A must-read article…
…by Andrew McCarthy.
Continue reading →Category Archives: Health care reform
A new meme I’ve noticed today…
…among liberals, leftists, and RINO pundits around the MSM and the blogosphere: that there’s no possibility of a repeal of Obamacare in 2012. Even if the Republicans try, they won’t be able to succeed. Or they won’t even try. The … Continue reading →
The tax power is now the 800-pound gorilla in the room
It can do almost anything it wants to. Rick Hills, an NYU law professor who appears to specialize in federalism (and does not appear to be a conservative), writes: I am no friend of the Commerce Clause argument against the … Continue reading →
What hath Roberts wrought in his Obamacare decision?
I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning reading the SCOTUS Obamacare decision. What I found was so distressing I’m having trouble digesting it; it’s too fibrous and unappetizing a meal. But I’ve already swallowed it; in fact, … Continue reading →
Two, two…two things in one
In another comment thread, I wrote: In order for the Court to have standing to hear the suit””because if it were a tax, it could not be heard until the “tax” kicks in, which I believe wouldn’t be till 2014””the … Continue reading →
This is how you get from a mandate to a tax, according to SCOTUS
I’ve been wondering what sort of reasoning the Court used to justify calling the mandate a tax, despite the fact that it the people who designed it and passed it explicitly claimed it was not a tax. Here’s the text … Continue reading →
Federalism’s weird victory
Randy Barnett, who has been instrumental in developing the legal arguments against Obamacare, asks a very good question: Who would have thought that we could win while losing? The “we” he refers to are those who’ve been arguing—like he has—that … Continue reading →
And I don’t understand…
…this reaction at all: Obama just won a second term. I disagree—although of course, Obama may win anyway. But that was always true. I think the SCOTUS decision today actually reduces Obama’s chances of winning, if it affects them at … Continue reading →
The HCR ruling: there’s a pony somewhere
Here it is: On the mandate, the Chief [Justice Roberts] then goes on to agree with Randy Barnett’s activity/inactivity theory. He writes: “To an economist, perhaps, there is no difference between activity and inactivity; both have measurable economic effects on … Continue reading →
The Humpty Dumpty ruling: “Ah, but it’s not a mandate, it’s a tax,” says SCOTUS
Justice Roberts has joined the liberal wing of the Supreme Court in ruling that the HCR bill is constitutional, 5-4. It seems that, when faced with the dilemma of possibly invalidating a huge act of Congress, the Court sidestepped that … Continue reading →
On the eve of the Obamacare decision…
…I thought you might like to read this remarkably prescient and cogent article by David Rivkin. Amazingly, it was written in 1993, but it is right on target for today. I think it is of no small significance that Rivkin … Continue reading →
I haven’t been this nervous…
…about a pending SCOTUS decision since Bush v. Gore. And back then I was on the other side. [ADDENDUM: It occurs to me that I need to explain why I feel this degree of nervousness. It’s not about Obamacare, although … Continue reading →