. No American should be living like a dog.
June 28th, 2012 at 11:52 am
for those who want to see what they will be paying more in taxes, here is the Obamacare calculator..
http://healthreform.kff.org/SubsidyCalculator.aspx
June 28th, 2012 at 11:53 am
I am a bit stunned that it was only 5-4, I thought that Justice Kennedy would have voted in favour.
I also thought that Scalia would vote in favour, but after hearing how demented this troubled soul has become with regard to his opinion in the Arizona case I dismissed that notion.
The biggest travesty of this entire case is that Justice Thomas should have recused himself but didn’t.
This does however point out that the most important reason to re-elect the President is the Supreme Court. At a minimum there will be two vacancies on the Supreme Court within the next four years. Scalia is 76, Kennedy 75, Bader Ginsburg 79 and Breyer 73.
The Supreme Court with Americans United has shown that it is the most powerful branch of government. I personally think that Roberts realised that striking down the Affordable Care Act would have been the last straw for many Americans.
June 28th, 2012 at 11:54 am
Man, the whiners here from the GOP/TPer Party call centers… I bet they can’t keep the kool-aid cannisters full with all this vitriol going on!
Well, gotta keep the sheeple hydrated with those special ingredients, hate, fear, greed and ignorance. Good job GOP/TPer Party hot shots! (Creators of jobs in china, india, korea, and elsewhere…) BZ.
June 28th, 2012 at 11:58 am
let me be the first to say …i am happy about the court dec. i am glad that our President was able to get something done …now we have to go after the Medical ins. companies that put big money before the people and then go after the drug companies
June 28th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Too funny!
http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/fiore/
June 28th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
maybe it would be funny, if weren’t true.
June 28th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
and by the way, only in America would Christians complain about having to pay taxes to help their fellow man.
June 28th, 2012 at 2:47 pm
IM, Roberts betrayed the nation when he voted in the majority on the Citizen’s United case, and the recent case involving the Montana campaign finance law.
June 28th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Sharon that was so funny, but true.
June 28th, 2012 at 2:54 pm
IM, you really need to chill. The government already has all sorts of dangerous loopholes — state of emergency, for example — but we would need a majority in Congress to pass most of them. If it passed, we get the government we deserve.
June 28th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
IM, you’re the kind of person who says. . . “You’re going to drive all the rich folk out of America if you tax them!” Where are they going to go. .Mexico? Somalia?”
You’re the kind of person who says, “You keep picking on the oil companies and they’ll stop drilling and then where will we be?”
June 28th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
We won a huge victory with this morning’s ruling, but the fight is still on. Rush Limbaugh has already called on Republicans to “defeat these bastards” and “wipe them out.”
We’re under 48 hours until the FEC deadline, and your contribution is absolutely critical to supporting President Obama and health care reform. $600,000 left to go.
Barbara Boxer
June 28th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
In one of the craziest news days in recent memory, the president’s health care law was upheld today.
The analysis will be coming in all day, so stay tuned to Human Events. Below is all of the pertinent healthcare ruling news, along with Ann’s syndicated column on Fast & Furious.
BREAKING: President Obama responds to health care ruling.
But, and I have been touting this all morning on my Facebook page, my colleague at RedState, Erick Erickson’s piece is very, very, very good and strikes the right tone for conservatives after today’s ruling: Roberts forces us to deal with health care politically — and that’s OK.
Also — ‘Stolen Valor’ Act ruled unconstitutional
Video: John Gizzi: Senate update in New York
Onward and upward,
-Adam
June 28th, 2012 at 3:28 pm
The contempt finding by the republicans shows once again that Mr. Roberts, RT was correct when he said that white america practice Just-US justice.
Rand Paul’s statement that “Just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be ‘constitutional’ does not make it so. The whole thing remains unconstitutional.”
The statement is if we win in the courts, then that’s the law, but if we lose, then we won’t obey that law.
Just US tice is alive and well in white america.
Amy
June 28th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
My long time hispanic and black friends always ask me how come it is so easy for white voters to elect known and or avowed racists.
Rand Paul is a typical example. This is a man who says that he is against the white only ban on whites-only lunch counters because he believes it is unconstitutional.
I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. My answer is, I really don’t know.
Gabrielle
June 28th, 2012 at 3:43 pm
The four members of STARK who decided along party lines to defeat Obama. It is so shameful that they would sacrifice the health and lives of 36,000,000 americans who can’t afford health coverage to accomplish that aim.
Robert,RT, I am white but I have to say I agree with you about the House Nigger, Thomas, also.
I guess white pussy is still the best in this country because it has total control on the House Nigger.
Dara
June 28th, 2012 at 3:51 pm
This is an example of White jUStice.
