Some good points on the ongoing health care reform battle in this post by Michael Tomasky in The Guardian.
There’s a long quotation from Charles Fried, Reagan’s solicitor general. He cites historical precedents for the individual mandate as constitutional. What I especially liked was his take on Judge Vinson’s recent opinion in Florida stating that the whole bill was unconstitutional because it included the individual mandate.
I think that one thing about Judge Vinson’s opinion, where he said that if we strike down the mandate everything else goes, shows as well as anything could that the mandate is necessary to the accomplishment of the regulation of health insurance.
Tomasky thinks the 2012 elections will turn out better for the Democrats if the health care bill is overturned. “The side that is angry is the side that’ll turn out and vote in huge numbers, and if the ACA is repealed, the angry side will be liberals.”
He also thinks we’ll get a better bill in the long run if it’s repealed.
[A] repeal or strike-down of Obamacare would likely lead to the US doing nothing for a few more years, then the system hits the point of complete crisis, and then there’s enough support for actual healthcare reform along the Medicare for all lines.
Related posts:
Can Congress Force You to Be Healthy?
Civil disobedience and the individual mandate
The politics behind personal responsibility for health
Healthy lifestyles serve political interests
Resources:
Image: TPM
Michael Tomasky, Reagan’s lawyer: mandate is kosher, The Guardian, February 2, 2012
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