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Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) are questioning the constitutionality of the Democrats’ Senate version of the healthcare bill.  On behalf of the Republican Steering Committee, the official caucus of conservative senators, the two raised on the Senate floor yesterday a Constitutional point of order that will compel a vote by the full Senate today on the bill’s constitutionality.   The point of order will either be waived -- by Democrats who don’t care about the constitutionality or are willing to ignore the issue -- or it will stand and the healthcare bill will be dead until the...

University of Chicago Law Professor Richard A Epstein has brilliantly argued that the Reid bill unconstitutionally turns private health insurers into public utilities. Luckily for those who haven't time to study his detailed argument, he's now summarized it nicely in the Wall Street Journal: "As Harry Reid's 2,000 page health-care bill is being rammed through the Senate, most of the public debate has been focused on its expanded coverage, its now defunct public option, and its high taxes. Lost in the shuffle has been its intensely coercive requirements on health insurance issuers, especially in the individual and small group markets....

Self-Evident Truths: Sen. Dianne Feinstein says it comes under the Commerce Clause. Rep. Steny Hoyer says it's mandated by the "general welfare" clause. Despite liberal wishes, health care is not a right. The "living Constitution" that Democrats and their court appointees have given us may be the death of our freedoms. Their constitution adapts to the times and serves the whims of the elitists. The Constitution is supposed to limit government powers. It does not allow government to do anything it feels like doing. Cass Sunstein, the head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, is the author of...

A challenge to the Senate health bill's constitutionality failed on Wednesday afternoon in a party-line vote. Sens. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Orrin Hatch's (R-Utah) point of order arguing that the Senate bill is unconstitutional under the Interstate Commerce Clause and Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution failed in a 39-60 vote. The vote was the first in a series Wednesday afternoon as senators prepared to invoke cloture for final passage of the Senate's health bill. RELATED ARTICLESGrassley: Vote on bill's constitutionality meaninglessS.C. attorney general to probe Medicaid provision Conservatives have alleged for some time that elements of the health bill,...

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It's about time that someone has the backbone to address the eight hundred pound elephant in the room. ObamaCare is so clearly unconstitutional that it's disappointing it's taken so long for anyone in government to make a serious issue out of it. It's better late than never, but the argument would have carried more weight and credibility if they'd constantly been attacking ObamaCare on Constitutional grounds...

This is a clear-cut and egregious violation of equal treatment under the law. All states pay into medicare except one, and that one happens to be a needed vote. This is unconstitutional.

Many opponents of Obamacare have been saying it doesn't matter if it gets passed, if the GOP takes over in 2010 they will repeal it. Sorry that will not be possible. The bill making its way through the Senate includes a clause that requires a two-thirds vote to amend or repeal certain sections of the bill. Section 3403 of Senator Harry Reid's amendment (page 1020) (A) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, or amendment, pursuant to this subsection or conference2 report thereon, that fails to satisfy...

Now this will piss you off. Apparently hidden inside the Senate version of ObamaCare is a provision that ensures that any future Congress can not change or repeal this monstrosity:[VIDEO AT SITE] there's one provision that i found particularly troubling and it's under section c, titled "limitations on changes to this subsection." and i quote -- "it shall not be in order in the senate or the house of representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection." this is not legislation. it's not law. this is a rule change. it's...

Reformatted per requests- Congress' ability to tax and spend is regulated by the general welfare clause of the Constitution. A law that pays money for a program in only one state could not be interpreted as being for the "general" welfare. The uniformity clause pertains only to taxes, but a strong argument could be made that the founders never envisioned taxes collected from 50 states being used to pay for a program in only one state, a program that exists in all 50 but is not supported with federal dollars in the other 49. We would still have 13 colonies...

