In case you've been hiding under a rock this morning, the Supreme Court just issued its opinion on ObamaCare, with Justices Alito, Scalia, Thomas, and even swing-vote Kennedy voting to overturn the law as unconstitutional, but Chief Justice Roberts joined the liberal wing of the court in voting to uphold it.
The Court ruled that even though it was an unconstitutional violation of the Commerce Clause to force Americans to buy health insurance, the individual mandate survived as a...tax.
Wait, what?
It's now a tax? Really? Huh. That's not how Obama sold this law to the American people. In fact, Obama was quite insistent in arguing that it was not a tax.
George Stephanopoulos: "Under this mandate, the government is forcing people to spend money, fining you if you don't, how is that not a tax? ...it's still a tax increase."
President Obama: "...no, no, that's not true, George, for us to say that you've got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase."
Gotta love how Stephanopoulos brings out the basic dictionary definition and Obama mocks him. So smug, so very, very smug.
The simple story is that the Democrats engaged in a massive act of deception to pass this law. Publicly insisting it was not a tax (although, how could they really be sure, when none of them had actually read the darn bill?!), while having the Solicitor General make the legal argument that the law should be upheld as a tax, not mandatory purchase.
Anger against Obamacare, along with its incredible increase in wasteful spending, overreaching government intrusiveness, and explosive growth in bureaucracies, was the fuel that fed the tea party fire in the 2010 elections.
That's the silver lining in today's ruling: I can think of few things that could be more effective in energizing the conservative base to defeat Obama and take back control of the Senate. Take whatever anger, frustration, and sadness you are feeling today and channel it towards a Republican victory in November. Donate to Congressional candidates (like Sean Bielat!) who have vowed to repeal ObamaCare, volunteer for their campaigns, and drag everyone you know to the polls to vote.
UPDATE: Looks like I was correct. Mitt Romney's Press Secretary Andrea Saul tweeted that Romney had raised over $100K online in the first hour since the opinion was released:
Over $100k already raised online for @MittRomney for #FullRepeal
— Andrea Saul (@andreamsaul) June 28, 2012
UPDATE II: Romney has now raised almost $400K in the aftermath of the verdict. Should Chief Justice John Roberts have to report an in-kind donation to the Romney campaign? ;)
UPDATE III: The RNC has been doing an excellent job with quick responses this election cycle. They have a new website, www.PeoplevObamaCare.com, that went live about an hour after the verdict, along with this video:
UPDATE IV: Oh heck yeah:
BOOM. RT @andreamsaul: Just crossed $1 million raised for @MittRomney since SCOTUS decision. #FullRepeal
— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) June 28, 2012
UPDATE V: Over TWO MILLION DOLLARS raised by Romney so far today:
Just crossed $2 million in donations & 20,000+ donors for #FullRepeal of Obamacare. #Mitt2012
— Andrea Saul (@andreamsaul) June 28, 2012
UPDATE VI: Enjoy the latest epic video by Ben Howe, "Obamatax," which points out the Democrats' hypocrisy on calling ObamaCare a tax:
[Cross-posted at Right Wing News and RedState]
I hope you're right!
ReplyDeleteAs much as I hate this ruling, I hope it really helps get people fired up and to the polls in November. The RNC is doing a much better job online than they did in 2008 and looks like Romney is finally getting some backbone. Fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteYeah, talk about DECEPTIVE!
ReplyDelete(AND stupid, on the part of SCOTUS)
WH argued OCare was legal based on 3 criteria:
1) Commerce Clause (REJECTED by SCOTUS)
2) Proper and Necessary Clause (REJECTED by SCOTUS)
3) Congress may TAX (ACCEPTED by SCOTUS)
EXCEPT THAT...
IN ORDER FOR A TAX TO BE LEGITIMATE, CONGRESS MUST INITIATE IT IN THE *H*O*U*S*E*....oops. THIS originated in the Senate.
SO, not only is SCOTUS an ACCOMPLICE in this travesty, but
the only so-called justifiable legitimacy of this law IS ILLEGITIMATE!
Actually, the Senate tacked their version of health care legislation onto a bill that had already been passed by the House, in order to get around this requirement. It's the kind of crazy, shady tactic that makes people hate Congress, but it is technically allowable. If you remember the discussions at the time the bill was passed, there was a lot of chatter about unusual legislative maneuvers and rarely used voting procedures in order to get the bill made into law (i.e., reconciliation).
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