Did you know? The Patriot Post is funded 100% by its readers. Help us stay front and center in the fight for Liberty and support the 2024 Year-End Campaign.

February 5, 2015

Phoning in ObamaCare

The Supreme Court will soon decide the fate of federal subsidies.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments next month in King v. Burwell, a case that will determine whether federal subsidies for health insurance are legal given that the law establishes subsidies only for state insurance exchanges. Subsidies are a cornerstone for the Orwellian-titled “Affordable” Care Act, as they are the only way to make insurance appear affordable. Because of the plain language of that statute, the Court should reject the federal subsidies.

Never ones to let silly things like laws get in their way, the clown car of fools in the White House have decided to phone it in as far as a rebuttal goes, choosing to work in the court of public opinion rather than debating the issue on its own merits.

Specifically, none of the floppy-footed blue-hairs posing as executive branch leaders have even hinted at a “Plan B” should SCOTUS strike down this illegal funding mechanism. Why? For the same reason they weren’t concerned about ObamaCare falling under a constitutional ax when the law was first challenged before the Supreme Court: They’re not worried. They know the public pressure they can bring to bear from the recipients of their public-coffer largess. As then-Speaker Nancy “We Have to Pass the Bill to Find Out What’s in It” Pelosi knew all too well, once the ObamaCare monster was unleashed, there would be no reining it back in. The lure of the public trough is too great for many to resist.

Indeed, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll of a broad cross-section of Americans indicated that even if the challenge to federal subsidies succeeds, over 60% favor a legislative “fix” to allow these subsidies to continue. As disheartening as that number may sound to those of us who dream of limited government exercising only enumerated powers, remember that those polled weren’t presented with viable alternatives to such a fix, but rather were simply asked whether Congress should step in and mend ObamaCare if the Court “breaks” it.

However, this seemingly no-win situation for Republicans presents the perfect opportunity for the House and Senate to propose a better alternative to the ruinous statute Democrats passed under the cloak of darkness. Recall that continuing anger over ObamaCare was itself in no small measure responsible for Republicans stretching their lead in the House and regaining control of the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections. This is a good time to demonstrate that the public’s faith tied to producing these gains was not misplaced. Even so, don’t look for Barack Obama to stand in the wings while Congress revs up.

Given the Anointed One’s penchant for acting in blatant disregard of constitutional executive branch limits, some liberal pundits anticipate – even advocate for – responses similar to those he took when confronted with federal statutes requiring him to secure U.S. borders and enforce U.S. immigration laws: He simply refused to do so. The only reason this case is currently before the Supreme Court is that this American Pharaoh deployed a wrecking ball against the Constitution, waving his hands in the air and saying, “Federal subsidies are legal – I hereby declare it so: So let it be written, so let it be done!” But we hope this Congress will not roll over and say, “Scratch my belly,” like the last one did.

The Separation of Powers doctrine exists to protect individual freedoms by preventing the accrual of executive, legislative and judicial powers in any one branch. The current administration has run roughshod over this doctrine to the point those freedoms are now an endangered species. It’s time for Congress to assert its rightful power and reign in this rogue regime. A good start would be giving the American people a solid alternative to the Leviathan that is ObamaCare, and make killing this awful beast an easy decision for the Supremes.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.