Posted on 03/28/2012 10:40:30 AM PDT by Servant of the Cross
My colleague Kate Hicks -- who has attended the High Court's oral arguments this week -- will file a full report on today's proceedings later on. In the meantime, some initial reactions indicate that the Supremes may be poised to not only throw out Obamacare's individual mandate, but the entire thing. Wow. Snippets the Wall Street Journal's excellent live blog:
* Justice Kennedy, again exploring the competency theme, says Mr. Kneedler suggests the court has the expertise to invalidate some parts of the law, but not the expertise to judge whether other parts should remain in place. The justice says he finds that "odd."
* Justice Scalia suggests there has never been another high court case where the justices have struck down the “heart” of a law, but left the rest of it in place.
* Chief Justice Roberts suggests that Mr. Kneedler, the government lawyer, has made effectively made the case that if the insurance mandate falls, the guarantee that insurers accept all customers must go, too. But, the chief says, that doesn’t tell the court what to do with all the many other provisions of the law.
* Justice Alito echoes those concerns, saying other provisions in the law, in addition to the guaranteed-coverage requirement, could lead to higher costs for insurers.
CNN's Jeffrey Toobin says Justice Kennedy led this aggressive questioning, indicating that Kennedy has made up his mind that at least the individual mandate is unconstitutional. Via CNN tweets:
Toobin: "The leader of the questioning was Kennedy; it certainly seemed likely he made up his mind the mandate was unconstitutional."
CNN JUST IN: Jeffrey Toobin: "this entire law is in trouble..." the individual mandate appears "doomed"..."seemed a foregone conclusion."
Toobin reiterated his "train wreck" imagery, adding that today could have also been a "plane wreck" ...
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
The Communists are very good at planning each move, they have been at it for over sixty years, to bury us. They are so close to succeeding. Let’s look at this:
Obamma publicly insults the SCOTUS.
Obamma appoints communist judge.
Obammacare get’s challenged and rejected by SCOTUS.
Obamma propaganda machine tells populaces that the SCOTUS rejected Obammacare, not on grounds, but in spiteful revenge.
Obamma’s OWS crowd demand “justice”.
Riots begin, marshal law declared.
Checkmate-Kruschev.
Starting? No...
If it does go down. It won’t be close. It’ll could be unanimous. Lots of people are signaling that the election would go better for everyone if it was struck down. Kagan is now a Justice. It no longer matters how she got there, she can’t be removed because she didn’t play ball with Obama. Sotomayer too. History isn’t going to judge them on whether they carried water for Obama, but on whether women on the bench was good for the country. I was shocked at the EPA decision being unanimous.
If it really is an absurd anti-constitutional monstrosity, they all may kill it. Passed the way it was passed, it was a very killable bill. Scalia even joked as to whether he would be required to read all 2700 pages in order to rule on it.
I’m curious as to whether the minority would have to write an opinion if it does go down 8-1 or 7-2. I’m not sure they do.
I guess I was doing my rip van winkle routine because I don’t know anything about an EPA ruling. How bout a 30 word synopsis?
A mandate is merely a dictate. Thus, if we are dictated to, do we then live under a Dictatorship?
If our freedom of choice is taken from us by the dictates of a hostile Federal government, then what Liberty do we have left?
“A mandate is merely a dictate. Thus, if we are dictated to, do we then live under a Dictatorship?”
“If our freedom of choice is taken from us by the dictates of a hostile Federal government, then what Liberty do we have left?”
Why, the liberty to continue breathing, citizen!
As Plato and many others observed, a dictatorship resolves a crumbling and chaotic democracy by subjecting it to a sort of receivership by the Dictator. The end-game of a republic, if you will.
For the public good, of course.
Yet admin still confident of constitutionality. The commies don’t intend on giving in - regardless.
Don’t get your hopes up.
The Supremes are past masters at faking it and misleading observers during the oral arguments.
They are not going to sink America’s first black president so will find ways to rationalize acceptance of all or most of Obamacare.
They might throw conservatives a small bone and declare one minor provision unconstitutional, but the act itself will stand.
“Pelosi was right.”
I disagree, no one is going to read it and if they try they won’t have clue to what it means!
A government run by Bureaucrats needs no laws!
Just to be informed for having to face a couple of people I knew who were for the ObamaCare bill, because they had a friend who was denied coverage for a pre-existing condition, I read the entire thing.
I can say with great certainty, the justices are NOT going to read this monstrosity.
BUT! If they did, they would have to stop every 10 minutes to either allow their blood pressure to recede, or to stop laughing before reading more.
Even now my blood boils with the idea that the Dems voted for this POS legislation.
Sure!
Here (EPA vs. Idaho landowner):
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/21/nation/la-na-0322-court-epa-20120322
and then today in Texas with the 5th Circuit, here:
http://news.yahoo.com/texas-wins-court-battle-epa-over-pollution-permits-201800571.html
“Even now my blood boils with the idea that the Dems voted for this POS legislation.”
Well, perpetrators should be held accountable this November. Like clean the house, upstairs and downstairs!
““You really expect us to read the entire 2700 page law!”. Lol! Of course, not Justice Kennedy, nobody else did!”
Sounds like an in-your-face slap-down to Pelosi. Take that!
I see the congress revisiting this ONE isolated issue in the event this is all tossed. it will probably be something like, you have to pay for a year before being covered OR you can jump to another insurance company if you already have covereage.
Can it be sooner? I know June has been the time frame for quite awhile but it seems minds are made up.
I thought the 2700 page bill was written with NO CHANGES—NO AMENDMENTS, etc.
It won’t matter if it is 2700 pages....
270 pages .....
or 27 pages.
As long as Obama & Reid & Pelosi are running things, we will be screwed with whatever they pass.
An interesting point to ponder is the way that Obama lectured the justices of SCOTUS during a State of the Union address . . .If the justices think about that disrespect, they might be more inclined to go whole hog. In for a penny, in for a pound . . .
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.