Obama 2012 Campaign Press Release: Gruber “Helped Write Obamacare”

The Federalist ^ | Nov 18, 2014 | Sean Davis

[Ray76]

The Obama administration can try to distance itself from Jonathan Gruber all it wants, but a 2012 press release from Obama’s own presidential campaign shows that when it comes to Obamacare, the president and Gruber are joined at the hip.

[Steve_Seattle]

"They have a similar idea behind them, but the constitutional issues are vastly different for the state as for Federal scope."

I know many conservatives are also vehemently opposed to Romneycare, but it is nonetheless vastly different in its scope from Obamacare, and not just because it is a one-state program, but because it does not contain dozens of provisions found in Obamacare.

[HiTech RedNeck]

True, Romneycare is lacking a lot of the lard of Obamacare.

[TigersEye]

A state plan would not have any questions as to its constitutionality.

Even it it "rips off the Federal government for $400 million per year" to put it in Gruber's words?

[Ray76]

Both have state exchanges, both have an individual mandate, both have business mandates, and both have subsidies.

[Steve_Seattle]

I just ordered the Obamacare comic book from amazon. The fact that the law was presented in comic book form for LIV folks says a lot, and I am sorely tempted to take my copy to my liberal sister’s house on Thanksgiving. But, in the interests of family harmony, I probably won’t.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It would sink or swim with all such subsidies. In our system, the questions end up getting tossed to the courts.

[Steve_Seattle]

Both have state exchanges, both have an individual mandate, both have business mandates, and both have subsidies.

But Obamacare has about 50 times the verbiage of Romneycare, so it contains a lot of extra stuff.

[Ray76]

Compulsion to contract is illegal.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Which is why it has to be done as a regulation/tax. Make it super attractive to go with the plan, and super repulsive to try to shoulder the issue independently. But it can’t absolutely ban you going independent.

[Ray76]

Massachusetts is one state, not fifty, so naturally the size of the programs differs. Aside from the scale of the programs and differences in threshold values, the architecture of the plans is the same.

[spokeshave]

Romneycare was about 20 pages, and Obamacare about a thousand. They CANNOT be the same, or even close.

Rather more than about a thousand...try about 28,000 and counting

Docs being wheeled in for the vote.

[Ray76]

It is a penalty administered by the IRS. Which is a new role for the IRS. Then Chief Justice Roberts legislated from the bench and decided it was a tax, a tax for which all are liable (a head tax - without an authorizing Amendment) the payment of which is waived upon their contracting with a business for a service (health insurance).

Compulsion to contract is illegal. Direct taxes require an Amendment.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I’m guessing here that nobody can challenge this as an illegal tax until someone actually gets dinged with a bill for it.

Something that Barack Obama can easily enough stop. He just writes a letter to the IRS telling them not to collect that tax... aye aye sir!

[TigersEye]

Gruber says they're the same.

Former Romney aid says Mitt lying about ObamaCare

[EternalVigilance]

A state plan would not have any questions as to its constitutionality.

Well, unless a state constitution doesn't authorize state socialism, ie taking money at the point of a gun and handing it to a third party as a gift.

"Constitutionality" doesn't just apply to the federal constitution.

[HiTech RedNeck]

States can be socialist. Nothing bans such a constitution.

[mowowie]

King Putt heard of this on the news.
He tries to stay well informed don’t ya know...

[EternalVigilance]

Every State is required to be of a republican nature, as per Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution.

“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, [...]”

[tumblindice]

Thousands and thousands of pages, unread except by the clerks who word-processed the notes—and all wrapped in red tape.

[Kickass Conservative]

I also heard that Ted Kennedy never owned an Oldsmobile.

In fact, he never even rode in one, ever.