Per rikyrah’s hat tip & request
UPDATE THE POTUS SPEAKS
Supreme Court upholds health-care law, individual mandate
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the individual health-insurance mandate that is at the heart of President Obama’s landmark health-care law, saying the mandate is permissible under Congress’s taxing authority.
The potentially game-changing, election-year decision — a major victory for the White House less than five months before the November elections –will help redefine the power of the national government and affect the health-care choices of millions of Americans.
*Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. sided with the majority in voting to uphold the law, Obama’s signature domestic initiative.
March 21, 2010: “Watching the historic House vote on a television in the Roosevelt Room, the President and Vice President applauded after the bill passed. It was an emotional conclusion to an almost year-long battle to pass health care reform.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Can’t wait to see today’s reaction!
Click here for Twitter reactions.
Today is a HISTORICAL day for America. Thank you, SCOTUS and President Obama!
IT’S CONSTITUTIONAL, MOFOS; GET OVER IT!
Pingback: Supreme Court upholds health care law | LadyBeeZee
found this in the comments at BJ from this morning:
dmsilev Says:
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if a million conservatives cried out in terror and unfortunately were not suddenly silenced.
BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
LOL I’ll let Joe close it out for me tonight
II got an email earlier today from a Sistafriend. Between the two of us, I am the political junkie- we don’t talk politics very much. But, her email was so simple. She said,
” I was worried FOR HIM.”
She didn’t have to explain to me who HIM was. I understood.
I respect President Barack Obama for many reasons, most among them is the fact that he inherited a mess, and in addition to trying to clean it up, he CHOSE to tackle healthcare. It wasn’t the ‘safe’ thing to do, but it was the right thing to do.
There has been a concerted effort from the moment this President was sworn in, to diminish and disrespect all that he has done and tried to do. To try and erase this man’s place in history.
Today’s decision will take care of that.
Loved this final piece from Rev. Al’s show yesterday.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45755884/#48005283
PRESIDENT OBAMA SONG: “DIDN’T I BLOWN YOUR MIND THIS TIME , DIDN’T I …oh,oh,oh. I think the stylitics sang this song. I don’t know who sang this one “tell old Pharoah to Let my people go and make them look let real a$$ wipe before they do!! lol
Hat tip Smartypants via Andy Sullivan
Obamacare Upheld: How and Why Did Justice Roberts Do It?
The Supreme Court closed out its 2011–12 term today in dramatic fashion, upholding the Affordable Care Act by a sharply divided vote. The Court’s bottom line, reasoning and lineup of justices all came as a shock to many. While I had earlier cautioned doomsayers that the law was “not dead yet” after an oral argument that others deemed disastrous for the law’s defenders, I don’t think anyone predicted that the law would be upheld without the support of Justice Anthony Kennedy, almost always the Court’s crucial swing vote. And while most of the legal debate focused on Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause, the Court ultimately upheld the law as an exercise of the taxing power—even though President Obama famously claimed that the law was not a tax. The most surprising thing of all, though, is that in the end, this ultraconservative Court decided the case, much as it did in many other cases this term, by siding with the liberals.
Justice Kennedy, on whom virtually all hope for a decision upholding the law rested, voted with Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. They would have invalidated all 900 pages of the law—even though the challengers had directly attacked only two of the law’s hundreds of provisions. But Chief Justice John Roberts sided with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan to uphold the law as a valid exercise of Congress’s power to tax.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/168655/obamacare-upheld-how-and-why-did-chief-justice-do-it
HEALTH REFORM BENEFITS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
Read about it here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/06/28/supreme-court-upholds-president-obamas-health-care-reform?utm_source=email168&utm_medium=text1&utm_campaign=healthcare
Joe.My.God points to a great Onion Headline:GOP To Team Up With Fatal Diseases To Repeal Obamacare :http://bit.ly/MDtgqG
Joe.My.God points to a great Onion Headline:GOP To Team Up With Fatal Diseases To Repeal Obamacare: http://bit.ly/MDtgqG
And your kicker:
Here is a video of Romney in 2006 calling for a tax on those with higher incomes so everyone can have health insurance:
Why Romney’s “Repeal and Replace” plan would fail millions of Americans: http://bit.ly/M9DVuo
And what specificallyrepealing the law would mean: http://on.fb.me/LjlPBY
MN Publius: “Only in the Republicans’ reality — in which our well-being is defined solely by the health of the 1 percent’s balance sheets — could providing health insurance to all Americans be considered “harmful.” http://bit.ly/NSrjH
Meanwhile,Romney promises to repeal health reform on “day one,” refighting old political battles of the past and denying millions of Americans affordable health care.
