Live Thread: Constitutionality of Health Care Law [Watch live deliberation on CSPAN2]

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[OldDeckHand]

"Did anyone try to make Sheila Jackson Lee's argument that repealing ObamaCare would violate both the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses?"

I didn't see the whole thing either. The first questioner I saw was Cornyn. Neither he, nor anyone that came after him, made such an argument. I don't know who came before Cornyn, sorry.

One should not understatement Lee's special kind of stupidity, possibly only eclipsed by Maxine Waters, who believes subpoenas are squashed - yes, after serving more than 13 terms in the House, she thinks you squash a subpoena, to get rid of it.

[musicman]

"They’ll have us building pyramids one day, to stimulate commerce."
"After all, if the govt can outlaw slavery, it can regulate it, and if it can regulate it, it can mandate it."

[The Pack Knight]

When I was clerking for an appellate judge, I remember reading a pro se brief where the appellant complained about how all her subpoenas were "squashed" - I thought it was hilarious at the time. Now that I've heard that Waters says the same thing, it doesn't seem so funny.

Of course, that pro se litigant, like Waters, at least has the excuse of not having gone to law school - though you'd think Waters would have picked it up as a member of a body with subpoena powers. Sheila Jackson Lee has a J.D. from Virginia, whose law school last I checked was ranked a step higher than Duke's, and went to undergrad at Yale. I'll leave to your imagination my honest opinion on how she was able to get into and graduate from those two institutions.

I suspect that no one made Lee's argument, at least. The witnesses were all very distinguished lawyers and law professors, and Senators tend to conduct their deliberations with at least somewhat more seriousness and dignity than members of the House.

I saw a good piece of Franken's part, and I don't think even he repeated Lee's position. The dumbest argument he made - that current constitutional jurisprudence must reflect the intent of the Framers since it is based on a string of precedent (or, as he put it, "A=B=C=D, so therefore A=D) - at least had some internal logic even though it was grossly misinformed. Unfortunately, I don't remember anyone pointing out to him that Wickard v. Filburn stands in direct contrast to every pre-New Deal case on the Commerce Clause going back at least to Gibbons v. Ogden in 1824.

[The Pack Knight]

Speaking of Sheila Jackson Lee, I recently moved to Houston. After I moved, I started worrying that she was my new Representative in Congress.

Turns out she isn’t. However, I can literally walk into her district in two directions. Interestingly, the point where I cross into her district is almost exactly the point where I start getting hit up by bums every five minutes.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

Yep! Ole Manchin shot the sh*t out of the Obamacare law, just like his commercial! /s

[Typical_Whitey]

LOL they’re not bums they are her campaign workers.... sheesh..

[DrewsMum]

That was the cap & trade bill he shot

[sport]

How nany do you have to know?

[sport]

Good point! And a point well taken.

[newzjunkey]

The repeal failed on a party line vote of 51 to 47 with 2 not voting.

I don’t know who the two are yet.

[bvw]

One can be enough. People are people, they have high notes and low notes. Many publicly celebrated heroes are those misfortunate enough to have a high note or two heard by all, when the rest of the time they are strictly in a lower register.

Live for the next chance, not despite the last great deed.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

I stand corrected.

[StarFan]

I didn’t hear Lieberman mentioned so he could be one who didn’t vote.

[StarFan]

That was the cap & trade bill he shot

Indeed it was but I thought there was talk yesterday that Manchin would vote to repeal. Guess someone got to him.

[The Pack Knight]

After all, what is a “community organizer” other than middle management for professional bums?

[ratsreek]

And let’s not forget their governor, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, 9/11 truther and grossly moronic loudmouth.

[ratsreek]

The left’s answer to the scenario you pose is, yes, the government certainly should be able to force you to eat broccoli, or your chickens to eat broccoli, and they should be able to hold a gun to your head to make you do it. In their world, the government should be able to hold a gun to your head to make you walk around in a circle for four hours a day, paint your toenails blue, take a long walk off a short pier or quack like a duck while watching reruns of The Hollywood Squares and General Hospital.

They have tyrant mentalities and should be put down like rabid skunks.

[ratsreek]

Given Maxine’s history of corruption, anytime she can squash a subpoena rather than merely quash it, she’s had a good day. :)

[ratsreek]

It doesn’t take any imagination to understand how Lee got into law school nor how she managed to graduate. She’s black.

Her degree takes its form not in scholarly pontifications of law but rather in her pompous bearing and bellicose gasbaggery.

[Jacquerie]

Agree. I recommend his latest book,