June 28, 2012: The Republican-majority House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder for criminal contempt of Congress.
The Vote: 255 YEA vs. 65 NAY. Seventeen Democrats voted YEA.
149 Democrats stormed out in a huff, refusing to vote as a demonstration of their contempt for the contempt vote. It’s a shame the figures in this video are so small. I can’t tell if these immature whiners are waddling like the toddlers with loaded diapers that they apparently are channeling. Were they all singing “Neener neener neener” as well?
Democrats “Walk it Out” on House GOP Contempt Vote on Attorney General Eric Holder [:28]
On the plus side, The Holder vote kept House Democrats too busy to do much crowing at disappointed Republicans over the failure of SCOTUS to overturn ObamaCare that same morning.
Not that I care if they crow. IMHO, the Supreme Court did us all a favor by refusing to let 5 guys in robes make such a far-reaching decision the way they did with Roe v. Wade. That kind of thing belongs in the legislature where voters have more power.
Plus, now that SCOTUS has officially ruled that the “buy health insurance or else” mandate is a TAX, we have more fodder for November to throw at the Obama Democrats who swear they never raised any taxes on the middle class.
Even better, those who were ONLY concerned about overturning ObamaCare will now be highly motivated to jump into the fray and work alongside the rest of us to get the Obama Democrats OUT OF OFFICE.
I had not intended to post today,considering the world-class funk I’m in.Yet after yesterday my loyalty to you precludes my personal foibles.I plan to shut down my computer today and leave the television off for awhile.The kids bought me Edward Klein’s ‘The Amateur’ for Fathers Day and I’m going to take the time to read it.My thoughts are going to seem disjointed and subject to rambling because there are a lot of informational fragments I need to clear.
I’m listening yesterday and I hear:Obama won today,but this will really fire up the Tea Party.Fire up for what?Does that mean we’ll run into the voting place instead of walk?Most people already had their minds made up and what happened yesterday did nothing to change that.As expected,democrats behaved like spoiled children who stick their tongue out at you because they got away with something with no punishment.They’re sore winners and even sorer(sorer?) losers the few times it happens.
Looking at Chrissy’s post about SCOTUS nominees,it seems democrat presidents ALWAYS!! appoint reliably liberal judges.With Republican nominees its a crapshoot.The trouble with these stealth nominees is that conservatives are never pleasantly surprised.Ever.Such was the case with Benedict Roberts yesterday.
IT’S BUSH’S FAULT!!
There were rumors he switched his vote at the eleventh hour,perhaps due to bullying by The Usurper.In his opinion he stated that they were not responsible for the bloodthirsty pieces of liberal shit the ignorant masses vote into office.(OK,I took a little,well,a lot of poetic license).
Obamacare was rejected on the four points it was brought up on,so Roberts invented a fifth,about the mandate being a tax by himself,out of whole cloth.It is sad I will not live long enough to see us rid of the Jewish lesbian,the ‘Wise Latina’ and Benedict Roberts.We’re stuck with them for the next 20-30 years.
Give the democrats credit for doing their homework.They rejected every decent judge Bush nominated to the courts until they saw one they could turn.Remember Miguel Estrada?He languished for two years before he withdrew his own nomination,because the dems saw him as a potential nominee to SCOTUS.They were able to do this thanks to McShame and his ‘Gang of 14’ that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
I will continue my mindless diatribe in the comments.I have to refill my coffee cup anyway.
September 12, 2008: Candidate Obama makes a “firm pledge” not to raise taxes OF ANY KIND on ANYONE making less than $250,00 a year.
July 13, 2009: President Obama makes a “promise” that Americans $250,000 a year or less will not see any new taxes.
June 28, 2012: Supreme Court Declares Obamacare Constitutional as a Tax
Summary of The Heritage Foundation opinion on the Obamacare SCOTUS decision
Today’s Supreme Court decision on Obamacare has two significant constitutional silver linings, because the Court put some temporary brakes on our republic’s descent down an extra-constitutional slippery slope in which the federal government can control any aspect of our lives.
1) Five justices opined that the mandate, standing alone, cannot be justified under the Commerce Clause or the Necessary and Proper Clause. This is a serious blow to 90 percent of the legal academics and about 90 percent of Congress, since these have been the clauses used to justify so much of the modern administrative state.