"A wise and frugal government...shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801 The party of Jefferson has come to this: the most reckless, cavalier spendthrifts in the history of the United States. With no regard for public opinion nor for the debt burden they hoist onto future generations, this Congress and this Administration march determinedly toward a Marxist,...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has set the stage for a major vote Monday morning at 1:00 AM – one that would require the support of 60 Senators. That would, if all goes according to Senator Reid’s plan, set up a late-night Christmas Eve vote on final passage. Senator Reid also used a rare procedure to block any further amendments from being offered, debated or voted upon. When it comes time for Senators to cast their vote at 1:00AM Monday morning, shortly after Sunday Night Football ends and most Americans are in bed, they will have had less than...

Amidst backslapping, vote tallying and questionable deal-making on Capitol Hill regarding the imminent passage of what is being called health care reform, few people, including constitutional scholars have weighed in. On the one hand, their reluctance to voice an opinion is understandable considering that the bill is something of an esoteric document. To date, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has yet to unveil this massive bill, that is, even if he’s finished writing it, in a process that all objective observers agree has been byzantine at best. Still, we can gather enough information from the broad outlines of the legislation...

Thursday, December 17, 2009 ‘And here’s the most outrageous part: at the end of this rush, they want us to vote on a bill that no one outside the Majority Leader’s conference room has even seen. That’s right. The final bill we’ll vote on isn’t even the one we’ve had on the floor. It’s the deal Democrat leaders have been trying to work out in private’ WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Thursday regarding the importance of getting it right on health care reform: “Senators on both sides acknowledge...

President Obama's mission to save the planet from global warming could end up trampling on the U.S. Constitution, critics say. When Obama arrives in Copenhagen Friday, he is hoping to cut a deal on a new global-warming agreement. Even though the conference is not likely to produce a legally binding deal, critics say if the president signs an international climate treaty pledging reductions in carbon emissions, he will violate the Constitution. "President Obama cannot bind the American people to job killing international agreements on climate change without the advice and consent of the United States Senate," former Republican House Speaker...

Per Fox, Reid and Obama are breaking Dem arms to get Obamacare passed by Christmas even as public support plummets. Dems in opposition reported to be folding under pressure...

President Obama is in a fix over his country of birth. The President started to dig the hole as Senate candidate and now he is president, the hole is getting deeper and uglier, mainly because of his evasive actions. Many Democrat supporters are either ignoring the problem or are vehemently attacking "birthers" who question the President's eligibility. Republicans are not the only ones concerned about his eligibility. Libertarians, independents, constitutionalists and even democrats are wondering why Obama is fighting so hard to hide his origin. Unfortunately, Obama dug the hole himself, and like a hole created when a water main...

A new one from CNS featuring Kent Conrad, who’ll be spared a “worst person in the world” award on Olbermann’s show for this bit o’ demagoguery solely by virtue of his party affiliation. Consider this a sequel to Lindsey Graham’s grilling of Holder last week: In both cases, we’ve got a Democrat who’s (a) absolutely confident that civilian trials are the way to go and (b) plainly unprepared to address the rather significant constitutional implications of his preference. The search warrant question here is bait but the underlying point isn’t: FrumForum interviewed former FBI and CIA agents to get their...

I am "new" to the site. I think this is my first post. However I have been a reader for years and am a libertarian leaning Republican. I had a thought about healthcare reform that is scaring me. Although I don't think it can pass, consequences could be terrifying if it does. For purposes of sharing my nightmare, let’s assume it passes. Let’s also assume that the SCOTUS has the same five conservative members when compulsion to buy health insurance is enacted into law. It would be unprecedented for the government to mandate disposal of wealth in such a way....

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States...

NEW YORK – ACORN has filed a lawsuit claiming that Congress violated the Constitution when it passed a law cutting off federal funding to the organization. The Center for Constitutional Rights filed the lawsuit on ACORN's behalf Thursday in Brooklyn federal court. It claims the law was unconstitutional because it punitively targeted an individual organization. Messages for comment left at the White House and the federal agencies named in the suit were not immediately returned.

