Here are some RealPolitik 101 realities:
Robert's decision was as SCOTUS decisions should be, a very narrow legal decision. He didn't say Obamacare is a good or popualt law. He simply said, as a tax, it is legal.
Secondly, for the Great Unwashed, the 2012 election contest began today. Up until now all the issues were ones that Movement Conservatives cared about, but were not too important in the minds of middle-of-the-roaders. They are the ones who decide an election, and for the first time, there now is a frontal lobe / front porch issue they care about. For the first time, a WIIFM isssue (A What's In It For Me Issue) that effects the whole midle class, an "Obama is going to rip moeny out of my wallet" issue, a "Romney proises to fix it on Day One" issue.
At 10:15 this AM, the "there's no difference between Obama and Romney" claim died on the steps of the SCOTUS building.
Obamacare is only one small part of the disaster Obama has forced on sleeping sheeple, but like small battles on Bunker and Breeds Hills, and an attack on Pearl Harbor, this will awaken the Sleeping Tiger that the Great American Unwashed have become.
Of course, this post will be immediatly attacked by the DO Obama supporters who lurk here, but even if they disuade some FReepers, the public was not fooled today.
If we all get onboard and get everyone else on board, we can ride this to the only victory that really counts, the one for the House, the Senate and the Presidency on November 6.
Everything is meaningless crying over spilt milk.
The question for every FReeper. Do we now fight to remove, repeal and reject EVERYTHING Obama has done, or do we sit here and cry about it.
We have only one truly contested election in Central Florida, the one to ensure Alan Grayson does not buy his way back to Congress in the new Congressional District. Today I maxed out to his best Republican opponent.
Please join us in lighting the fire to take America with actions, not words.
Don't worry about the DU disruptors here who will quickly turn this into an anti-Romney post. Keep your eyes on the prize.
That prize is America
I posted that thought immediately after hearing SCOTUS decision and was accused of spinning by some posters.
Romney was dead last on my preference list during primaries. However since I do not hate Mormons, I will support him with cash donations now. He is the last hope left to get rid of Obamacare. There is no other path. We either take a chance on Romney or be doomed forever with socialized healthcare and demise of our freedom from government tyranny.
I am weary, let me rest.
But the law wasn't written as a tax. In fact, there's great debate whether the I.R.S. even has much power to collect the tax penalty if people refuse to pay it. Roberts should've sent the bill back to Congress with instructions to either re-write it as an actual tax bill or get rid of it completely. What Roberts did was not very judicial at all. He re-wrote the law from the bench like a teacher doing a student's homework for him. Roberts framed his opinion in a way to hopefully benefit Mitt Romney in a political election. So we're left with a law that doesn't make sense and a candidate who *might* deliver in November.
Meanwhile, on the southern border, Arizona is powerless to do *anything* about illegal aliens crossing into their state. John Roberts, I'm deeply ashamed of you.
Zer0 will be re-elected. most Americans today are hopeless dependent failures.
I’ll do my flailing part to defend our country but Zer0 has gotten everything he’s wanted. Our side always capitulates to the left.
Even if Romney does win I don’t think he’ll buck the status quo.
the Supreme court was to be a slam dunk for us.
We’re all socialists now unless we dissolve the Union.
True! We, the American People, will have the final say in Nov, not the Supreme Court.
1) The Commerce Clause argument for the individual insurance mandate was rejected.
Correct: But irrelevant, given the next "tax" holding.
2) The argument that Article I, section 8 grants Congress the power to impose a tax on those who don't have health insurance was affirmed.
Incorrect: Congress was granted the power to tax events that actually occur--not ones that don't [Excise Tax]. It was not granted any power to tax a failure to do business, nor the absence of commercial activity. By the Court's reasoning in this decision, Congress could now tax the failure to earn a certain level of income, or a failure to carry a baby to term, or the failure of a non-citizen resident to obtain a green cared, or the failure by a church to perform gay marriages. The possibilities are endless.
The power to tax any failure to act is the same as the power to impose fines that compel any action.
When a legislature imposes a fine or other punishment directly on people—not because they've committed a crime, have been tried by a court, found guilty, and then had the punishment imposed by the court as allowed by law, but simply because the legislature enacts a law that dictates it—that's known as a bill of attainder. Such laws that impose punishments directly without due process--without a trial and subsequent conviction--are Unconstitutional, precisely because such bills of attainder are tyrannical and dictatorial.
The US is now officially a tyranny with no limits on its power, because the Supreme Court has now removed any and all Constitutional limits regarding what may be taxed. And the Constitution includes no specific limits on the maximum magnitude of taxes—they can even be higher than 100%. The only limits to the size of such taxes is whatever the the Supreme Court decides is so large that the intent of the tax is clearly punitive, and not intended to raise revenue.
3) The mandatory expansion of Medicare imposed on the States was rejected.
Correct: But irrelevant, given the "tax" holding. Congress can simply tax States that don't comply.
The relevant Constitutional text:
Article I, section 2:
"Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons"
That section was modified by 16th Amendment, but only with respect to income taxes on earnings from the ownership of property, such as rents, royalties, dividends and interest. Per the Supreme Court, Congress has always had the power to tax wages, salaries, commissions and fees for service, under the power to lay and collect excise taxes.
The Court had ruled in Pollock that taxes on income from property [only that] were a direct tax, and so had to be apportioned among the States. It was that ruling that led to the alleged [but disputed] ratification of the 16th Amendment.
