Tag Archives: Constitution

Nancy Pelosi: Obama Care Is Constitutional “Because I Know The Constitution.”

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Senate Passes Insurance Industry Aid Bill

Senate Passes Insurance Industry Aid Bill (Photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com)

From the beginning of 2009, the Obama administration has clearly illustrated that their main focus was going to be achieving passage of The Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act despite bad economic conditions.

There were many people who questioned the administrations priorities in helping Americans who were faced with the worst economy since the Great Depression.

Despite that fact, public opinion expressed genuine concern about the unconstitutionally of The Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act’s individual mandate to buy insurance, which takes effect in 2014.

The passing of time has not eased the publics concern over Obamacare. A recent New York Times and CBS News poll shows that Americans do not like  The Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act. The poll shows that 68% of Americans hope that the Supreme Courts coming decision this month overturns as least part of the Obamacare law. The poll and a more in-depth analysis of it can be found on The Independent Journal Review.

The individual mandate has not been the only concern across the U.S. World News Daily has reported that Americans have stormed the streets against Obamacare as thousands of people have participated in “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” protests in as many has 164 cities across the U.S. The protests are to demand “President Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius withdraw mandates requiring nearly all private health insurance plans to cover the prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, surgical sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs , such as Plan B.”

The House of Representative Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi believes that  The Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act has received poor public support because it’s opponents have misrepresented the legislation. When asked about the New York Times and CBS News Poll, Pelosi stated that “[she is] very proud of the Affordable Care Act. I think the understanding of it has been jeopardized by misrepresentations that have been out there relentlessly.”

In the same press conference, Pelosi defended Obamacare by tying it to the principles in the Declaration of Independence. She contended that it is “about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for the American people.” Pelosi said that it “unlocks” them from their job. Thus, allowing them to pursue happiness without the threat of losing their health insurance.

These remarks from Pelosi were precluded by comments she made on May 31, 2012 at a press conference, which aired on CNN is available here. Pelosi was asked why she is so confident the Supreme Court will uphold Obamacare 6-3. Pelosi responded by saying “Because I know the Constitution.” She continued by stating that “this bill is ironclad. It’s ironclad. Nobody was frivolous with the Constitution and the health of the American people in writing the bill.”

I know that such remarks are certainly painful to those who consider themselves conservatives. As a result, I believe that most, if not all, conservatives would consider the Editors of the National Review Online‘s reasoning as their own underlining bases in opposing  The Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act.

If it is read to include or imply that authority, then it must surely follow that the federal government may institute a compulsory calisthenic program for all Americans. The administration argues that an individuals decision not to purchase health insurance has an effect, however minute, on health markets nationally, and that such decisions when aggregated have a large effect.

The whole unconstitutional aspect of the mandate is that the federal government cannot force citizens to buy a good or service solely based on the fact that they are breathing.

The Constitution clearly defines few and defined powers to the federal government. The Editors of the National Review Online delved into this subject in their article “The Constitution vs Obamacare,” stating:

The precise scope of those powers has always been subject to debate, but that the description does not apply to today’s federal government cannot seriously be denied. The Constitution divides power among the branches of the federal government: But today’s government features countless agencies that combine executive, legislative, and judicial functions. The Constitution’s structure and logic militate against commingling state and federal powers. Today’s government includes vast state-federal spending programs in which the division of responsibility is blurred by design. These are not merely formal deviations from the constitutional template. They subvert it’s goals of liberty for citizens, accountability for governments, and security for property. What is needed today, then, is not so much the protection of constitutional government as its reclamation. The courts have an indispensable role to play in that project, but it will also necessarily involve shrewd and patient political action.

The federal government has certainly stretched the Constitution before, which does not make it shocking that it has attempted to do so again. However, trying to figure out what exact constitution Pelosi is referring to is rather difficult to discern, but it cannot be the one that was ratified in 1786. But, the more interesting question to attempt to answer is how does she know that Obamacare will be upheld 6-3? Because the majority of the nation firmly believes that at least the mandate, if not the whole law, will be overturned. But shame on the American people for wanting the federal government to return to following the Constitutions wording and context.

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