2) Seven justices seemed to agree that some constitutional limitations were breached in the Medicaid expansion. This itself is a landmark ruling.
The American people and their elected representatives have a lot of work to do to repeal and replace the Obamacare statute. One political reality of today’s decision is that the Court essentially reads Obamacare as a massive tax increase, which falls most heavily on the middle class. Didn’t someone promise not to do that?
Summary of RedState opinion on ObamaCare SCOTUS decision
As you have no doubt heard by now, the Supreme Court largely upheld Obamacare with Chief Justice John Roberts writing the majority 5 to 4 decision. Even Justice Kennedy called for the whole law to be thrown out, but John Roberts saved it.
Having gone through the opinion, I am not going to beat up on John Roberts. I am disappointed, but I want to make a few points. John Roberts is playing at a different game than the rest of us. We’re on poker. He’s on chess.
First, I get the strong sense from a few anecdotal stories about Roberts over the past few months and the way he has written this opinion that he very, very much was concerned about keeping the Supreme Court above the partisan fray and damaging the reputation of the Court long term. It seems to me the left was smart to make a full frontal assault on the Court as it persuaded Roberts.
Second, in writing his opinion, Roberts forces everyone to deal with the issue as a political, not a legal issue. In the past twenty years, Republicans have punted a number of issues to the Supreme Court asking the Court to save us from ourselves. They can’t do that with Roberts. They tried with McCain-Feingold, which was originally upheld. This case is a timely reminder to the GOP that five votes are not a sure thing.
Third, while Roberts has expanded the taxation power, which I don’t really think is a massive expansion from what it was, Roberts has curtailed the commerce clause as an avenue for Congressional overreach. In so doing, he has affirmed the Democrats are massive taxers. In fact, I would argue that this may prevent future mandates in that no one is going to go around campaigning on new massive tax increases. On the upside, I guess we can tax the hell out of abortion now. Likewise, in a 7 to 2 decision, the Court shows a strong majority still recognize the concept of federalism and the restrains of Congress in forcing states to adhere to the whims of the federal government.
Fourth, in forcing us to deal with this politically, the Democrats are going to have a hard time running to November claiming the American people need to vote for them to preserve Obamacare. It remains deeply, deeply unpopular with the American people. If they want to make a vote for them a vote for keeping a massive tax increase, let them try.
Fifth, the decision totally removes a growing left-wing talking point that suddenly they must vote for Obama because of judges. The Supreme Court as a November issue for the left is gone. For the right? That sound you hear is the marching of libertarians into Camp Romney, with noses held, knowing that the libertarian and conservative coalitions must unite to defeat Obama and Obamacare.
Finally, while I am not down on John Roberts like many of you are today, I will be very down on Congressional Republicans if they do not now try to shut down the individual mandate. Force the Democrats on the record about the mandate. Defund Obamacare. This now, by necessity, is a political fight and the GOP sure as hell should fight.
60% of Americans agree with them on the issue. And guess what? The Democrats have been saying for a while that individual pieces of Obamacare are quite popular. With John Roberts’ opinion, the repeal fight takes place on GOP turf, not Democrat turf. The all or nothing repeal has always been better ground for the GOP and now John Roberts has forced everyone onto that ground.
It seems very, very clear to me in reviewing John Roberts’ decision that he is playing a much longer game than us and can afford to with a life tenure. And he probably just handed Mitt Romney the White House.
*A friend points out one other thing — go back to 2009. Olympia Snowe was the deciding vote to get Obamacare out of the Senate Committee. Had she voted no, we’d not be here now.
With the HHS mandate, the Obama administration declared war on religious freedom. But the Catholic Church is fighting back. And it is beautiful.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has declared a Fortnight for Freedom during which the faithful are encouraged to pray, fast, sacrifice and take action in support of religious freedom.
The Fortnight began on June 22, the Feast of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, and will continue through July 4th, Independence Day.
Comment by Mafia Rose bumped up from the Grudge Report:
“I know this is somewhat unrelated, but I am soooo exhausted from arguing with liberals who tell you that if you don’t support Obamacare’s birth control coverage mandate, you are against individual rights for people to decide what is right for themselves.
