The Supreme Court Obmacare ruling may have been a victory after all.

According to the views of some smart experts on TV today, now that the Supreme Court has ruled that the individual mandate penalty is really a "tax,"  instead of it taking 60 Senate votes to repeal Obamacare, Congress can defund Obamacare by a simple 51 vote Senate majority through the process of reconciliation.  That is a much lower threshold. If Republicans hold the house, gain a simple majority in the Senate (or maybe peal off a Democrat vote or two?) and take the Presidency, then Obamacare can be effectively repealed simply by repealing the funding.

The Supreme Court's  ruling limiting the elasticity of the Commerce clause and the ruling restricting Congress's ability to withhold a whole class of funds because a state will not comply with an optional federal policy are both victories for conservatives.  If the interpretation of the experts regarding the ability to defund the program by a simple 51 vote Senate majority is correct, then this throws the issue back into the political arena.   

The Supreme Court Obmacare ruling may have been a victory after all.

Chief Justice John Roberts is still one of us.

by Gene Wisdom

Gene Wisdom

The recent Supreme Court decision upholding Obamacare is obviously distressing to us conservatives.  The linchpin of the “progressive” agenda of President Barack Obama, this legislation met and fed a firestorm since it was first introduced.  It has provided arguably most of the fuel to the Tea Party and the conservative electoral gains (because for most of us Republican gains are meaningless except insofar as they serve conservative positions) in 2010.   

Obamacare threatens our Republic in a myriad of ways, least of all the disaster that it represents financially to our country, in terms of dollars lost in that toilet spiral that is the federal budget.  It is, as we all know by now, a government power grab of one-sixth of the economy, and much of the slump we see in the economy is due to the uncertainty and fear employers have over the impact of that law.  And it is but the first step toward the goal State Senator Barack Obama envisioned years ago of a single payer health system—national health insurance.  When we hear or speak the word “socialism” in regard to this President our first thought is Obamacare. 

Because of the threats and deleterious effects of Obamacare we conservatives had placed great hopes on the case as it wound its way to the Supreme Court.  Serious Constitutional issues were at stake: misuse of the Commerce Clause, the extent of the taxing power, not to mention that health care is nowhere listed in the Art. II, Sec. 8 enumerated powers of Congress.  

If there is a benefit to this outcome, a silver lining, it is that it has animated the conservative base.  To be overturned now will almost certainly require a 60-vote filibuster-proof conservative Republican majority in the Senate and of course hanging on to the current lead in the House.  It will mean consecutive Republican—rather, conservative, Revolutions in Congress, not to mention re-taking the White House.  Conservatives know that and will renew their fights now in all of these battles.  Where I had made several small contributions to conservative candidates to the House and Senate around the country in the last election I have not done so yet in 2012.  Now I will. 

One product of this decision, however, I believe, is misdirected.  It is an animus aborn toward Chief Justice John Roberts.  To be certain, he has lent his vote and voice to a terrible and possibly disastrous decision.  Spitfuls of venom have been directed at him from our side, labeling him a turncoat to conservative hopes, and saying that we were misled that he would be a conservative Justice. 

Conservatives would do well to ponder his record to date.  Before his appointment to the Supreme Court, while a member of the D.C. Circuit, Roberts was part of a unanimous panel in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld which upheld the constitutionality of the military tribunals passed by Congress to try terrorism suspects.  In Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) Roberts voted with the majority to uphold the constitutionality of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act.  He is most often on the same side of important issues as Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito.  
  

It is time for conservatives to step back into character and reflect.  While I am very disappointed in Chief Justice Roberts I am not angry with him.  I believed him to be a man of integrity and I don't think he suddenly sold himself out in the side he chose in this.  I believe he is simply in error.  A grievous error to be sure, but not a wound to his character.   

One of the undergraduate courses I am most glad I took at Jacksonville State University was in Constitutional Law (actually one in Criminal Justice; and two in Political Science, the instructor a conservative and avid reader of National Review).  Those courses taught me that there are often two defensible positions on Constitutional questions.  That doesn't mean that both are right but only that one can reasonably find support in the Constitution for oftentimes opposing positions.  It is up to sincere and thoughtful Justices to search the Constitution and the Founders for the correct position.  It is not always an easy search.  

