This point hadn’t really sunk in to me. But it did click pretty quickly with TPM Reader SR. From the start, Mitt Romney has faced the problem that his party is doggedly opposed to a policy that he originated (or was at least the first to enact). To square the circle he said the policy was awesome but it was only acceptable at the state and not the federal level — because it violated the constitution. Fair enough in structural terms if not quite true. But now the Court has knocked that stool right out from under him.
From SR … Read More
The House is currently voting to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.
The House holds Eric Holder in contempt of Congress; Democrats walk out.
Photo of the scene at the Capitol from our Ryan Reilly.
TPM Reader ML isn’t buying the idea that Roberts somehow managed to uphold ‘Obamacare’ while crippling the possibility for progressive legislation in the future.
Just wanted to point this out to you guys that there seems to be trending, at least among liberal commentators and libertarian bloggers, the notion that CJ Roberts’ ruling is akin to CJ Marshall’s ruling in Marbury v. Madison — that he hid the ball, got the legal result that he desired, and tricked his political opponents into thinking they won. See Ezra’s piece here.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on why the mandate is a tax at the federal level from President Obama but not at the state level from Gov. Romney …
Romney “supported it on the state level. Which means if you didn’t like it in Massachusetts, you could move to another state,” Rubio said on Bloomberg Television. “What are people supposed to do? Leave the United States now because of Barack Obama’s brilliant idea to stick the IRS on millions of people? More importantly, the state of Massachusetts doesn’t have the IRS. The IRS will follow you. Do people understand what this means?”
Another TPM Reader, LD, isn’t buying the idea that Roberts’ decision was some sort of double secret jujitsu chop on the welfare state …
I practice constitutional law and a commerce clause geek, and I have to agree with your reader who says the liberal commentators are hyperventilating over the prospect that Congressional power over economic regulation will seriously be hobbled by Robert’s opinion.
Just a reminder that all of our Supreme Court/health care reform coverage is right here. Dig in deep or peruse at your leisure.
And if you missed it yesterday afternoon, you can still read back through Brian Beutler’s live chat with readers.
In campaign conference call, one-time Rick Perry backer turned Romney surrogate slips and refers to “Obamneycare.”
Jack Shafer: Murdoch “makes Richard III look like a nice guy.”
I’ll just say that if he’s editing your article, Jack sometimes made Rupert Murdoch seem like a nice guy. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still love him!