Jim Messina’s statement: “Romney promised to repeal the President’s health reform law and take America back to the same old political battles of the past.He is completely unmoved by what that would do to millions of middle-class families, women, seniors and young Americans who are today benefiting from the law.“ http://bit.ly/LGDIiR
Read Hope and Change’s comments here: http://www.hopeandchange.net/2012/06/presidents-statement-on-supreme-court.html?Otp
STAY WITH 3 CHICS FOLKS.
What else has Obamacare done already? 12.8 million Americans have received insurance rebates, 3.1 million young Americans have gained health coverage, and more: http://bit.ly/QtMRJP
How much more do women have to pay for health insurance? See the map of before and after Obamacare: http://on.fb.me/N8hNeb
Andy Kroll at Mother Jones has a list of “Ten Things You Get Now That Obamacare Survived” http://bit.ly/MYyb16
Progressive Pulse writes:the ACA a Victory for Americans like Me: http://bit.ly/MZ71cd
And at BlogHer Erin Kotecki Vest writes: “I’m not going to lie … I was holding my breath. Would my pre-existing condition be covered? Would it ruin our lives forever? Would the millions of us with chronic illness be trapped in this horrible pre-Affordable Care Act hell that meant we paid and paid and paid and lost our homes and worried and worried and worried about how we’d pay and what we’d do if we couldn’t get coverage?”… “Right now the only words I have, with tears still streaming down my face, is thank you Supreme Court. Thank you. Millions of Americans need this.”http://bit.ly/MYyc5b
Thanks to Obamacare, Emily knows she’ll be covered under her parents’ plan until she’s 26:
http://bit.ly/LE6dvF
And a former skeptic on Obamacare: “The very thing I criticized is going to save my life.”
Obamacare makes sure families like Liam’s don’t pay an unfair price for quality coverage
In this video, see howObamacare prevents insurance companies from doing what they did to 18-month-old Jackson:
With this accomplishment, POTUS has done something no President since Theodore Roosevelt has been able to do: start us on the road to universal healthcare.
It’s been absolutely stunning to watch the snippets that I can from work: these mofos IN THE PRESS – really didn’t prepare for the possibility of it being upheld. And they’re madder than a mutha.
Took away their meme. Took away what they thought they were going to use to beat over the President and prop up Willard with. They ain’t got shyt to say, and have no way of helping out Willard, who looked like an absolute fool standing in front of the Capitol.
Now, the President has the wind at his back; the CONSTITUTIONALITY question has been settled; he can run on Obamacare, bringing up everyday, who is helped by it. Now, it’s time for every other Democrat to MAN THE FUCK UP AND RUN ON IT TOO!!!
TELL.IT.LIKE.IT.IS, RIKYRAH!
The media is COMPLICITin spreading the distortions and ginning up folks against the HCR bill, they did everything but their RESEARCH to lay out the facts or policy. Instead, they ran with the gop DEATH PANELS meme, and other nonsensical bullshit.
They GOP don’t have that founder’s bullshit to parrot, so they and the rest of the wingers, and head-exploding bigots can put their lil blue pocketbook constitution away.
They can ALL go straight to HELL.
All three branches of government have now agreed: Obamacare can continue to help millions of Americans and will go on to help millions more in the years to come.
Who is it helping already?
WatchStacey of Arizona share how Obamacare is making sure her daughter Zoe can live a life without limits:
And to CNN, FOX, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, CNBC, NBC, and the pundunces, SHAME ON YOU FOR PUSHING THE OBAMACARE IS A FAILURE MEME TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!
LOL
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – Just minutes after the Supreme Court upheld President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney slammed the Court, calling the law “the worst idea I ever had.”
“I vow to repeal this law on my first day in office,” he told a crowd at a campaign rally. “Until then, I will work tirelessly to make people forget that I used to totally love it.”
At the White House, President Obama greeted the news of the Court’s decision in muted fashion: “I haven’t been this pumped since I smoked bin Laden.”
Dissenters in the 5-4 decision included Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote, “The only medical procedures the government should pay for are forced transvaginal ultrasounds and exorcisms.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also had harsh words for the healthcare law, telling reporters, “Under Obamacare, you will be forced to marry a gay doctor.”
But perhaps the most negative appraisal came from Speaker of the House John Boehner: “This is a dark day for America. If we are forced to have healthcare, it’s only a matter of time before we have education.”
Mother:”³We Can Sleep Now”
KATHY: “With my children for example, my daughter is a graphic designer who works for a very small firm. She is one pink slip away from no health insurance, but not after today. In 2014, we can sleep now, because we know she will be able to buy a policy and they won’t be able to charge her more and of course, the same is true now for our small group. We have a small group that covers my son who has Type I diabetes, and in our small group we pay $40,000 a year for four people, but in 2014, when community rating takes effect, we believe that our small group policy premiums will also go down, so this is more good news for people. “
http://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/218409060578508802/photo/1
Cool. Thanks for the link to the Twitters!
Ametia,
the Daily Dish has a priceless photo of Obama repeating the DEWEY BEATS TRUMAN thing, only it’s an IPAD with the CNN SCREENCAPTURE OF
SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN MANDATE.
can you find it. and post it with this thread?
DONE! LOL LOVE IT
How far the four dissenters were willing to go
By Steve Benen
–
Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:41 AM EDT.
In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. But as the political, legal, and policy world scrutinizes the details of today’s ruling, it’s worth pausing to appreciate just how far the four dissenters — who filed their dissent jointly — were willing to go.
The conventional wisdom, which was neither conventional nor wise, was that the individual mandate was in deep trouble, but it was unrealistic to think the justices would be so radical as to kill every letter of every word of every page of the law. Such a breathtaking move would simply be unnecessarily radical.
And yet, as of this morning, four justices — Alito, Kennedy, Scalia, and Thomas — insisted on doing exactly that. The four dissenters demanded that the Supreme Court effectively throw out the entirety of the law — the mandate, the consumer protections, the tax cuts, the subsidies, the benefits, everything.
To reach this conclusion, these four not only had to reject a century of Commerce Clause jurisprudence, they also had ignore the Necessary and Proper clause, and Congress’ taxation power. I can’t read Chief Justice John Roberts’ mind, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the extremism of the four dissenters effectively forced him to break ranks — had Kennedy been willing to strike down the mandate while leaving the rest of the law intact, this may well have been a 5-4 ruling the other way.
Roberts’ motivations notwithstanding, it’s important that Americans understand that there are now four justices on the Supreme Court who effectively want to overturn the 20th century. Based on the flimsiest of arguments, the four dissenters want to kill progressive legislation basically because their political ideologies tell them to do so.
There are some who argue that this year’s presidential election isn’t especially important. I hope those who believe this consider what today’s court minority was prepared to do, and what they will do with just one more vote.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/28/12459913-how-far-the-four-dissenters-were-willing-to-go?lite
Love being at work today; WATCHING HEADS EXPLODE… silently of course. Can hear a pin drop, but man oh man it’s in the air!
FROM OFA’s Jim Messina
“Mitt Romney had an opportunity to rise to the occasion today and tell the American people specifically how he would move the nation forward on health care and ensure people get the care they need. Yet, once again, he squandered that opportunity. Instead of explaining how he would ensure costs don’t go up and health benefits are protected, Romney promised to repeal the President’s health reform law and take America back to the same old political battles of the past. He is completely unmoved by what that would do to millions of middle-class families, women, seniors and young Americans who are today benefiting from the law. Romney’s promise to repeal the law would give insurance companies free rein to exploit Americans through the worst industry abuses, strip 86 million Americans of often life-saving preventive care, cost 3.1 million young Americans of their coverage by kicking them off their parents’ plans, allow insurance companies to discriminate against kids with preexisting conditions, and increase prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare.