Two examples that I quickly think of are (1) Term Limits v. Thornton (1995), in which liberal Justice Stevens made a strong originalist argument against the federal term limits law, and Clarence Thomas, whom I deeply admire, wrote the dissent.  I found myself agreeing strongly with Stevens; and (2) another case (I think it was Kentucky v. King, 2011) in which liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote a lone dissenting opinion (Alito wrote the opinion for the majority) against no-knock entry.  I believe the other eight were wrong. 

All that to say that reasonable minds can differ and reasonable minds may also err.  Although a very major and consequential case to do so on, that is all I believe that Roberts has done.  Have no fear, conservatives, and be of good cheer.  Roberts is still one of us.  

Gene Wisdom is an Alabama native but has lived in the Nashville area since 2007. He, his wife Vicki, and their dog Savannah live near Nolensville.  Gene is a conservative activist and leads the Conservative Fusion Book Club.

Bilderberg conspiracies have become a handicap for the Liberty Movement

by Jack Hunter

Most in the constitutional conservative or libertarian movements do not subscribe to conspiracy theories, just like most conventional right-wingers don't subscribe to Birtherism, but the small minority who do continue to embarrass and hinder everyone's efforts. Playing into our enemies' worst stereotypes is not an asset. (read more)

It is heartening and refreshing to see conservative activist speak out against the bithers and Birchers. The last thing the conservative movement needs is to have the movement defined by the nut fringe.  In the late 60's,Barry Goldwater and William F. Buckley, Jr. had to step forward and denounce the John Birch Society. It is time for Republican statesmen to again denounce the JBS and other nut fringe groups who bring discredit to the cause of limited government and liberty. 

Nashville School Board Candidate Forum District 7

School Board District 7
The next school board will oversee a $700 million budget. Let's make sure we elect the best candidate to represent our schools and the taxpayers.

What happed at the June 26th School Board Meeting? They still oppose school choice and excellence.

06/26/12 School Board Meeting 

The School Board continues to oppose excellence in education. Great Heart Academy and most other resubmitted applications for charter schools are again denied a charter. 

Ed Kendall and Mark North speak against Great Hearts. Kay Simmons argues in favor of it. Michael Hayes ask to hear from Great Hearts. Chairman Gracie Porter refuses to let Great Hearts answer any questions. Only two members of nine vote in favor of Great Hearts. 


Parent who want a better education for their child need to give up on Davidson County and move to Williamson and voters need to replace the school board.

Debra Maggart Reacts to Supreme Court Decision

Supreme Court Affirms Individual Mandate of ObamaCare

 

Debra Maggart

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Following this morning’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act, Representative Debra Maggart (R—Hendersonville), who serves as the Chairwoman of the House Republican Caucus, released the following statement:

 

“This is disappointing on a number of fronts. All of us know that limited government is a uniquely-American principle. Today’s decision goes against that principle.

 

“However, now is not the time to sulk. This signals the beginning of a new battle against Washington. States other than Tennessee are facing huge deficits and ObamaCare will only drown them in red ink. We must find a better solution to our rising health care costs and that begins with improving our economy.

 

“Make no mistake about it, we are going to continue pushing back. I am going to fight for the health care rights of Tennesseans and I won’t be satisfied until there is some measure of personal liberty back in health care decisions.”

Agenda 21: When Common Sense Becomes Conspiracy

By Cory Allen Heidelberger, South Dakota Magazine, Jun 27, 2012

Do you recycle your milk jugs and compost your kitchen scraps? Do you support using conservation easements to protect wetlands, shelterbelts, and the ongoing productivity of South Dakota farmland?

If so, you're a Marxist dupe.

At least, that's what one might read in a resolution passed by the South Dakota Republican Party last weekend.(read more)

by Rod Williams, Jan. 28, 2012 - I have mixed feeling about this. On the one hand I am pleased to see other Republicans come out against Agenda 21; I was really embarrassed when it was only Tennessee Republicans that were bat shit crazy. On the other hand however, I hate to see this craziness sweep  the county. I am saddened to see the Party I love dance to the tune of the John Birch Society puppet masters. I always knew there was a nutty fringe in the Party, but now the nutty fringe is becoming the mainstream.

I don't remember the Red Scare but I know about it. There really were communist spies in important positions of influence. The Ronsenbergs really did betray their county and so did Alger Hiss and there were many many more. However the legitimate hunt for Communist also lead to a hysteria and many innocent people had their lives destroyed by being falsely accused of being Communist, or "security risk," or "fellow travelers" or "Communist sympathizers." To not be accused themselves of being a Communist sympathizer, people joined in denouncing others. 

