Posted on 07/02/2012 3:35:27 AM PDT by tobyhill
The White House insisted Sunday the consequence for Americans not having health insurance is a penalty fee, despite the Supreme Court ruling that it is a tax, and said the debate on the Affordable Care Act should finally end.
White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew said on "Fox News Sunday" that “when the Supreme Court rules” the country “has a final decision” and that the presidential campaigns should focus on the economy and jobs.
“What we need to do is go forward with the implementation” of the law, Lew said.
He also argued the health care law will not result in a tax increase on the middle class, despite a Congressional Budget Office report that it would result in a roughly $27 million increase over the next 10 years.
Lew's remarks were met with strong opposition from GOP congressional leaders.
“He’s doing the best he can with a tough situation,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “It’s a middle-class tax increase.”
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Obama should send a letter to SCOTUS telling them that he insists that it is not a tax and therefore they should reconsider there screwball decision
The Sultan is delusional if he thinks this debate is over; he will be targeted with it until the election.
I wonder what happens to those waivers if in fact this is a tax...
A “final decision”?
More correctly, a “final solution”.
The penalty for being uninsured and with no other means to pay for it should be no healthcare.
he shoved it down our throats against the will of the people, just because it is passed does not mean we the people cannot at least try to end it.. Has any of the congress folks filed for a rehearing under the basis the health care law was passed as a lie and deceived the people.
We have the right to have the the scotus rehear this..But we have limited time to file..step up congress!!!
Obama has gotten HIS way and knows that it is going to impact the election, so he wants US to forget and move on . . . To him it is not about the American people and the impact we will feel - it is about the NEXT election and how it might impact his chances. The ego of this monster is beyond belief!
I see the democrats all over the news tying to declare it to be a “penalty” on the 1%.
In the best Orwellian tradition, words have no original meaning for these folks. They only exist to be morphed into different shades that help the Dear Leader express a meaning he wants expressed.
1984 is here.
We can only hope that ObamaCare supporters in Congress lose thei jobs for passing it (especially those “Dem Catholics” like Stupak who chose Obama over God to pass it); if there are no repercussions for those who passed this, expect to be abused regularly by your government.
Well, we certainly have seen these tactics before. First they claim that the debate is over. The Science is settled. Or in this case, the Supreme Court has ruled. Next step will be to call us all Health Care denialist. Or Health Care deniers. Same old song and dance.
According to Roberts, if it’s not a tax, it’s unconstitutional. On the other hand, if it is a tax, he’s a liar. But his opponents already know he’s a liar, and his supporters don’t care, so what’s the problem?
I will simply disregard what Mr. Lew has said.
Obama, that is. I don't know what Roberts is. Is he a sell-out? An idiot? A coward? Or a genius who figured out a way to catch Obama in his own trap?
No. That’s fine. If it’s not a tax, then it’s unconstitutional. If it’s a tax, they are dealing with the voters.
So which is it, Mr. Obama?
My memory may be a little fuzzy and incorrect but didn’t the lawyers for Obama argue before the SC that the penalties and fees and fines were taxes??
We have the right to have this re heard by scotus, it just needs to be filed, perhaps they will not hear it, but those in the seats of power to represent us should apply for a rehearing on the basis it was designed as one thing and passed as another, deceiving the people is not legal, if people lie to congress they can be summoned, if congress lies to its masters, US, they should be held accountable as well.
try everything possible, and certainly if our votes matter in the fall due to fraud, or marshall implementation, then certainly by vote..
Before you look to do harm to Chief Justice Roberts or his family, it’s important that you think carefully about the meaning – the true nature — of his ruling on Obama-care. The Left will shout that they won, that Obama-care was upheld and all the rest. Let them.
It will be a short-lived celebration.
Here’s what really occurred — payback. Yes, payback for Obama’s numerous, ill-advised and childish insults directed toward SCOTUS.
Chief Justice Roberts actually ruled the mandate, relative to the commerce clause, was unconstitutional. That’s how the Democrats got Obama-care going in the first place. This is critical. His ruling means Congress can’t compel American citizens to purchase anything. Ever. The notion is now officially and forever, unconstitutional. As it should be.
Next, he stated that, because Congress doesn’t have the ability to mandate, it must, to fund Obama-care, rely on its power to tax. Therefore, the mechanism that funds Obama-care is a tax. This is also critical. Recall back during the initial Obama-care battles, the Democrats called it a penalty, Republicans called it a tax. Democrats consistently soft sold it as a penalty. It went to vote as a penalty. Obama declared endlessly, that it was not a tax, it was a penalty. But when the Democrats argued in front of the Supreme Court, they said ‘hey, a penalty or a tax, either way’. So, Roberts gave them a tax. It is now the official law of the land — beyond word-play and silly shenanigans. Obama-care is funded by tax dollars. Democrats now must defend a tax increase to justify the Obama-care law.
Finally, he struck down as unconstitutional, the Obama-care idea that the federal government can bully states into complying by yanking their existing medicaid funding. Liberals, through Obama-care, basically said to the states — ‘comply with Obama-care or we will stop existing funding.’ Roberts ruled that is a no-no. If a state takes the money, fine, the Feds can tell the state how to run a program, but if the state refuses money, the federal government can’t penalize the state by yanking other funding. Therefore, a state can decline to participate in Obama-care without penalty. This is obviously a serious problem. Are we going to have 10, 12, 25 states not participating in “national” health-care? Suddenly, it’s not national, is it?
Ultimately, Roberts supported states rights by limiting the federal government’s coercive abilities. He ruled that the government can not force the people to purchase products or services under the commerce clause and he forced liberals to have to come clean and admit that Obama-care is funded by tax increases.
Although he didn’t guarantee Romney a win, he certainly did more than his part and should be applauded.
And he did this without creating a civil war or having bricks thrown through his windshield. Oh, and he’ll be home in time for dinner.
Brilliant.
(From this morning’s email)
“He’s doing the best he can with a tough situation,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “It’s a middle-class tax increase.”
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This is what McConnell calls a strong opposition?
He is doing the best he can?
How about , “He is a F’ing liar and he knows it.”
The GOP leadership are all a bunch of pussy cats aren’t they. When what is truly needed is a starving lion ready rip and tear we get a meek terrified kitty, meowing from behind the curtain.
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