Just six years ago, before Mitt Romney decided to run for president, he passed a law in Massachusetts that achieved universal coverage for the citizens of that state through an individual mandate and tax penalty. That law became the model for the President’s health reform law. Now, as he is running for president, Romney has run away from his accomplishment in Massachusetts, callously promising to repeal national reform and “kill it dead.” He owes the American people a clear, non-parsed explanation of why he believes his decisions in Massachusetts are wrong for the country, and exactly what he would do to help the American people get the health care they need.” – Jim Messina, Campaign Manager, Obama for America
Yep, another LOST OPPORTUNITY for Mitt Romney!
WHAT’S CHANGED, ROMNEY?
Wolf Blitzer was creamin’ himself, along with John King and nem, they were hoping the bill would be struck down. MOFOs!
COMPLETE FUCKING TRAIN WRECK: CNN Health Care Ruling FAIL
ANOTHER MAJOR FAIL
WATSAMATTAU, KELLY?
President Obama calls Supreme Court healthcare decision a victory
WASHINGTON | Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:33pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Thursday that the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold his landmark healthcare reform law was a victory for the American people, and he promised to implement it and improve upon it going forward.
“The highest court in the land has now spoken. We will continue to implement this law and we’ll work together to improve on it where we can,” Obama said at the White House.
“What we won’t do – what the country can’t afford to do – is re-fight the political battles of two years ago or go back to the way things were. With today’s announcement, it’s time for us to move forward.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/28/us-usa-healthcare-obama-idUSBRE85R14L20120628
SCOTUS Opinion
By mistermix June 28th, 2012
Here’s the guts of it from SCOTUSBLOG:
In Plain English: The Affordable Care Act, including its individual mandate that virtually all Americans buy health insurance, is constitutional. There were not five votes to uphold it on the ground that Congress could use its power to regulate commerce between the states to require everyone to buy health insurance. However, five Justices agreed that the penalty that someone must pay if he refuses to buy insurance is a kind of tax that Congress can impose using its taxing power. That is all that matters. Because the mandate survives, the Court did not need to decide what other parts of the statute were constitutional, except for a provision that required states to comply with new eligibility requirements for Medicaid or risk losing their funding. On that question, the Court held that the provision is constitutional as long as states would only lose new funds if they didn’t comply with the new requirements, rather than all of their funding.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/06/28/scotus-opinion/#comment-3391140
ALL.OFTHIS: The Affordable Care Act, including its individual mandate that virtually all Americans buy health insurance, is constitutional. And PRESIDENT OBAMA KNEW IT ALL ALONG. HE A FRIGGIN CONSTITUTIONAL LAWYER FOR GOODNESS SAKES!
http://yfrog.com/obzehpp
CNN needs their AZZ whipped for that shyt, but then that’s what the powers that be was hoping for there. LOSERS!
THE GOP’S GOT NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH, ZERO TO RUN ON, EXCEPT TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH.
REMEMBER,
Willard tried the duck and dodge with immigration, because they were gonna go ‘ all in’ with the healthcare ruling, hoping that the immigration case would get lost in the shuffle. So, anyone go ask Team Willard their opinion on this?
BWA HA HA HAA HA HA HA HA HA HA
LOL whos’ losing sleep now, Mittens?
Rikyrah, run yourself a nice bath and have a glass or 2! BWA HA HA
I’LL BE A MOFO…
ROBERTS SIDED WITH THE MAJORITY
LOL Roberts knew his AZZ was on the line as far as his career/rep.
Can’t wait to see my Prez make a statement. If he SLAPS the podium, I.WILL.FAINT! BWA HA HA
LOL Romney to make a statement from the puppet masters of his party on the SCOTUS decision.
I feel like celebrating, but first, the spa..
this so beautiful you ladies are beautiful. Today I know Teddy,John, Robert, MLK and PBO mother are jumping for joy saying we knew he could do it.