========================
Senator Rand Paul Says The Supreme Court Decision Doesn’t Matter Obamacare Is Still Unconstitutional
A number of reactions were shown after the Supreme Court ruled to uphold President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. However, few elected officials went as far as Senator Rand Paul when he explicitly blasted the Supreme Court as wrong and unqualified to decide constitutional matters. Paul’s disagreement with the court’s decision would clearly mean that he also does not agree with the United States Constitution, which designates the Court as responsible for ruling on the constitutionality of laws. In his statement released after the Court’s decision, he indicated that he felt that the Court’s “incorrect” decision still did not mean that the law was constitutional:
Just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be ‘constitutional’ does not make it so. The whole thing remains unconstitutional. While the court may have erroneously come to the conclusion that the law is allowable, it certainly does nothing to make this mandate or government takeover of our health care right.
For the record, Paul also believes that Medicare, Social Security and the federal ban on whites-only lunch counters are unconstitutional.
===================
This is coming from a US senator. The same party who severly criticized the President for mentioning SCOTUS’s Citizen United ruling.
But listen to them now directly excoriating SCOTUS for their decision today. Hypocrisy and outright LSOSs.
Kristi
June 28th, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Rand Paul is a racist, anti-semite, anti-women, anti-gay and anti-everything including he and his dad are actually anti-consittution and probably right at home with the David Duke’s and all.
(same people who were all over Ron Paul’s literature and supporters of their campaigns).
These far right extremists, where they spew the constitution, Hell, bet they never read it.
Their idea of justice is the old old wild west or back to the days of lynching minorities.
America is smarter than to go back to the days of the gun rules wild west, KKK and the John Birch Society.
Google Jorg Haider in Austria. My mom, who had to flee Austria back in the Nazi days, made this connection a few years back.
To think that Rand was elected Senator(a post he himself believes should not even be an elected post, yet he hypocritically ran as one), makes you wonder about the people of Kentucky who voted for him. What the hell were they smoking
June 28th, 2012 at 3:55 pm
So much for that VP nod .. if the Supreme Court cannot decide what’s constitutional who can? I mean all in favor of someone else revisiting things Bush v Gore or Citizens United but who??? Certainly not some unemployed eye doctor from the backwoods of Kentucky.
June 28th, 2012 at 3:57 pm
The level of hypocrisy is incredible…are these the same people who defended the Citizens United ruling? Failure or dereliction of duty seems to be very subjective these days.
I find the libertarian philosophy of no rules except our rules to be as shallow as you can get. Yeah, we want everybody to be free of government control except when it concerns who you want to marry, who is entitled to tax breaks, or in the case of women, who controls your vagina.
June 28th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
If I go back to my civics days I think I remember that the entire point of the Supreme Court is to determine what is and isn’t constitutional under Article III, and can only be over-turned by a constitutional amendment. Rand is smoking some serious crack.
June 28th, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Okay you numb nuts that claim how accurate the fox news station is. It was those guys who announced today that the Supreme Court decided against the mandate.
Then with egg on the face, they had to say oops, the Supreme Court affirmed Obama’s health mandate.
June 28th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
Well if rand paul actually believed in the constitution he would not be supporting a bilderberger aka romney aka a new world order puppet who is for a one world government by the very fact that he like obama is a bilderberger ,,,so rand paul is just pissing into the wind.
June 28th, 2012 at 8:47 pm
Yes, let’s all get in line behind the idiots in black robes. The final arbiters of what is Constitutional are the people. Nullification (first used to PROTECT runaway slaves from being returns to enslavement) is a valid state right.
If you want government-provided healthcare then petition your STATE to provide it. Clearly Its not a federal power, regardless of what the failures in the SCOTUS decided.
June 28th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
Rand Pal is not a senator said:
“Just because a couple of people on the Supreme Court declare something to be ‘constitutional’ does not make it so,” Paul said in the statement.”
In other note just because the constitution declares that some people of the general public represent them as “senators”, does not make it so… Rand Paul is just one of the Americans with no extra power.
You can;t have it both ways.
June 28th, 2012 at 8:55 pm
If Rand Paul is speaking for the Tea Party, it is a sad day for America. His inability to understand the fundamentals of our government one of which IS the purpose of the Supreme Court articulates why those clowns need to be thrown out of office as fast as possible.
Whether or not you agree with the decision is one thing, but when you go on record saying something which is completely false, enough is enough.
June 28th, 2012 at 8:57 pm
DR, yeah! cancel all medicare and medicaid as well. stupid old, weak and poor people. what gives them a right to healthcare! this land is only for the strong or rich.
June 28th, 2012 at 9:10 pm
So now the Supreme Court is irrelevant? And the justices are just “a couple of people”?. He is such a hypocrite because if the Supreme Court ruled the individual mandate was unconstitutional he wouldn’t sit his swarmy looking self up there saying what the courts decided doesn’t matter.
June 28th, 2012 at 9:26 pm
That house nigger would vote his own ass off the court if the vote on whites-only lunch counter could be revoted on.
This white man knows a suck up when he sees one. I wish him a travel through my state of Mississippi without his secret service protection, but with his white woman sitting beside him.
That nigger will find out how we feel about niggers, even house niggers, sleeping with our white women.
Phil
June 28th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
The republicans are part of a nationwide scheme to accomplish voter suppression of OTWs and whites that normally vote democratic. Eric Holder is actively pursuing those states that are attempting to do exactly that.
The NRA said that they were going to “score the vote” on Eric Holder’s contempt. This is a lobbying group that totally controls the republican party and virtually controls the democratic party.
The NRA has enacted laws to prevent the government from arresting those that buy and sell automatic weapons to anyone they wish. Yet the law was not discussed during the hearings only the fact that the federal agency didn’t arrest those they did not have the legal right to arrest because of the gun protection laws enacted by the NRA influenced Congress.
Daniela
June 28th, 2012 at 9:32 pm
Rand Paul’s being enormously hypocritical, as is par for the course with his brand of libertarianism, but he’s not exactly wrong in his sentiment that just because a group of judges make a ruling doesn’t mean that ruling is correct.
I’m pretty sure many of us here would agree that corporations being people isn’t constitutional in anything but the most narrow semantic manner. Judges make bad calls and sometimes blatantly so; it doesn’t take a constitutional lawyer to read the document and understand that certain things are there or not there.
If this had gone the other way, I’m convinced we would have seen a glut of posts here saying that just because the corrupt (they are, particularly Thomas in this case) Supreme Court declares something unconstitutional doesn’t mean it actually is.
June 28th, 2012 at 9:37 pm
If dumasses see it on TV or youtube, it must be real.
Democrats attempt to govern, which is hard.
Republicans do opera. It is exciting and and showy.
Now if you are a dumass, which show are you going to watch?
June 28th, 2012 at 9:38 pm
JW, You disagree with the judgement? Fine. You aren’t allowed to pick and choose the laws you want to obey.
You don’t think the court has any jursidiction? Move to Somalia.
June 28th, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Laws passed by Congress are constitutional only insofar as the Court permits. For example, Plessy v. Ferguson, decided in 1896, upheld the constitutionality of laws permitting states to segregate based on race under the doctrine of “separate but equal.”
At that time, the Court determined that the 13th and 14th Amendments permitted state-sanctioned segregation. Plessy remained the law for decades, until the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education.
I don’t think Citizens United is well-founded, and my guess is that it will be vacated should the Court lean left. I don’t think Kelo v. City of New London, a 2005 case permitting government to exercise eminent domain in order to sell property to private interests as part of plan to promote economic development, is well-founded either, and it will probably be overturned should the Court tilt further right.
The point is that the questions the Court addresses are generally pretty complicated (which is why they make it to the Supreme Court) and reasonable minds can differ on a lot of the outcomes, hence the reason for the numerous 5-4 splits. If the Constitution was immutable, and capable of only one interpretation, every decision would be 9-0.
This is, in fact, the most important reason to support Obama’s re-election if you lean left. I have some significant problems with some of Obama’s policies, but the next president will have the opportunity to nominate 2 and perhaps 4 Supreme Court justices.
On the right, Roberts is 57, Alito is 61, Scalia is 76, Kennedy is 75, and Thomas is 63. On the left, Ginsburg is 79, Breyer is 73, Sotomayor is 58, and Kagan is 52. Notwithstanding the fact that Supreme Court justices tend to outlive most of us, Ginsurg, Breyer, Kennedy and Scalia are all in the zone where health concerns can turn south quickly.
Replacing Ginsburg and Breyer would shore up the left wing of the Court for the next two decades, while the opportunity to replace Scalia or Kennedy could turn a lot of 5-4 decisions favoring the Court’s conservative faction into 5-4 or 6-3 (!) decisions favoring its more liberal members.
June 28th, 2012 at 9:43 pm
Scott, I never said I disagreed with the judgement. I agree Paul is being hypocritical and trying to pick and choose what laws he likes based on ideology. I already said that.
I never said (and I don’t think Paul did either) that the Supreme Court doesn’t have jurisdiction here. My point was that it’s not exactly outrageous to suggest that sometimes courts make a ruling that is objectively wrong. We blatantly do it all the time right here on this blog.
