The Foundation
"[A] wise and frugal government ... shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." --Thomas Jefferson
Government & PoliticsA Major Victory Against ObamaCare
ObamaCare ruled unconstitutionalIf you watch only the network evening news, you might not have heard that on Monday, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ruled the obvious: ObamaCare violates the Constitution. Twenty-six states had filed suit over the law, specifically arguing that the mandate that individuals purchase health insurance violates the Constitution by granting Congress too much power under the Commerce Clause. Vinson, a Reagan appointee, agreed and struck down the entire law.
"Never before has Congress required everyone buy a product from a private company (essentially for life) just for being alive and residing in the United States," wrote Judge Vinson. "It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate giving the East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America would have set out to create a government with the power to force people to buy tea in the first place. ... Surely this is not what the Founding Fathers could have intended."
There is little doubt the Founders purposefully denied the Legislative Branch such broad powers, but leftists have long asserted that Congress can do whatever a majority votes to do. When asked about the constitutionality of ObamaCare, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) snorted, "Are you serious? Are you serious?" She is now the minority leader.
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) was similarly smug when congressional power was questioned, explaining, "I think that there are very few constitutional limits that would prevent the federal government from rules that could affect your private life." He continued, "The federal government, uh, yes, can do most anything in this country."
Judge Vinson's ruling was a strong rebuke to such thinking. Notably, he struck down the law in its entirety because the individual mandate didn't include a severability clause, which would have allowed the removal of the provision while leaving the rest of the law intact. Even the Obama administration argued that the individual mandate is so integral to the legislation that the law would be impotent without it.
Vinson wrote, "Regardless of how laudable its attempts may have been to accomplish these goals [of universal health care] in passing the [Affordable Care] Act, Congress must operate within the bounds established by the Constitution." He added, "[T]his case is not about whether the Act is wise or unwise legislation, or whether it will solve or exacerbate the myriad problems in our health care system. In fact, it is not really about our health care system at all. It is principally about our federalist system, and it raises very important issues regarding the constitutional role of the federal government."
As Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University, observed, "This case could define federalism for the next 100 years. If the Obama administration prevails in its view, it's hard to see what's left of federalism."
Typical of its disdain for Rule of Law, an administration official called the originalist ruling "odd and unconventional," and the White House promised to continue implementation of the law, despite its being ruled unconstitutional. Several states aren't waiting around, however. Many are ceasing efforts to comply with the mandates and regulations of the law. Virginia is asking the Supreme Court to expedite its hearings on the law.
In Congress, Senate Republicans tried but failed in a vote for full repeal, 47-51. They did succeed, however, in once again putting all Senate Democrats on record as supporting ObamaCare, a status that will no doubt plague many of those who are up for re-election in 2012. In addition, Senate Republicans succeeded, 81-17, in repealing the onerous requirement that businesses file 1099s for goods purchased from vendors that total $600 or more in a year. That mandate would have been a back-breaker for small businesses. Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also introduced legislation allowing states to opt out of any part of ObamaCare.
At the risk of "inciting violence" with fighting metaphors, we hope the continued onslaught against ObamaCare continues to see success, and that this battle to preserve Essential Liberty will eventually be won.
"[A] wise and frugal government ... shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." --Thomas Jefferson
Government & PoliticsA Major Victory Against ObamaCare
ObamaCare ruled unconstitutionalIf you watch only the network evening news, you might not have heard that on Monday, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ruled the obvious: ObamaCare violates the Constitution. Twenty-six states had filed suit over the law, specifically arguing that the mandate that individuals purchase health insurance violates the Constitution by granting Congress too much power under the Commerce Clause. Vinson, a Reagan appointee, agreed and struck down the entire law.
"Never before has Congress required everyone buy a product from a private company (essentially for life) just for being alive and residing in the United States," wrote Judge Vinson. "It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate giving the East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America would have set out to create a government with the power to force people to buy tea in the first place. ... Surely this is not what the Founding Fathers could have intended."
There is little doubt the Founders purposefully denied the Legislative Branch such broad powers, but leftists have long asserted that Congress can do whatever a majority votes to do. When asked about the constitutionality of ObamaCare, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) snorted, "Are you serious? Are you serious?" She is now the minority leader.
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) was similarly smug when congressional power was questioned, explaining, "I think that there are very few constitutional limits that would prevent the federal government from rules that could affect your private life." He continued, "The federal government, uh, yes, can do most anything in this country."
Judge Vinson's ruling was a strong rebuke to such thinking. Notably, he struck down the law in its entirety because the individual mandate didn't include a severability clause, which would have allowed the removal of the provision while leaving the rest of the law intact. Even the Obama administration argued that the individual mandate is so integral to the legislation that the law would be impotent without it.
Vinson wrote, "Regardless of how laudable its attempts may have been to accomplish these goals [of universal health care] in passing the [Affordable Care] Act, Congress must operate within the bounds established by the Constitution." He added, "[T]his case is not about whether the Act is wise or unwise legislation, or whether it will solve or exacerbate the myriad problems in our health care system. In fact, it is not really about our health care system at all. It is principally about our federalist system, and it raises very important issues regarding the constitutional role of the federal government."
As Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University, observed, "This case could define federalism for the next 100 years. If the Obama administration prevails in its view, it's hard to see what's left of federalism."
Typical of its disdain for Rule of Law, an administration official called the originalist ruling "odd and unconventional," and the White House promised to continue implementation of the law, despite its being ruled unconstitutional. Several states aren't waiting around, however. Many are ceasing efforts to comply with the mandates and regulations of the law. Virginia is asking the Supreme Court to expedite its hearings on the law.
In Congress, Senate Republicans tried but failed in a vote for full repeal, 47-51. They did succeed, however, in once again putting all Senate Democrats on record as supporting ObamaCare, a status that will no doubt plague many of those who are up for re-election in 2012. In addition, Senate Republicans succeeded, 81-17, in repealing the onerous requirement that businesses file 1099s for goods purchased from vendors that total $600 or more in a year. That mandate would have been a back-breaker for small businesses. Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also introduced legislation allowing states to opt out of any part of ObamaCare.
At the risk of "inciting violence" with fighting metaphors, we hope the continued onslaught against ObamaCare continues to see success, and that this battle to preserve Essential Liberty will eventually be won.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment