Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Glad to have Anthony Kennedy on the bench

I've never been this excited awaiting a Supreme Court decision. I am opposed to President Obama's mandate that all adults are required to purchase health insurance or face punishment. This is to prevent adverse selection and is the linchpin of his health care reform program.

I want health care reform, but I feel this version would make things worse. The Supreme Court is not going to decide if the president's plan is a good idea, merely if it is legal for the government to require Americans to purchase a product or face a fine.

I don't know how it's going to turn out. I both oppose the mandate and find it unconstitutional, but because there's a split in the court I don't know if it will agree with my interpretation.

At this moment in history, we have a Supreme Court with four liberally-biased justices, four conservative-biased justices and Anthony Kennedy, the swing voter who often breaks ties.

The court does not always vote 5 to 4 on issues, but it's probably going to this time. With Kennedy on the bench, the verdict is not foretold and we're forced to use logic and reason to argue a specific interpretation. It's not always going to be that way, and I will mourn when one political viewpoint gains an absolute majority on the court.

No matter how Kennedy sides on this issue, I'm glad to know he's out there thinking things over instead of responding automatically.

2 comments:

  1. I'm predicting 6-3. I think the conservative bloc will hold together and snag Kennedy and one of the more liberal justices will concur but write a separate opinion.

    Any takers? We might be looking at the salvation or the destruction of this country, since we can't do anything to influence it, we might as well bet on it.

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  2. Double or nothing on Alito writing the majority opinion.

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