Democrats and leading liberal think tanks trying to defend the individual mandate

[droski]

Ah, so the state of the economy affects the constitutionality of an individual mandate?

That makes no sense at all.

The claim now, and the one the GOP ran on last year, and the basis of the lawsuits, is that forcing people to buy something is unconstitutional.

Yet, many Republican Senators promoted that very concept and even voted for it. It is only AFTER Obama embraced it in the bill that it became the great unconstitutional boogeyman.

no the support for trillion dollar spending is effected by the state of the economy. it's absurd to argue democrats wouldn't be looking for any out for any legistlation they weren't in favor of.

 

[lawgator1]

you want to name a republican in favor of universal healthcare not from a majority democratic state? romney would be a democrat in 80% of this country.

And he's semi-anointed as the GOP nominee? TP ain't a Romney fan, near as I can tell.

no the support for trillion dollar spending is effected by the state of the economy. it's absurd to argue democrats wouldn't be looking for any out for any legistlation they weren't in favor of.

That's a fair argument.

Small problem: Its not the argument that the lawsuits or the resolutions are making. Two to three years ago they made the argument that an individual mandate was a good idea and should be adopted nationwide. The argument they make now is that an individual mandate is unconstitutional.

The only thing that changed is that Obama embraced it.

 

[droski]

And he's semi-anointed as the GOP nominee? TP ain't a Romney fan, near as I can tell.





That's a fair argument.

Small problem: Its not the argument that the lawsuits or the resolutions are making. Two to three years ago they made the argument that an individual mandate was a good idea and should be adopted nationwide. The argument they make now is that an individual mandate is unconstitutional.

The only thing that changed is that Obama embraced it.

i don't think romney can win the republican nomination.

who made the argument? certainly not the majority of the gop.

 

[Cartervol]

if you don't force people to buy it then they will surely wait until they are sick to purchase it. hell i might do it. I would save thousands a year.

You might as well, the people that are working the system now surely will.

 

[volinbham]

Or did it pass on strictly partisan lines because no GOPer had the political nerve to stand up and be counted as in alignment with Obama on the VERY THING they had themselves sponsored or voted for or touted just a year or so before?

The mandate is just one part - even if you were pro-mandate you could be against ObamaCare.

Put another way, ObamaCare is NOT THE VERY THING they had sponsored or voted on just a year or so before.

For one thing, those previous bills were highly focused on Consumer Driven HC. They expanded (greatly) tools such as HSAs, cleared the way for much more competition in insurance including competition across state lines and included meaningful tort reform.

Obamacare did none of these - in fact, it greatly reduces HSAs, tightens insurance options by raising minimum actuarials and has zero tort reform.

There are tons of other differences as well.