Supreme Court to Consider Health Care Law

Talked to the guy again today who was a Supreme Court clerk. I can't remember exactly what indicated this, but he seemed pretty sure that the case will be decided on the tax question (and he brought it up, not me. It was a group of people). He put his fingers about a half inch apart and said, "This is how much space there is between a tax and being unconstitutional." I know that doesn't make sense because I don't remember it exactly, but his point was that finding a tax unconstitutional is exceedingly rare, and there's almost no room with which to do it.

He had two concluding thoughts:

* Because the tax question seems to be the ground that this will be decided on, he thinks the Court will find it Constitutional.
* That being said, trying to prediction how the Supreme Court is going to decide is perilous business.

 

This isn't the Warren court. I still say the conservative Republican majority on the court will overturn the law.

 

Conservative judges are different than conservatives politically.

Conservatives judges don't like to overrule the legislative branch.

Also, justices don't always align with their parties. Look at the Gonzalez v. Raich case. All the conservatives, presumably Drug War supporters, voting that non-sale of marijuana in California is not commerce.

 

Understand the point, Dick. But you don't think the justices are capable of making decisions based on politics?

 

WSJ points out a flaw in the workings in the law:

 

Brazenly!

 

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Mr. Adler is professor of law and director of the Center for Business Law and Regulation at Case Western Reserve University. Mr. Cannon is director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute.

 

Multiply this analysis by 50 states (or 51 if Newt's Moon gets added before DC does) and Obamacare's a huge winner:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120127/OPINION03/301270049/Health-reform-takes-shape?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p

 

If salient was thrown in there, it would be a winner of a piece.