Healthcare bill

"Obamacare" went on trial today with the Supreme Court starting three days of arguments on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's landmark health care law. The legal question for the justices was whether Congress had exceeded its constitutional authority in requiring most Americans to obtain insurance or pay a penalty. The justices will hear arguments on the constitutionality of the individual mandate, which is the key to this whole showdown.

The justices are asking questions and debating on the legality of the bill, “Can you create commerce in order to regulate it?” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy asked the healthcare admin. Lawyer. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. asked if the government could compel the purchase of cellphones. And Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. asked about forcing people to buy burial insurance.

The conventional view is that the administration will need one of those conservative four votes to win, and it was not clear that it had captured one. The court’s four more liberal members have already indicated that they supported the law, as expected.

Debate of The Health Care Law

Today the Supreme Court began debating one of the provisions of the 2010 health care law that says that by 2014 Americans must purchase health insurance or face a financial penalty. A poll that was released yesterday indicates that 47% of people support the mandate while 51% oppose it. There is a gender gap on this issue with 53% of women supporting the mandate and 58% of me opposing it. There is also a partisan divide on the issue with 71% of Democrats favoring it and 78% of Republicans opposing it. The main issue is, can the federal government, under the Constitution's commerce clause, regulate economic "inactivity"? 26 states, led by Florida, argue that people can't be forced to buy insurance. Supporters of the mandate "see it as a way to spread health care costs among a larger pool of individuals, ensuring affordable, quality medical care". "Opponents see fundamental constitutional violations, such as an intrusion into a citizen's personal life and an intrusion in long-held state power". This issue is really important because it brings up the question of whether the federal government can regulate anything it wants to or whether there are some things that only the state government can regulate.

Source: CNN

The Etch-a-Sketch

Last Wednesday, Romney's campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom made one of the biggest gaffes to date of the race for the GOP nomination, comparable even to the Rick Perry "Oops" debate moment. When Fehrnstrom was asked in a CNN interview "whether he is concerned that Romney might be forced by his Republican opponents to take extreme positions during the primary that could alienate moderates in a race against President Barack Obama," Fehrnstrom responded with the following: “I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up, and we start all over again.” Ever since this gaffe, Romney's opponents have been attacking him relentlessly, saying that this exemplifies the lack of sincerity in Romney and it shows that he is "the type of politician who will say or do anything to win." While practically speaking, everybody knows that the campaign changes in the fall and the candidates must learn to appeal to a different base of voters, the fact that Fehrnstrom actually came out and said this is a huge problem for the Romney campaign, and one which can easily be exploited both by the current GOP candidates who are challenging Romney, and Obama in the fall if Romney is the eventual nominee after all.

Sources: Washington Post, Huffington Post.

Landmark Supreme Court Case Starts Monday

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday began oral arguments over the constitutionality of the sweeping health care law championed by President Barack Obama, with a majority of justices appearing to reject suggestions they wait another few years before deciding the issues.
In one of the most politically charged cases in years, the health care reform case drew people who waited in line starting Friday for the chance to attend, and sparked competing news conferences by supporters and opponents of the 2010 law passed by Democrats over united Republican opposition. Debates among supporters and people who disagree with universal health care are starting to heat up.

Romney Wins Illinois Primary

Tuesday night, Mitt Romney convincingly defeated Rick Santorum in the Illinois primary. With 54 delegates up for grabs, Romney received 46.7 percent of the vote, while Santorum received 35 percent of the vote. Though Santorum is still fighting and likely will continue to fight up until the Republican National Convention, or at least close to the Convention, it is seeming more and more likely that Mitt Romney will be the eventual delegate for the Republican Party. Though he has been criticized widely throughout his campaign for the nomination and will continue to be harshly criticized, Romney is the only candidate in the race who has managed to gain and maintain a consistent support base throughout the contest. The GOP base at this point seems unlikely in my mind to nominate anybody other than Romney considering the up and down nature of all the other candidates in the field, and barring something unexpected, I see Romney as the clear eventual delegate for the Republican Party against Barack Obama in the fall.

Source: Washington Post

Keystone XL Pipeline

President Obama plans to announce in Cushing, Oklahoma Thursday that his administration will expedite the permit process for the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline. In January, the Obama administration denied a permit for the 1,700 mile long Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would stretch from Canada's tar sands development to the U.S. Gulf Coast. But late last month, TransCanada, the company behind the Keystone XL Pipeline, announced it would move forward with the process to build the southern portion of the pipeline, which would begin in Cushing. A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner balked at the idea that President Obama could claim credit for speeding up the approval process of the southern segment of the pipeline. “This is like a governor personally issuing a fishing license,” Brendan Buck said. “The President’s attempt to take credit for a pipeline he blocked and personally lobbied Congress against is staggering in its dis-ingenuousness. This portion of the pipeline is being built in spite of the President, not because of him.”

