Sebelius: Obamacare Constitutional Authority Carefully Weighed

By Douglas V. Gibbs

When asked about the constitutionality of Obamacare's individual mandate, Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius said, “Congress carefully weighed its authority in writing the law.”

Really?  Because there is no place in the Constitution that gives the federal government the authority to stick its nose into the health care industry.

Surely, Congress has an answer to that, right?

When lawmakers were asked, "Where specifically in the Constitution does Congress get its authority to mandate that individuals purchase health insurance?” they could not come up with an answer.

The General Welfare Clause of the Commerce Clause will no doubt be the argument, but when one studies the original intent, neither clause applies.  General Welfare is a condition of the republic when the Constitution is followed, not a clause to use as an excuse to do anything.  The Commerce Clause was written, if you read Madison's Notes on the Constitutional Convention, for the purpose of making more regular the flow of commerce by tasking the federal government with the duty of acting as a mediator between State disputes regarding commerce.

I am sure that was all Greek to the democrats.

Then again, since when do they ever take the Constitution seriously?  When Nancy Pelosi was asked about the Constitutionality of Obamacare, while she was still Speaker, she responded with, “Are you serious?”

Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee John Conyers (D-Mich.) cited the non-existent “good-and-welfare clause” of the Constitution when asked where the mandate came from.

“Under several clauses, the good and welfare clause and a couple others,” Conyers said on Mar. 22, 2010.

Several lawmakers could not come up with any part of the Constitution that justified the mandate.

Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said that because he was not a constitutional scholar, he did not know where the mandate was authorized.

“Well, you know, I don’t know that I’m a constitutional scholar. So, I, I’m not going to be able to answer that question,” Nelson said in November 2009.

It's not like they should know the Constitution, right? After all, their oath only demands that they protect and defend the Constitution, not know it. . . that was sarcasm for those of you that are common-sense-impaired.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Sebelius: Congress Carefully Weighed Its Authority on Obama Care - CNS News