June 28th, 2012 at 9:44 pm
It’s a truly sad state of affairs when a US Senator doesn’t understand the role of the 3 branches of government. The role of SCOTUS is precisely to determine if laws are constitutional.
Someone needs to sit li’l Rand down and explain to him, slowly and in small words, that his opinion really doesn’t matter on this.
I mean, I could say that I find Rand Paul to be unconstitutional…
June 28th, 2012 at 9:46 pm
JW, Rand Paul said that just because a couple of justices say it’s constitutional doesn’t make it so.
That’s the point. By definition, it absolutely does make it constitutional if a majority of justices rule that it is.
I understand he doesn’t like the decision, but he needs to express himself in a way that doesn’t expose him as the treasonous anarchist he sounds like from this statement.
June 28th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
JW, Rand does understand that the SCOTUS determines what’s Constitutional right? When they say it is, it is.
June 29th, 2012 at 2:04 am
I am telling you this because. Well because. I suppose I may have to pay for what I’ve done. Unlike Anonz, I can’t do what he does with impunity. Unless, I get away with it, if I do, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again, if the situation called for it.
I promised myself that I would never take the kind of treatment from the white boy that they used to get away with in the past because the law gave them the right and usually the immunity to do it.
I have avenged myself on several occasions. Recently, I may have made a mistake. I don’t intend to run, but the publicity may end my career.
I wanted you to know, it was not done because I am against anyone because of the color of their skin or philosophy.
I will continue to do what I feel is necessary in this world to defend myself. But sometimes, one wakes to discover he is the man he is, rather than the man he wanted to be.
The guy I wanted to present to you was the one I wanted to be. Thanks for the memories. You deserve better.
Robert,rt
June 29th, 2012 at 8:48 am
now we know the liberals favorite word “TAX”
if you don’t buy into the system, they will “TAX” you!
if you have a small business then get ready to raise your prices because the wonderful federal goverment (who can’t balence its own budget) wants you too!
but thats what Obama and his group want! why should you work hard and get rich! the goverment will provide everything!
everyone should be the same!
same goals of the communist goverment?
or was that the same as the facist goverment?
the obama campain should play “TAX MAN” on all is meetings!
June 29th, 2012 at 8:50 am
I see the Republicans are all upset because the mandate has been called a tax. And? We are taxed for everything else. Why not have a tax that directly helps us? Some call this health care bill a hand out. So be it. I’ll take this one for sure.Every American deserves health care. Period.
June 29th, 2012 at 8:51 am
Oh, and De, At least with this tax, I’ll get something out of it. If I get sick, maybe life.
June 29th, 2012 at 8:52 am
Why so much resistance from the right? How much in profits does the health insurance industry currently reap? What will this do to their control and long-term profit margins? They are the only true losers in this deal. And they are pulling out all the PR stops to try and turn back the clock.
With the instant echo-chamber of Astroturf marketing that corporatists can gin up at will, they are swarming all over the internet spreading their talking points and lies, hatched in the bowels of fake think tanks like Cato and Heartland, and spoon-fed by FOX, Rush and the rest of their propaganda machine.
How does a tired public combat this corporate propaganda? Exposure. Awareness. Education. Start by telling the ideologically-challenged that “free-market” is a marketing retread of an old failed policy of “laissez-fare” capitalism which led to the Great Depression.
That there is such a thing as the “public commons,” and that the philosophy of “rational self-interest” they claim is nothing more than infantile selfishness marketed to them by PR hacks to get authoritarian followers to vote for corporate interests over their own.
June 29th, 2012 at 8:53 am
In 2009 the top 3 insurance companies posted RECORD BREAKING PROFITS and celebrated by raising their rates just like they do EVERY year.
June 29th, 2012 at 8:55 am
It doesn’t matter to these racists. The law could give them $1 million a year and let them live forever and the Obama haters would want to repeal it. (It has nothing to do with facts. It’s because Obama is Black)
June 29th, 2012 at 8:57 am
I have only two things to add to the hyperventilating on the radical right: 1. the Act has not been fully implemented so its effects cannot be gauged, and 2. When, on when, has health care cost NOT gone up?
I cannot remember a single year when premiums either went down or stayed flat, so that argument is entirely bogus.
However, today insurance companies will be sending checks to individuals and small businesses that they overcharged in 2011. Why?
The Affordable Care Act mandates that they spend 80% of collected premiums directly on health care, and the companies sending out checks did not meet the standard.
Their overhead was excessive. BTW, Medicare’s administrative cost are in the vicinity of 3%. Yes, government does it more efficiently.
June 29th, 2012 at 9:50 am
Robert,RT
Are we losing you, too?
/SB