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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