Saving the Republic: A maximum Effort Mission. It’s a Tax Law After All.

View 630 Thursday, June 28, 2012

Former Speaker Pelosi famously told us that we would have to pass the Obama Health Care Bill to find out what’s in it. Today we found out some of it:

It’s the biggest tax increase in the history of the nation. You may get out of paying that tax if you have health insurance. If that sounds more like a fine and a mandate than a tax you are not alone in that observation, but the US Supreme Court has said otherwise. The Obama Health Care Act complete with the individual mandates – and complete with the requirements for employers to provide health care or pay fines – is a legitimate tax under the Constitution, by a 5-4 majority that includes the Chief Justice.

It also makes the November election the starkest choice in the history of the nation.

There are two important points here, one Constitutional and one political, but they are so intertwined that the political issue is key.

The Constitutional issue is that a 5-4 decision of the Court has pretty well given Congress the power to do anything it likes in the guise of taxes. The power to tax is the power to destroy, and now anything involving government expenditures can be taxed, which means that inaction can be taxed, which means – well, you get the idea.

The political issue is that more than 60% of the country hates the Obama Health Care Act; that a large number of people on Medicare hate the Obama Health Care Act; and that this is a stark issue, no compromises. The Court by a 5-4 decision has said that the Obama Health Care Act can be implemented, and the President has made it clear that if re-elected he will appoint new Justices who will cement this enormous expansion of Federal Power. The Republican Candidate Designate has said that on his first day in office he will take all possible action to repeal the Obama Health Care Act.

The issue couldn’t be more clear. Whatever one thinks of Romney, he is (1) against the Obama Health Care Act, and (2) in favor of restricting the power of the federal government on the grounds of State’s Rights.

The good news is that a majority of the country is in favor of the Republican stand on these issues. The good news is that the votes are out there.

The message is clear: this is a ground game. There is no need for persuasion. The election will turn on how many votes the two sides in this issue can get to the polls, or get to send in some kind of vote by mail. You may expect to see bombardments of retirement homes, as political operatives try to get them to vote by mail – and others will try to get them to vote twice and negate themselves. You will see a great deal of ferment in organizing to get out the vote.

A repeat of 2010 will start the Republic on the way to recovery. A 5-4 decision can be reversed. There may even be enough sentiment in the nation to reverse it with a Constitutional Amendment. We have the means to do this. What we have done we can aspire to.

This is a maximum effort mission.

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This came yesterday from an old friend on Roberts’ stand on the Arizona decision:

Or, it belatedly occurs to me, perhaps they’ve gotten to Roberts, in which case he’d be writing the majority opinion to uphold Obamacare tomorrow. Given how they passed the health care bill in the first place, does either of us really think they’d hesitate to use a handle on him if they had it?

I am nonplussed by Roberts’ stand in both these issues. It seems inconsistent with his previous decisions on federal power. I have no explanation. Rush Limbaugh says that Roberts has become a typical member of the Washington Establishment which has encouraged him to ‘grow’ in office. ‘Growth’ in Washington always means to join the Iron Law growth of government power and support the ever increasing perks of office holders.

Or, it may be, that he is more Machiavellian than anyone supposed: he has made it clear that the courts cannot save the people of the United States from the inexorable march of government toward a European style Road to Serfdom. It is now up to the people of the United States to save themselves. They can do that in November, and begin a march toward transparency and subsidiarity. The issue is stark and the mission is clear.

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Late breaking news: funds for Romney are rolling in since the publication of the decision. And the news media are suddenly noting that this ruling makes the 2012 election very close to being a repeat of the 2010 election: which, of course, was a disaster for Democrats.

This is a maximum effort mission.

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There comes a time when you cannot rely on the Courts to uphold the principles of self government. There comes a time when those who favor self government have no choice: they have to take part in governing. Whether Machiavellian or blackmailed, Chief Justice Roberts has made it clear: the courts cannot save the government from going where its elected officials intend to take it. Courts can delay, they can nit-pick, they can drag their feet, but they cannot forever stop the inevitable march down the Road to Serfdom when that is the intent of the political departments. Of course this has always been clear. It was pretty well stated in the Federalist Papers.

The President is even now saying that it is now time to move forward. He means move down the Road to Serfdom. The Courts will not help us here. If we want transparency, subsidiarity, limited government, this is a turning point: we cannot rely on the courts. We must win elections.

The good news is that the November 2012 election can be won, and won big. The good news is that the issues are stark, and the Republican Candidate Designate has made the issue clear. The good news is that 2010 may well be a harbinger of the future.

This is a maximum effort mission.

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