When asked where specifically the Constitution authorized Congress to mandate that individuals buy health insurance, Sen. Jack Reed (D.-R.I.) said that he “would have to check the specific sections” but said that it was like making people “sign up for the draft.” “Specifically where in the Constitution does Congress get its authority to mandate that individuals purchase health insurance?” CNSNews.com asked Reed. “Let me see,” said Reed. “I would have to check the specific sections, so I’ll have to get back to you on the specific section. But it is not unusual that the Congress has required individuals to do...

The Federal Communications Commission wants to force network service providers–the companies that own and operate the wires, routers and computers that keep the Internet humming–to transmit streaming audio, video and anything else on terms the FCC deems “neutral” regardless of how much bandwidth the data consumes. Network providers say the regulation will eliminate their ability to manage network traffic and effectively clog up the Internet. They argue that such “net neutrality” will deter and destroy private sector investment in the Internet. But there’s something more important than that at stake. It’s the First Amendment. In Comcast Cablevision v. Broward County,...

Here’s how: The bills require a federal declaration of a “climate emergency” if world greenhouse gas levels reach 450 parts per million. Guess what? The Pacific Northwest National Lab says it is a virtual certainty that level will be reached within a few months. The bill then requires the president to “direct all Federal agencies to use existing statutory authority to take appropriate actions...to address shortfalls" in achieving needed greenhouse gas reductions. The Examiner's David Freddoso reports that Sen. David Vitter, R-LA, is holding a news conference later today concerning this provision. Vitter wonders if companies that support cap-and-trade in...

Health Care Reform: Failure to buy health insurance in the just-passed health care bill could get you five years in jail with a $250,000 fine. How can violating a law that's unconstitutional be a felony? The passage last Saturday night of the House health care measure by a fragile 220-215 margin may well prove to be a Pyrrhic victory. In polls, townhall meetings and tea parties, Americans have shown they don't want a "reform" that costs a staggering $1.2 trillion yet fails to meet the left's desire of insuring all the uninsured. And they certainly don't want a bill that...

Hello – is there anybody out there who still believes our leaders in Washington care about what the Constitution of the United States says? Or what it was intended to mean? Or even that it exists? If there actually is anybody out there who still believes this, recent discussions on Capitol Hill about proposed federal legislation should dispel such thought from the minds of even the most die-hard optimists. Legislation dealing with the delivery and cost of health care in the United States is nearing votes in both houses of the Congress. Although differing significantly in their details, the primary...

Is Islam worthy of First Amendment protection? I think it might be time for a Constitutional amendment. Such an amendment would not necessarily have to ban the practice of Islam in the U.S. But certainly, it seems to be time to carve out an exception to the First Amendment so that Islam can be restricted. What better place to get the ball rolling than right here on Free Republic? Am I off base here? Thoughts?

Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000...

For the second time in two weeks, Obama's Minister of Propaganda, Robert Gibbs, was asked about the Constitutionality of the Democrat proposal to force American citizens to buy a specific product, health insurance. As would be expected from the Marxist Obama administration, Gibbs dismissed the validity of the question.

President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave District of Columbia 20500 Dear President Obama, I am deeply concerned and angered by the unconstitutional, illegal, and tyrannical actions taken recently by the administration’s “pay czar”. While I personally am not financially affected by this action, I find myself repeatedly asking the question, “What country am I living in?”

Reading Guide to the Pelosi Health Care Reform Bill Mike Pence's Notes Reading Guide to the Pelosi Health Care Reform Bill Yesterday at 3:35pm Please read and forward the link to this note ( http://bit.ly/1rGrpW ) to your friends and family. This reading guide includes what we have uncovered in our initial reading of the Pelosi health “reform” legislation (H.R. 3962) introduced by House Democrats. Page 94—Section 202(c) prohibits the sale of private individual health insurance policies, beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the federal government Page 110—Section 222(e) requires the use of federal dollars to fund...