Robert Reich: Supreme Court will Uphold Affordable HealthCare Act
Predictions are always hazardous when it comes to the economy, the weather, and the Supreme Court. I won’t get near the first two right now, but I’ll hazard a guess on what the Court is likely to decide tomorrow: It will uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) by a vote of 6 to 3. **well, Mr. Reich, you were correct in upholding the ACA, but not in the vote.
Three reasons for my confidence:
First, Chief Justice John Roberts is — or should be — concerned about the steadily-declining standing of the Court in the public’s mind, along with the growing perception that the justices decide according to partisan politics rather than according to legal principle. The 5-4 decision in Citizen’s United, for example, looked to all the world like a political rather than a legal outcome, with all five Republican appointees finding that restrictions on independent corporate expenditures violate the First Amendment, and all four Democratic appointees finding that such restrictions are reasonably necessary to avoid corruption or the appearance of corruption. Or consider the Court’s notorious decision in Bush v. Gore.
The Supreme Court can’t afford to lose public trust. It has no ability to impose its will on the other two branches of government: As Alexander Hamilton once noted, the Court has neither the purse (it can’t threaten to withhold funding from the other branches) or the sword (it can’t threaten police or military action). It has only the public’s trust in the Court’s own integrity and the logic of its decisions — both of which the public is now doubting, according to polls. As Chief Justice, Roberts has a particular responsibility to regain the public’s trust. Another 5-4 decision overturning a piece of legislation as important as Obamacare would further erode that trust.
It doesn’t matter that a significant portion of the public may not like Obamacare. The issue here is the role and institutional integrity of the Supreme Court, not the popularity of a particular piece of legislation. Indeed, what better way to show the Court’s impartiality than to affirm the constitutionality of legislation that may be unpopular but is within the authority of the other two branches to enact?
http://wallstreetpit.com/93330-supreme-court-will-uphold-affordable-healthcare-act
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHOJNWmSc94&feature=player_embedded
GAME, BLOUSES, BITHCES!
You can read the full text of the decision here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/supreme-court-health-care-decision-full-text/2012/06/28/gJQAueJ88V_blog.html?wpisrc=al_comboPNE_p
Chief Justice John Roberts led the Supreme Courts 5-4 decision upholding President Obamas sweeping health care law.
The president is expected to speak later today on the ruling that supports the core legislative accomplishment of his administration.
The court decided that the individual mandate that requires all Americans to have health insurance will stand and is considered a tax by the court, making it constitutional.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote about the individual mandate, citing the taxing clause: It is reasonable to construe what Congress has done as increasing taxes on those who have a certain amount of income, but choose to go without insurance. Such legislation is within Congress power to tax.”
The court also ruled that the federal government may not remove Medicaid funding from states that refuse to take part.
Voting to uphold the Affordable Care Act were R oberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. The dissenters were Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
Turn to http://cnn.com/thisjustin for more details and watch live now on CNN TV, CNNs mobile apps and http://cnn.com/live for analysis on what this means to you, your family and the presidential race.
Chief Justice Roberts knew his career & reputation hinged on this ruling. Just sayin.
Developing: The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the health care law and its insurance mandate, SCOTUSblog reports.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was the swing voter, joining with liberal justices to uphold the law, SCOTUSblog says. The law, the Affordable Care Act, required consumers to carry health insurance or to pay a penalty. The requirement was upheld under Congress’ taxing power, the blog says. A majority, however, found the requirement unconstitutional under the commerce clause.
SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein has this summary: “The bottom line: the entire ACA is upheld, with the exception that the federal government’s power to terminate states’ Medicaid funds is narrowly read.” Goldstein had predicted the law would be upheld.
The court upheld the Medicaid expansion, but said those states that don’t participate in the expansion can still receive funds for the rest of the program, SCOTUSblog says.
The court said the Anti-Injunction Act doesn’t prevent it from deciding the case. The act says suits can’t be filed to challenge taxes until after they are paid. The court said the law doesn’t apply because the “tax” label is not controlling, SCOTUSblog says.