This Agenda 21 hysteria is also reminiscent of the flying saucer scare of the late 40's and early 50's when thousands of people were seeing unidentified flying objects and sightings made front page headlines. Many otherwise intelligent people thought an alien invasion was imminent.

Now, otherwise reasonable people are denouncing shady wide sidewalks and traffic roundabouts as a step along the slippery slope to the gulag. There seems to be a competition to see who can spot and denounce elements of Agenda 21. Lord help us.

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey's statement on the Supreme Court Obamacare ruling.

Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey made the following statement after the Supreme Court upheld The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in a 5-4 decision:

 

"It is intensely disappointing that this court failed to recognize what constitutionalists and conservatives know deep in their hearts: A federal government which can coerce its people to buy a product is a government unrestrained and out of control. Democrat Governor Phil Bredesen called Obamacare the 'mother of all unfunded mandates' and stated it will cost Tennesseans 1.1 billion dollars in the next few years. However, the fight does not end here. The court may have made its decision today but the people have yet to speak. When they do, Mitt Romney will be elected president and I will do all I can to aid him as he fulfills his solemn promise to repeal this insidious law."

       

TNGOP Chairman’s Statement On Supreme Court’s ObamaCare Ruling

NASHVILLE, TN – Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney released the following statement in response to today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on ObamaCare:

“Getting rid of ObamaCare is now in the hands of the American people, and we can accomplish that by electing Mitt Romney President in November.  Today’s Supreme Court decision will increase the determination of Tennessee Republicans to defeat President Obama and put an end to his reckless policies that have failed to address the economy and are only making things worse.”

What the Supreme Court did today

By Nathan Mehrens — Today the U.S. Supreme Court in an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts held that the individual mandate provision in Obamacare, i.e., the requirement for most Americans to purchase health insurance or pay money to the IRS, is a tax that was properly applied by Congress.

The Court held that this payment for not having health insurance was not a "penalty" because it does not punish the individual for an unlawful act, but is instead a use of the tax code to encourage behavior, much like other aspects of the tax code such as tax deductions and credits for certain behaviors and circumstances.

The Court did hold that the imposition of the individual mandate could not be sustained as part of Congress' Commerce Clause powers, but at the end of the day the result is the same:  those who choose to not purchase health insurance must pay a "tax" to the federal government for exercising that right.

In a surprising move, the Court ruled 7-2 against Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid to 133% of the Federal poverty line.  The court took issue with the way Obamacare coerces states to accept the new funding levels by threatening to cut all current Medicaid funding for states that do not comply.

Prior to this ruling, the constitutional limit on Congressional spending was only theoretical.  In South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S 203 (1987), the Court said that Congressional spending would be unconstitutional if it effectively coerced states into agreeing to a federal program.  In that case they ruled that Congress had not gone that far.

But this is the first case where the Supreme Court has drawn a line in the sand and told Congress that their actions constitute unconstitutional coercion of the states.  Says Chief Justice Roberts,

In this case, the financial "inducement" Congress has chosen is much more than "relatively mild encouragement"—it is a gun to the head.

The conservative justices on the bench (Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito) would have thrown out Obamacare in its entirety solely on this issue.  But the Chief Justice, along with Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan, merely severed the part of Obamacare that threatens withholding current funds to states that do not agree to expansion.

Nathan Paul Mehrens is counsel for Americans for Limited Government and previously served in the U.S. Department of Labor under President George W. Bush.

The text of the Spreme Court's Obamacare ruling.

Here's the full text (pdf) of the 193-page Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act.
Below are some excerpts: 

The Court rejects the Commerce Clause argument:

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS concluded in Part III–A that the individual mandate is not a valid exercise of Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause. Pp. 16–30.

Construing the Commerce Clause to permit Congress to regulate individuals precisely because they are doing nothing would open a new and potentially vast domain to congressional authority. Congress already possesses expansive power to regulate what people do. Upholding the Affordable Care Act under the Commerce Clause would give Congress the same license to regulate what people do not do. The Framers knew the difference between doing something and doing nothing. They gave Congress the power to regulate commerce, not to compel it. Ignoring that distinction would undermine the principle that the Federal Government is a government of limited andenumerated powers. The individual mandate thus cannot be sustained under Congress’s power to “regulate Commerce.” Pp. 16–27.