Anti-establishment aging hippies from the 1960s are now the Czars having a field day with a Marxist agenda. In the upside down world that comes with Barack Obama in the White House, everything is a prop—including Old Glory. “One of the 20 finalists in health care video contest run by Barack Obama’s campaign arm features a mural of an American flag splattered with health care graffiti until it’s covered completely by black paint.” (politico.com, Oct. 28, 2009.) “The video is accompanied by the sound of a heart monitor pumping and then flat-lining—words such as “pre-existing conditions”, “homeless” and “death panel”...

Last week's announcement that "Pay Czar" Kenneth Feinberg slashed compensation for executives at seven large financial firms by an average of 50% stunned Wall Street, stoked the fires of populist resentment, and troubled economists. Will this government-mandated pay cut drive the most talented professionals away from these companies, endangering their recovery? Does it augur further politicization of economic decisions? Lost in the arguments over economics and political theory, however, is a more basic question: Was this action constitutional? Mr. Feinberg's ukase is the most prominent example (and not just by the Obama administration) of the exercise of power by an...

(CNSNews.com) – White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that there is no "veracity" to the argument that the U.S. Constitution does not authorize the federal government to force individuals to buy health insurance. The Congressional Budget Office has said that the federal government has never before in American history forced Americans to purchase any good or service. When the health-care bill was being debated in the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, raised questions about the constitutionality of forcing Americans to buy health insurance, which all congressional versions...

<p>A New Jersey appeals court has concluded that Americans have no Second Amendment right to buy a handgun.</p> <p>In a case decided last week, the superior court upheld a state law saying that nobody may possess "any handgun" without obtaining law enforcement approval and permission in advance.</p>

From the office of Mario Apuzzo Esq. 27 October 2009, 2:45 P.M. EDT Kerchner et al vs. Obama & Congress et al Lawsuit Decision Appealed to Federal 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, PA JAMESBURG, NJ – (Oct. 27, 2009) - Attorney Mario Apuzzo of Jamesburg, NJ, today filed an appeal with the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, PA, on behalf of plaintiffs Charles F. Kerchner, Jr., Lehigh County, PA; Lowell T. Patterson, Burlington County, NJ; Darrell J. LeNormand, Middlesex County, NJ; and Donald H. Nelsen, Jr., Middlesex County, NJ; challenging the recent decision of Judge...

Legislation to be introduced in Congress will make it easier for the US government to seize control of troubled financial institutions that are considered too big to be allowed to fail, The New York Times says. The bill will be introduced in Congress by a key ally of President Barack Obama - Representative Barney Frank - who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, the Times said, citing a senior administration official. The legislation would make it easier for the government to throw out the financial company's management, wipe out the shareholders and change the terms of existing loans held by...

CNSNews.com) – When CNSNews.com asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday where the Constitution authorized Congress to order Americans to buy health insurance--a mandate included in both the House and Senate versions of the health care bill--Pelosi dismissed the question by saying: “Are you serious? Are you serious?” Pelosi's press secretary later responded to written follow-up questions from CNSNews.com by emailing CNSNews.com a press release on the “Constitutionality of Health Insurance Reform,” that argues that Congress derives the authority to mandate that people purchase health insurance from its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce. The exchange with Speaker Pelosi...

The White House has told Congress it will reject calls for many of President Obama's policy czars to testify before Congress - a decision senators said goes against the president's promises of transparency and openness and treads on Congress' constitutional mandate to investigate the administration's actions. Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, said White House counsel Greg Craig told her in a meeting Wednesday that they will not make available any of the czars who work in the White House and don't have to go through Senate confirmation. -SNIP-The debate goes to the heart of weighty constitutional issues about separation...

Health Reform: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says it's constitutional to mandate insurance coverage. Congress, he insists, has "broad authority" to make us buy things to provide for the "general welfare." Democrats' Alice In Wonderland interpretation of what they consider to be a "living Constitution," where words mean what they say they mean based on political considerations, gets more bizarre by the minute. (snip) We've been down this road before. In 1994, Hillary Clinton's secretive health care task force was trying to nationalize health care. "A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of...