GOP Ilinois primary

Fifty-four delegates are up for grabs today when Illinois votes for the Republican presidential nominee. For Mitt Romney, capturing the popular vote might be just as important as increasing his lead in the battle for delegates."Romney could really use a romp in Illinois. It wouldn't put him over the top, but it would put him back on track with a head of steam," said CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley. After finishing third last Tuesday in Alabama and Mississippi to his main rival: Santorum, Romney regained a bit of momentum on Sunday when he trounced Santorum in Puerto Rico's primary, getting 83% of the vote and picking up all 20 delegates up for grabs. Even with Romney's win in Puerto Rico, Illinois is considered a "must win" state because the state's more moderate makeup and urban population is set up better for Romney than Santorum.

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Gas Prices

Today during a committee hearing on the Department of Energy's use of stimulus funding the topic of conversation kept returning to the rising gas prices. Republicans were hammering secretary Steven Chu over this. This topic put the partisan divide in Washington on full display. Republicans were the ones hammering the secretary over the gas prices. Democrats were asking the secretary questions that provided him the chance to defend administration policies. When the secretary noted the investments to boost the use of electric cars Republican representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina said that the use of electric cars mean nothing to his constituents who have long commutes by car every day. McHenry complained that he can't just tell everyone in his district to buy a new electric vehicle. Obama has argued that there is no single step to lower gas prices in the short term. With the presidential election just around the corner, Republican leaders have started targeting Obama's energy policies blaming him for high energy costs.

Santorum Wins in Alabama, leading in Mississippi

Despite what looks to have been a significant drop-off in the polling numbers of Rick Santorum over the last few weeks, the former Pennsylvania Senator has been declared the winner in Alabama, and as of around 10:45, leads with 33% in Mississippi, narrowly leading Newt Gingrich at 31 and Mitt Romney at 30. A win in these two states would be significant for the Senator, who most have thought was finished after a sub-par performance on Super Tuesday. However, were he to win both these states, his role as the legitimate challenger to Romney in the race for the GOP nomination would be cemented. Though Romney remains the front-runner, Santorum's victories in some significant states keep him in the race and potentially give him the chance to upend Romney at some point.

Tuesday's Primaries

The Republican presidential candidates' campaigns were downplaying expectations as Alabama and Mississippi voted Tuesday, an indication of how tight the two primaries are and the importance of momentum on the long road to the GOP convention. Forty-seven delegates are up for grabs in Alabama, with 37 at stake in Mississippi, all being divided proportionally. Both states hold open primaries, which mean Republicans, independent voters and Democrats can cast ballots in the GOP contests. Hawaii and American Samoa also hold caucuses Tuesday, with 17 delegates to be allocated in Hawaii and nine in American Samoa. Romney is far short of the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the nomination -- he holds a 459-203 lead over Santorum, with Gingrich at 118 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 66, but every little bit, including what Tuesday has to offer, will matter in this nomination.

Can Anyone Beat Obama?

With the Alabama and Mississippi primaries right around the corner, it's looking like quite the GOP showdown. Mitt Romney had such a long and steady run throughout his campaigning, and it has gotten him this far, but in recent weeks, Rick Santorum has proven to be the favorite candidate. And although he can be a loose cannon and his strong opinions on issues can scare people away, Newt Gingrich has proven himself completely worthy to be in the final three in the race for the presidency.

Personally, though, I think the only candidate who has a chance at beating Obama is Gingrich. He is the most confident, quick-witted, and solid GOP candidate in the running, and Romney and Santorum don't have the strength to stand up against Obama to the point of beating him. If America really wants a republican in the White House this next term, Gingrich is the only logical option.

Today

Super Tuesday, also known as the most important day in the GOP presidential nomination race, is a true testing day which will foreshadow whether Mitt Romney is able to break away from his rivals and regain his lead. Mitt Romney is the most likely beneficiary of the states' complex allocation rules. If he can gain enough of the vote in Idaho, Massachusetts, Vermont and Virginia, he stands to be the sole winner of the combined 133 delegates from those states, almost a third of the 419 delegates are up for grabs on Super Tuesday. Super Tuesday is not however a "winner-take-all" contest, but it does offer candidates some chance of shutting out their opponents in the all-important race to amass delegates.

Super Tuesday

Today (Super Tuesday), according to CNN, there are 3 major things to watch about the GOP race. Today ten states are getting a say on who should "challenge President Obama". The first thing we should watch is Romney's Big Day. Romney has been the off and on frontrunner throughout this whole race. Today (Super Tuesday) has potential to begin his end game. If Romney wins in Ohio and Tennessee it could propel him into a huge lead in the race. The second thing we should watch is Turnout. The number of people who show up at the polls today could be an indication for how energized the Republicans are and what that might mean in the fall. Ohio and Tennessee are the states to watch for the best indication of how energized Republicans are. The third thing to watch is whether or not anyone is leaving the race. The answer to that question is no. Whether or not each of the candidates have a good Super Tuesday, they will still each point to victories they have had or will have. No one is dropping out. Tonight results will be posted and we shall see how each candidate does.