The Court upholds Obamacare on the Tax argument:

 The most straightforward reading of the individual mandate is that it commands individuals to purchase insurance. But, for the reasons explained, the Commerce Clause does not give Congress that power. It is therefore necessary to turn to the Government’s alternative argument: that the mandate may be upheld as within Congress’s power to “lay and collect Taxes.”

 The Court rules the Feds cannot not punish states by withholding existing Medicaid funding:

Section 1396c gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to penalize States that choose not to participate inthe Medicaid expansion by taking away their existing Medicaid funding. 42 U. S. C. §1396c. The threatened loss of over 10 percent of a State’s overall budget is economic dragooning that leaves the States with no real option but to acquiesce in the Medicaid expansion. The Government claims that the expansion is properly viewed as only a modification of the existing program, and that this modification impermissible because Congress reserved the “right to alter, amend, or repeal any provision” of Medicaid. §1304. But the expansion accomplishes a shift in kind, not merely degree. The original program was designed to cover medical services for particular categories of vulnerable individuals. Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid is transformed into a program to meet the health care needs of the entire nonelderly population with income below 133 percent of the poverty level. A State could hardly anticipate that Congress’s reservation of the right to “alter” or “amend” the Medicaid program included the power to transform it so dramatically. The Medicaid expansion thus violates the Constitution by threatening States with the loss of their existing Medicaid funding if they decline to comply with the expansion. Pp. 51–55.

The Tax argument, SCALIA, KENNEDY, THOMAS, and ALITO, JJ., dissenting: The mandate is not a "tax."

 That §5000A imposes not a simple tax but a mandate to which a penalty is attached is demonstrated by the fact that some are exempt from the tax who are not exempt from the mandate—a distinction that would make no sense if the mandate were not a mandate. Section 5000A(d) exempts three classes of people from the definition of “applicable individual” subject to the minimum coverage requirement: Those with religious objections or who participate in a “health care sharing ministry,”§5000A(d)(2); those who are “not lawfully present” in the United States, §5000A(d)(3); and those who are incarcerated, §5000A(d)(4). Section 5000A(e) then creates a separate set of exemptions, excusing from liability for the penalty certain individuals who are subject to the minimum coverage requirement: Those who cannot afford coverage, §5000A(e)(1); who earn too little income to require filing a tax return, §5000A(e)(2); who are members of an Indian tribe, §5000A(e)(3); who experience only short gaps in coverage, §5000A(e)(4); and who, in the judgment of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, “have suffered a hardship with respect to the capability to obtain coverage,” §5000A(e)(5). If §5000A were a tax, these two classes of exemption would make no sense; there being no requirement, all the exemptions would attach to the penalty (renamed tax) alone.

State Senate Candidate Dickerson Denounces ObamaCare

Dr. Dickerson has the right prescription for Tennessee

Steve Dickerson

NASHVILLE, TN.- Dr. Steve Dickerson, the Republican candidate for the State Senate in District 20,  is stressing the importance of having a doctor in the Tennessee State Senate after the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare.

“I think it is more important than ever to have someone who is familiar with how the healthcare industry works in the State Senate after the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Obamacare,” said Dickerson. “Ultimately, I disagree with ruling, but now we have to step up and deal with the consequences that will affect our state.”

The outcome of the Affordable Health Care Act will affect the state in multiple ways. This unfunded mandate will also cost the state valuable tax payer dollars that could be better used to reform education, bring new job growth to Tennessee, improve transportation and other important projects that are valuable to Tennesseans. It will also prevent lawmakers from being able to continue to lower taxes in the General Assembly.

“Republicans in Congress should continue to try to repeal Obamacare in its entirety and replace it with market-based health care policies that will improve quality and bring down costs.” Dickerson continued, “It is time to pass responsible healthcare reform that will truly help all Tennesseans.”

Steve Dickerson is a practicing physician and founding partner of Anesthesia Services Associates. Dickerson attended the University of the South in Sewanee graduating with a B.A. in History. He then received his medical degree at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University. Steve Dickerson has been married to his wife Katrina for 19 years and they have three sons, Reid, Evan, and Bennett.

For more information about the Steve Dickerson campaign or to schedule an interview with Dr. Dickerson contact: 615-519-1896 or visit www.votestevedickerson.com

Obamacare stands! It is constitutional.

Like most observers, I was expected Obamacare to be overturned. It was upheld. The individual mandate was ruled constitutional, not based on the Commerce clause however but on the taxing authority of the federal government.  Now what?