White House pay czar Kenneth Feinberg was the driving force behind the move to order steep pay cuts from bailed-out executives, and did not even seek the president's approval before making his decision. The Treasury Department is expected to formally announce in the next few days a plan to slash annual salaries by about 90 percent from last year for the 25 highest-paid executives at the seven companies that received the most from the Wall Street bailout. Total compensation for the top executives at the firms would decline, on average, by about 50 percent. The sweeping decision, though, came from...

Hoyer's now a confirmed nazi. He has no understanding of what is and isn't constitutional. The General welfare clause is not a hammer he can use to force all americans to buy healthcare. If that were the case the founders would have used this clause to do whatever the hell they wanted to, because you can say ANYTHING you want to do or make others do is for the "general welfare". Friggin little Eichmann. Here's the bill: For the whole series of Zero dollar bills, go here: "Flickr Archive of Zero Bills"

President Obama's healthcare proposals face serious legal problems and scholars expect at least some provisions will be ruled unconstitutional. The legal vulnerability of ObamaCare -- assuming some version of healthcare reform is passed -- stems from the unprecedented powers it grants the federal government.

(Snip) How is it possible that America has forgotten the basic meanings of these distinctions? How is it that we have let so basic a distinction as “Parents who are citizens of the nation and the child born on its soil” simply fall by the wayside? The answer is both simple and terrible: A lack of education. Historically, children in school were taught lessons from History. (SNIP) They were taught the major works that made up the histories of their Nation, be it France, Great Britain, China… children were once taught the fundamental foundational ideas that sculpted the world they...

People can, and undoubtedly will, argue for some time about whether President Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Meanwhile, though, there's a simpler and more immediate question: Does the Constitution allow him to accept the award? Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution, the Emolument Clause, clearly stipulates: "And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State." The award of the peace prize to a sitting President is not unprecedented. But...

A Georgia judge has blasted attorney Orly Taitz, who has handled a number of court challenges to President Barack Obama's eligibility under the constitutional demand the Oval Office be occupied only by a "natural born" citizen, fining her $20,000 for what he called "frivolous" court actions, and he then mocked the concern over Obama's background. "Although counsel's present concern is the location of the president's birth, it does not take much imagination to extend the theory to his birthday," wrote U.S. District Judge Clay Land in an order released today. "Perhaps, he looks 'too young' to be president, and he...

RUSH: Remember last week I told you how Harry Reid was going to pull a trick on everybody to get the Senate health care bill actually over to the House for conference committee by attaching a merged bill. Two Senate bills -- there's the Harkin committee bill, and there's the Baucus committee bill -- and he's going to take the best parts that he likes, gonna merge them into one bill, and attach them to some other bill that the House has already passed, sent over to the Senate that they haven't acted on yet, and that bill will be...

The reason you never see a federal law requiring you to individually purchase something you don't want is because there is no authority for the government to do that. The United States has a Constitution. This is not Europe, although the Democrats sorely wish it were (and govern as if it is), where governments can can do whatever they want to their citizens. Our government is, by design, restricted in what it can order us to do. Ordering Americans to purchase health insurance is patently unconstitutional. The fact that the mandate is in every Democrat plan is simply a poison...

House Minority Leader John Boehner is accusing President Obama of subverting and circumventing the Constitution by appointing so-called czars who are not subject to Senate confirmation or scrutiny.

A Dallas judge ruled Thursday that Texas' ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional as she cleared the way for two gay men to divorce, the Dallas Morning News reported. State District Judge Tena Callahan said the state’s bans on same-sex marriage violates the constitutional guarantee to equal protection under the law. While the Texas attorney general had stepped into the case to say that because a gay marriage isn’t recognized in Texas, a Texas court can’t dissolve one through divorce, Tena denied the intervention. The two Dallas men in the case married three years ago in Massachusetts, the first state...