OBAMACARE: How is it Unconstitutional? Let Me Count The Ways

The Lid/NY Post ^ | 1/6/10 | The Lid

[Shellybenoit]

When CNSNews.com asked Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D.-Vt.) where the Constitution authorizes Congress to force Americans to buy health insurance, Leahy would not directly answer the question he claimed that "nobody" questioned Congress's authority to do this. Obviously he hasn't been listening.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was equally dismissive of the question of where the Constitution authorized Congress to force Americans to buy health insurance. When reporter Matt Cover asked her the question, she said: “Are you serious? Are you serious?”

White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs similarly dismissed the issue without directly saying where the Constitution authorized the federal government to force people to buy health insurance. When CNSNews.com White House Correspondent Fred Lucas asked Gibbs to comment on the fact that some Republicans were questioning the constitutionality of forcing Americans to buy health insurance, Gibbs said: “I won't be confused as a constitutional scholar, but I don't believe there's a lot of--I don't believe there's a lot of case law that would demonstrate the veracity of what they're commentating on.” Or in other words, Huh?

Actually there are five provisions included in the Obamacare bills that may very well be unconstitutional. They were outlined by Betsy McCaughey in today's NY Post.

[bgill]

I won't be confused as a constitutional scholar

To which he should have been asked why not? How can he do his job as a congressman if he doesn't know the constitution backwards and forwards? That's the problem (ok, one of the many problems) we have with congress.

[GailA]

FR link to the phone numbers for many senators local offices...just in case their DC voice mail is full.

Link senators local office phone numbers

[NEMDF]

Gibbs is not a congressman. I love how he used the word “commentating”.

[massgopguy]

United States vs Reynolds. The government cannot coerce a citizen to enter into a contract which is what health insurance is. It violates the “wheel of servitude” established by the 13th Amendment’s prohibition against Indentured Servitude.

[jlaughlin]

I wouldn’t confuse Robert Gibbs as ANY kind of scholar. He’s a bull$#!@ artist, and not even a particularly good one.

[bolobaby]

And they accused Bush of ripping up the Constitution.

What a joke.

[apillar]

Glen Beck hand an interesting take on the "Individual Mandate" he says that the democrats know it's unconstitutional and know that it will be thrown out in court, in fact they are counting on it as a means too backdoor in the "public option".

It's insurance industry that insists on the individual mandate, because they simply can't afford to insure all older Americans and people with preexisting conditions under the price controls established by the government without younger, healthier Americans in the system to pay the bill. When the courts throw out the individual mandate, it will bankrupt private insurance in America, leaving no choice than for the government to step in and take guarantee all the policy's.

[laotzu]

It's insurance industry that insists on the individual mandate..

Is that opinion, or a fact that can be substantiated? I haver only seen Democrats insisting on this mandate.

they(insurers) simply can't afford to insure..people with preexisting conditions

That is not insurance. Insurance is the transfer of risk, not the transfer of catastrophe. However; anything...even a house on fire can be insured. The premium need only be at least 110% of the loss.

[massgopguy]

And when the premiums skyrocket the Obama Admin will take over the insurance companies. Then it will be; free for many, paid for by few.

[Fredgoblu]

That is not insurance. Insurance is the transfer of risk, not the transfer of catastrophe. However; anything...even a house on fire can be insured. The premium need only be at least 110% of the loss.

Amen! Well said.

I've been likening those 10.6 million "uninsurable" people as looking for car insurance after the accident. Yes, it's unfortunate that they're in this position, and yes it's callous to call them uninsurable. But this is what Obamacare boils down to.

Figure a normal family pays 10k per year for insurance; these people have annual treatments costing 20-50-100k; and Obama wants them to pay no more for their insurance than we do. How can he do it? A health bill with 2000+ pages of crap designed to do nothing more than take money from my pocket and put it in theirs.

It all comes down to the cost of these unfortunate people. That will determine the minimum cost of Obamacare. If their annual health bills average $20,000...Obamacare will minimally cost $200 billion per year. If they cost $50,000, Obamacare will cost $500 billion.

To pay for it, they need to get that money from those of us NOT on Medicare or Medicaid...meaning our private insurance costs (or taxes...take your pick) go up. Our costs MUST go up for Obamacare to pay for itself.

[Fredgoblu]

P.S. I believe that I'm granted equal protection under the Constitution, yet this bill is all about creating inequalities.

For example: In their plan, if you don't buy insurance, you're fined; if you don't pay the fine, you can be jailed. But, anyone under a multiple of the poverty level gets affordability credits to pay for the insurance. In effect, the poor are exempted from fines or jail because Obamacare gives them "free" health care. Only those of us above the affordability threshold are subject to jailing.