Do you like him any better

Words of Wisdom from B. J. Zeagler

 

No?
Me  neither.
   
See, you  are NOT a racist.

Send a message

Words of wisdom from B.J. Zeagler

There are less than 7 months until election day when the people will decide who will be the next President of the United States . The person elected will be the president of all Americans, not just the Democrats or the Republicans. It's time that we all need to come together, Democrats and Republicans alike in a bi-partisan effort for America :

If you will support Mitt Romney, please drive with your headlights ON during the day.

If you support Barack Obama, please drive with your headlights OFF at night.

Together, we can make it happen. Thank you!

Asheville's John Boyle: Agenda 21 is the stuff of paranoid

by Rod Williams, July 27, 2012 - An editorial appearing today's Asheville Citizens Times, Agenda 21 is the Stuff of Paranoid Delusions, exposes some of the paranoia and silliness associatied with the John Birch Society led anti-Agenda 21 campaign. I am glad to see someone exposing the radial fringe and having a little fun in the process.

It is unfortunate that the Republican Party has allowed the JBS to become the puppet master and they dance to their tune. This Agenda 21 stuff makes me embarrassed to say I am a Republican at times. It certainly makes me embarrassed to say I am part of the Tea Party movement. How did the Republican Party become the party of the nut-case fringe instead of the party of responsible adults?

To read the full article, click here. Below are some excepts.

I’m battening down the hatches on my third of an acre as we speak.

Hey, the threat is real. Just recently, according to news release from the City of Asheville’s Office of Sustainability, “sustainability directors from 22 cities across four southeastern states met in Asheville on June 14 and 15 to share notes and strategies for creating greener and environmentally sound organizations. The Southeast Sustainability Directors Network kicked off its first conference with a series of workshops and sessions designed to spotlight energy and waste reduction techniques that work across southern cities.”

Aha! Allow me to translate that fancy leftist prose: “They’re spotlighting ways to steal your land!”

I bet all these sustainability warriors flew here in black helicopters and are secret members of the Tri-Lateral Commission.

And then:

The Agenda 21 paranoia has even touched quasi-governmental agencies not even in the sustainability business, groups such as the nefarious Southwestern Commission, a regional agency that offers planning support for the mountains’ seven westernmost counties and is funded by those counties. Tea Party folks and members of the 9/12 Project, another conservative group, have asked Cherokee County commissioners to stop funding the commission because of fears it’s promoting Agenda 21 mandates.

 Another excerpt:

 In all seriousness, Gibson said his organization gets no funding or directives from the UN.

“It’s just patently untrue,” Gibson said. “I won’t use the word ‘preposterous,’ but it’s just not true. It’s false. We were created by local governments to be servants of local governments.”
Gibson said he’s fairly conservative, but he’s skeptical of Agenda 21 theorists because he hasn’t seen any empirical evidence — numbers-based facts — that the UN or any other international organization is trying to take land or make sweeping mandates.

and this:

When it comes to Agenda 21, the paranoia and conspiracy theorists just muddy the waters on sustainability, which basically is an effort to develop responsibly while maintaining the world’s beauty, which we’ve got plenty of here in the mountains.

“As a friend said to me, ‘if not sustainability, do you want unsustainability?’ If not ‘smart growth,’ do you want the opposite?” Gibson said.

Clearly, he’s a commie. (read more)

This anti Agenda 21 campaign has turned into something of a witch hunt. There is almost a competition to see who can spot Agenda 21 in action.  Anything, someone does not like is being labeled part of Agenda 21 including traffic roundabouts, wide shady sidewalks, traffic calming, bike lanes, annexation, green ways, high rise residential developments, and mass transit. It is ridiculous. I am embarrassed that our Republican dominated state legislature joined the silliness by passing a meaningless Anti-Agenda 21 Joint House Resolution. I am proud of Governor Bill Haslam for not signing it.

To read more about Agenda 21, follow this link: Agenda 21.

Lou Ann Zelenik Campaign HQ grand opening

Message from Lou Ann Zelenilk

Everyone is invited to my campaign HQ today (6/27/2012) at 5:30 for our grand opening. We will have a special celebrity guest who is national known. Our HQ is located in Mt. Juliet at 1253 North Mt. Juliet road! Love to see you all there!!!

 Disclaimer: From time to time A Disgruntled Republican may post announcements of interest to the conservative, libertarian, or greater community. Such announcements are posted as a public service to spread awareness and do not necessarily constitute an endorsement.