Per the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, "Only three taxes are definitely known to be direct: (1) a capitation [ . . . ], (2) a tax upon real property, and (3) a tax upon personal property." [Opinion on rehearing, July 3, 2007, p. 20, Murphy v. Internal Revenue Service and United States, case no. 05-5139, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 2007-2 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) paragr. 50,531 (D.C. Cir. 2007)]
Whatever isn't a direct tax is considered to be an indirect tax--and vice versa.
Article I, section 8:
"The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States"
In the U.S. constitutional law sense:
A "duty" is a tax imposed on items imported into the United States, and an "impost" is a "duty" imposed specifically on items imported for commerce, as opposed to personal items brought home by individuals for their private use.
An "excise tax" is essentially an event tax (as opposed to a tax on the state of being of a person or thing). So a tax on the purchase of insurance would be an excise tax.
An excise means any tax on the occurrence of an event other than:
1) A tax charged to the owner of property based on the market value of the property (e.g., real estate "property taxes.")
2) A tax imposed on a person for existing or residing in a territory ("head" or "capitation" tax.) These are extremely rare in the US.
3) An income tax paid directly to the government on income;
4) An impost or duty; or
5) A sales tax which is paid on all sales transactions (usually with some items exempt.)
However, a tax on not purchasing something cannot be any sort of tax at all:
It is not a direct tax: it's not a capitation tax nor a tax on owning either real or personal property.
And it's not an impost or duty, obviously.
Nor is it an excise tax, because an excise tax, by definition, requires that a taxable event must occur that is the subject of the tax.
I've read this type of talk several times now, where do these people live? I live in the United States and when the Republicans aren't actively working with and for the Democrats they're impotent in stopping the Democrats in any fashion.
To think that Republicans will suddenly be able to gather themselves and overturn ObamaCare is beyond delusional. I wish this were not true, but I don't think any person will honestly deny that it is so.
Recent history joins decades of proof, look at Speaker John Boehner, he's batting 000% against Obama and the Democrats while he, as Speaker, absolutely controls spending in the House of Representatives.
The Republicans have proved themselves largely useless, too often they can't even pick a judge that's worth a damn. The useless Republicans need to be replaced as quickly as possible, either a few at a time as we have been doing or with a new formal and official TEA Party.
Texas secession is now what I hope is a long term solution.
The defeatist trolls are out in force early I see.
AMEN!! And just the THOUGHT that Alan “Crazy Mean Man Grayson” is running again makes me SICK!!
It was NOT a tax until Roberts made it one. He also said it was his job to find ways to make the law legal, not look for ways to overturn it.That is horse crap.
The only thing this does is make some of us more eager for Nov. But the dumbles are going to sway a lot of folks with the “Its settled” meme.
We are dead if we do not win the Congress and Presidency. If we do not its simply over.
AMEN to that.
Why all the weeping? Today is the time to TAKE BACK AMERICA!
Yeah, we have great conservative leaders out there fighting for us like Bob Dole, John McCain, George Bush, and now Mitt Romney.
If the Republicans DON’T get their act together to stop this nonsense then I’ll support a third party and let the chips fall where they may-regardless of what people like Rush says.
Failed logic, there are 2 parts,
1. The individual mandate requires people to buy insurance
2. The penalty is to pay a fine (the tax)
Good post MB.
“Today’s SCOTUS Decision Dooms Obama’s Reelection “
No, I don’t think so.
There are a few things that result, politically, from this decision.
1. Republicans have to come up with more than “Repeal” - they actually have to come up with a plan. I can list some of what should be in that plan, but I also know none of what should be in the plan will be.
2. The Republicans will instead use the tried-and-true Democrat strategy “They are trying to take away your Medicare”, which will probably actually work, given that the Tea Party is really the “I want my Medicare” party.
So what to do?
If I’m diabolical, I’d say let it go, let Medicare and every other great society program get wrapped into Obama Care....THEN repeal it
Unfortunately, Too many Republicans, and too many folks on this board are dependent on government handouts of some sort or another and think they “were promised” a check from government.
So, Republicans will go with the “We will protect your Medicare”.
We are a socialist country now.
Republicans
Here's contact information for the National Republican Senate Committee
Most primaries are over. Can proudly say IN will be replacing Lugar with Mourdock. How many more seats can we pick up? Only need fifty one to deal with “tax” issues!
My predictions:
1. There will be QE3 which will buoy the stock market going into the last weeks before the election.
2. Obama will launch more giveaways that promise to help the unemployment situation and downtrodden industries.
3. Hillary will replace Biden. The pop culture celebrity status of Hillary! will draw millions of morons who don't really know what she stands for but "just really like her".
4. The media will act as assassin toward Romney and cheerleader for Obama.
Here in the conservative world, we read and listen to alternative news sources that, hopefully, give us the straight news, but the vast majority of America is inundated by the MSM who do a masterful job of propagandizing the simpleminded.
The conservative talking heads (Rush, Hannity, etc.) who are beating the drum over the Obamacare decision are selling, selling, selling. They know that their fan base is angry and looking for outlets. Now is the time to sign up for Rush24/7 and buy Hannity's books and blah, blah, blah. They love this kind of atmosphere as it makes money for them. They are self-serving salesmen, not leaders.
We've lost the battle and the war. Now, it's time to be a refugee.
Anybody who thinks Obama’s reelection is doomed is being naive.
In fact, that very thought suppresses turnout in the very voting group you want at the polls.
“We got this in the bag” thinking is leads to less effort, not more.
I do not support Romney, but this is not a helpful article.