So, I guess business owners (and Catholics, specifically) have no individual rights to decide whether or not they want to pay for birth control, which goes against their core beliefs. Last time I checked, anyone and everyone was free to purchase birth control any time they want it!
And I’ve also grown weary of the sexist argument, because insurance covers Viagra and not birth control. How are these even the same thing? One helps procreate, the other prevents it. Last time I checked, they weren’t covering birth control for men either!
You’ll have to pardon me…I’m just tired today!!”
No apology needed, Rose. I’ve been looking for an excuse to post this cartoon! :o)
The United States Catholic bishops are readying American Catholics for what may be the largest campaign of civil disobedience since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.
In addition to 12 lawsuits against the Obama Administration including 46 plaintiffs from dioceses, hospitals and universities, the US Catholic bishops will urge Catholics to openly defy the Obama HHS Mandate. In June, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will distribute bulletin inserts nationwide, which reference Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his call for civil disobedience in response to unjust laws.
The USCCB bulletin insert quotes “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in which Dr. King writes, “I would agree with Saint Augustine that ‘An unjust law is no law at all.’… A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.”
The Catholic bishops also note in the document, “Some unjust laws impose such injustices on individuals and organizations that disobeying the laws may be justified. Every effort must be made to repeal them. When fundamental human goods, such as the right of conscience, are at stake, we may need to witness to the truth by resisting the law and incurring its penalties.”
The USCCB has organized a two-week campaign called the Fortnight for Freedom, which will extend from June 21st through July 4th to raise awareness about the threats to rights of conscience posed by the HHS mandate. The very same authority used by the HHS Secretary under the Obama healthcare law to mandate insurance coverage of contraceptives and sterilizations could also be used to force coverage of surgical abortions. The mandate is scheduled to go into effect on August 1st.
We are Catholics. We are Americans. We are proud to be both, grateful for the gift of faith which is ours as Christian disciples, and grateful for the gift of liberty which is ours as American citizens. To be Catholic and American should mean not having to choose one over the other. Our allegiances are distinct, but they need not be contradictory, and should instead be complementary. That is the teaching of our Catholic faith, which obliges us to work together with fellow citizens for the common good of all who live in this land. That is the vision of our founding and our Constitution, which guarantees citizens of all religious faiths the right to contribute to our common life together.
Freedom is not only for Americans, but we think of it as something of our special inheritance, fought for at a great price, and a heritage to be guarded now. We are stewards of this gift, not only for ourselves but for all nations and peoples who yearn to be free. Catholics in America have discharged this duty of guarding freedom admirably for many generations.
In 1887, when the archbishop of Baltimore, James Gibbons, was made the second American cardinal, he defended the American heritage of religious liberty during his visit to Rome to receive the red hat. Speaking of the great progress the Catholic Church had made in the United States, he attributed it to the “civil liberty we enjoy in our enlightened republic.” Indeed, he made a bolder claim, namely that “in the genial atmosphere of liberty [the Church] blossoms like a rose.”
From well before Cardinal Gibbons, Catholics in America have been advocates for religious liberty, and the landmark teaching of the Second Vatican Council on religious liberty was influenced by the American experience. It is among the proudest boasts of the Church on these shores. We have been staunch defenders of religious liberty in the past. We have a solemn duty to discharge that duty today.
The Yays were bipartisan. The Nays were Democrat only. Given the Dem opposition, even if this passes the Senate, I’m doubtful BHO will sign it. It might survive a House vote to overturn a veto, but not a Senate vote.
Still, I thought it worth while to graphic and get it out there for those Indies who are wondering which side they’re going to support in November. It gives the lie to a bunch of Democrat claims – that they are all about bipartisanship and helping out the little people and that Republicans are obstructionists who only care about the rich.
Really? Then why are the only NAY votes from the Democrats? And why are so many Democrats opposed to reducing health care costs for the people in the middle income brackets who most need and want these ObamaCare things repealed? Do they really believe that a tax on band-aids and tampons is going to HELP the really poor? Or that relieving this burden is about pandering to the rich? Puh-leeze.
And get a load of their contraception and gay rights hypocrisy … this tax includes condoms and diaphragms!
polination.blog 