Florida Judge's Ruling is Symbolic Victory for the Irresponsible
Posted: Tuesday, February 01, 2011
by Dan Bimrose
Liberal Fix
Today Florida Federal Judge Roger Vinson confirmed what conservatives have long suspected and feared, judicial activism is alive and well in 2011. Of course, this particular activist judge they do not mind so much based upon his conservative ruling. After all, the only bad activist judge is a liberal activist judge.
No, as a Liberal, I am not fearful that this is the end of the road. Even though the bent of many of today’s political junkies, whose experience, knowledge and memory only goes back so far as the election of the United States first President of color, would lead them to assume that this is the death knell of the evil that is health care reform. Any historical legislation of any import routinely faces battles in the courts. Both sides lose some and win some. This particular piece of legislation has had two rulings that affirm the individual mandate and two that have ruled against the individual mandate.
What was particularly interesting about Judge Vinson’s ruling was not that he ruled the individual mandate unconstitutional, but rather that he threw out the entire health care reform bill because the individual mandate was so essential to the proper implementation of the entirety of health care reform. The individual mandate was therefore determined to not be severable from the entire bill. By his own admission this determination by the judge was unusual, not unprecedented, but not unusual. It also suggests not only a supposed expertise in constitutional law, but also a thorough and complete understanding of our nation’s health care system.
Conservatives have been salivating while waiting for this conservative Reagan appointee’s decision to be handed down. His conclusion was foregone and the results were as expected.
Essentially he had concluded that the federal government has no ability to “punish” someone for not doing something. To quote Judge Vinson, “"If Congress can penalize a passive individual for failing to engage in commerce, the enumeration of powers in the Constitution would have been in vain." Although my wife disagrees also with the judge’s ruling she is relieved to find out that passive aggressive behavior is not illegal.
Essentially the judge has decided that those who are responsible have no recourse over those who decide not to pay for health insurance and then get free medical treatment through the hospital emergency room at no cost to them. The responsible amongst us must bear the burden for the irresponsible. This lack of health insurance by some does have a direct and profoundly costly effect on the rest of us. After decades of rising health care costs due to this fact I am done with it. The passive behavior of the irresponsible hurts my checkbook and therefore my ability to provide properly for my family.
The federal government does have the constitutional ability to regulate interstate commerce and the judge’s ruling negates that power.
Not only does this affect health care costs, but it also affects the entire economy. Every additional dollar we spend on health care is one less dollar we have to spend on electronics, automobiles, household items and clothing, among other things. Not only does increasing costs affect our families budget it adversely affects our nation’s budget. Our budget deficit is something that I keep hearing “we the people” really care about.
This is who we have become as a nation. I love and cherish our liberties and freedoms just as much as anyone I assure you. Yet many of us fail to realize that those freedoms necessitate personal responsibility to do the right thing. It is not honorable in my opinion to ask your neighbor to foot your medical bills simply because you do not want to. This cheerleading for a person’s right to do nothing or to be irresponsible seems, well, it seems downright silly.
Yet we have Sarah Palin lampooning our First Lady Michelle Obama on her personal reality show while she devours her s’mores. She does this solely because Michelle Obama has advocated for healthier diets for our children. She has advocated for parents to provide healthier diets not mandated them. At a time when our nation’s obesity rate is fast approaching 75%, this actually seems like a sensible thing to advocate for. Our obesity rate has a great deal to do with our life expectancy ranking standing at number 36 of all industrialized countries. This has implications for our health care costs yet a person cannot even suggest we eat healthier without being delegitimized by political conservatives. No, we cannot make you eat healthy and Sarah Palin has bravely taken the reins on the charge to protect our rights to be unhealthy and overweight. Way to go Sarah! Chocolate, baby, chocolate.
We used to stand up more for the right to be able to do something, than the right to do nothing especially when doing nothing hurts your fellow citizens. Irresponsible people all over America are cheering and celebrating this symbolic and hopefully temporary victory. They can continue to receive their medical treatment at absolutely no cost to them.
Many have been predicting that if the individual mandate is thrown out, then it creates an environment where a Medicare for all system would become possible where citizens can choose to buy into the Medicare program at a fair and reasonable rate without having to pay for the profits of private insurance companies.
Should I not have that right? Should I not be able to resist funneling my premium payments into the pockets of multi-millionaire private health insurance company executives? Should I not be able to not have to deal with the very efficient private health insurance company “death panels” in which there is no real accountability or alternative when they decide I really do not need the treatment that the doctor says that I do?
I want to have that choice and it would be my choice. Perhaps if Democratic Congressman decide to fight for that right then Republican Congressman will choose their right to keep their mouths shut and do nothing. Fat chance.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Ha! Dan, I think it's hilarious to see a liberal complaining about judicial activism. Now I think I've heard it all. What's next, a fox complaining about the lack of security at hen houses? :-)
I thought liberals loved judicial activism, especially when the courts were legalizing abortion and gutting the Arizona immigration law. This is poetic justice at its best. I'd like to call to your attention to three popular cliches that fit this occasion:
1) What goes around comes around
2) He who lives by the sword dies by the sword
3) The chickens have come home to roost
Please log in to respond to this comment.Terry,
I am glad I made your day. I will consider that my good deed. You should have been in my house when the Supreme Court handed down the "Citizen's United" ruling. You would have thought that was a laugh riot as well. Methinks it is a bit of human nature that the ruling of a judge is significantly more palatable when you agree with it.
One friendly word of advice though. When the Democrats won big in '08 I somehow managed to temper my enthusiasm because the chickens don't stick around all that long. It is a great centuries old American tradition to throw out the "bums" in office regardless of who they are.Please log in to respond to this comment.Dan, I agree with all of your points here. Almost everyone (liberal or conservative) will decide whether or not they like judicial activism on a case-by-case basis. However, more times than not (in recent history anyway), it has favored the liberal point of view. Therefore, I think it's a bit hypocritical for liberals to denounce it and equally hypocritical for conservatives to praise it.Please log in to respond to this comment.
I would say you have the right, Dan. And I certainly agree with your analogy (re the parent and the child) in your response to Greg's comment.Please log in to respond to this comment.Thanks Jennifer and I think this comment should leave you unscathed in what turns out to be a lively conversation.Please log in to respond to this comment.Lively's the word! Well done for writing an article that got so many people emotionally involved!Please log in to respond to this comment.
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