tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post5408581826209743290..comments2024-01-03T05:23:36.046-08:00Comments on The Citizens: The Constitutionality of Health Care Reform (HCR)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-10607997006373940382010-05-13T14:03:40.882-07:002010-05-13T14:03:40.882-07:00I really have no idea what this health care reform...I really have no idea what this health care reform bill is really about. I just think that Obama and others should try and confirm their honest thoughts on this. Don't blame everything on Obama.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-39089214622238745292010-03-26T08:43:37.853-07:002010-03-26T08:43:37.853-07:00OK, I see your point. What term would you use to ...OK, I see your point. What term would you use to describe the kind of logic you describe being the base of the argument that health care mandates are unconstitutional?Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-33024708612644037172010-03-26T07:02:35.100-07:002010-03-26T07:02:35.100-07:00I think calling Thomas a "populist" is i...I think calling Thomas a "populist" is in correct. There's not much "populist" in the academic notion of a "constitution-in-exile." Populism is usually about bashing elites (Wa(r)shington, Wall Street, etc.) or endorsing "old-fashion[]" values, not really about jurisprudental issues. Jeffrey Toobin, I think, is correct that there are no populists on the court at all right now, which is why the court (whether liberal or conservative) always makes very elitist and pro-business rulings.The Law Talking Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886791396468512490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-84329685278322361632010-03-26T04:44:10.927-07:002010-03-26T04:44:10.927-07:00Thanks, LTG. If you say that only Thomas is as po...Thanks, LTG. If you say that only Thomas is as populist as I fear then I'm with Seventh Sister in my anticipation that the health care reform bill will survive constitutional review.Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-24511708133589178222010-03-25T17:37:52.563-07:002010-03-25T17:37:52.563-07:00I've got an idea, though, that might be popula...I've got an idea, though, that might be popular: mandatory retirement for all federal judges at 75. Now the original "court-packing" scheme looked like this, so we have to be careful. How about a constitutional amendment permitting Congress to set a maximum retirement age for federal judges, but no lower than 70? 80? Seriously, the older codgers on the bench are a real problem, as everyone knows.The Law Talking Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886791396468512490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-12522398256265894862010-03-25T17:34:09.529-07:002010-03-25T17:34:09.529-07:00I hate to be a bit of a pedant, but it's not a...I hate to be a bit of a pedant, but it's not all that important what people believe about the constitution. Constitutional doctrine is a matter of law and is for expert interpretation, not individual faith. If you poll legal scholars, even conservative ones, you find that the tiny minority who consider the individual mandate unconstitutional have a radically different view of the constitution from even mainstream conservatives on the bench and at bar. In other words, 95% of the people do the same math that I do: the other 5 percent were starting with the principle that 2+2=5, which is why they end up with a different result.<br /><br />I guess what I'm trying to say is that the sort of ruling you fear would require a radical revolution on the Court that only Justice Thomas has ever embraced. Even Justice Scalia is not really so far right as all that.The Law Talking Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886791396468512490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-60517797572308237472010-03-25T03:52:10.856-07:002010-03-25T03:52:10.856-07:00I agree, LTG.
The problem is most Republicans a...I agree, LTG. <br /><br />The problem is most Republicans and conservatives I've spoken with don't agree. They fervently believe that the Constitution - as the founders intended it - was meant to guarantee a fiscally and religiously conservative state. I believe just as fervently that they have a gross misunderstanding of what the founders intended let alone what the role of a constitution is. But it is still important to understand where these people are coming from.<br /><br />What I fear is that they have at least 3 members and possibly 5 of the Supreme Court that agree with them.Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-57220546010162950832010-03-24T17:21:12.672-07:002010-03-24T17:21:12.672-07:00But [the] Constitution is not intended to embody a...But [the] Constitution is not intended to embody a particular economic theory, whether of paternalism and the organic relation of the citizen to the State or of laissez faire. It is made for people of fundamentally differing views, and the accident of our finding certain opinions natural and familiar or novel and even shocking ought not to conclude our judgment upon the question whether statutes embodying them conflict with the Constitution of the United States. <br /><br />Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (1905).The Law Talking Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886791396468512490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-59711514680213961872010-03-24T11:25:27.413-07:002010-03-24T11:25:27.413-07:00Government out of my Medicare! Sorry, it's ju...Government out of my Medicare! Sorry, it's just so funny a phrase I have to say it from time to time. I'm reasonably confident the health care reform bill will survive these challenges.<br /><br />-Seventh SisterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-84659437052306446482010-03-24T04:16:14.136-07:002010-03-24T04:16:14.136-07:00Great post! I was hoping you would weigh in on th...Great post! I was hoping you would weigh in on this.<br /><br />I'm also sure that many Republicans think that Medicare and Social Security are unconstitutional.Raised By Republicanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461006522141969925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6762928.post-90569998508469530152010-03-23T20:20:27.482-07:002010-03-23T20:20:27.482-07:00I could easily see the $750 fine on individuals wh...I could easily see the $750 fine on individuals who don't buy insurance re-cast as a $750 tax on everyone but which is waived for people with health insurance.bell curvenoreply@blogger.com