Get the misnamed Affordable Care Act declared unconstitutional Retweet
The pundits predicted Obamacare would be ruled unconstitutional thanks to a 5-4 conservative majority on the Supreme Court. That 2012 ruling may have been the most stunning decision since “the switch in time that saved nine.” Once again, a justice suddenly and stunningly switched sides. 
The surprise shift came from the Chief Justice, John Roberts. He wrote the majority decision.
Now, the justification that was the narrow basis of his decision has vanished. What might John Roberts do now?
Would you be interested if…
- Downsize DC could overturn Obamacare?
- YOU could get Obamacare — the Affordable Care Act — declared unconstitutional?
A new case offers the opportunity: Texas v. United States
And we need your tax-deductible help to file an amicus brief.
20 states, led by Texas, are arguing that Obamacare should be overturned because Roberts’s justification has disappeared!
The Roberts’ Rationale
The health insurance industry is untenable if people can wait until they’re sick to buy coverage. If you could buy car insurance after the accident, why buy it before? The ACA (Affordable Care Act) partially addressed this problem with the “individual mandate”: Everyone has to buy an ACA-compliant health insurance policy or pay a penalty to the IRS.
Those of us who opposed Obamacare recognized something unconstitutional was happening.
How can you compel someone to purchase a product on the market?
The Supreme Court agreed. Congress doesn’t have that power. Here’s where it gets bizarre…
The Roberts-led Court focused, instead, on the power Congress has to levy taxes. This was ironic because the ACA was a strictly partisan Democrat bill, and…
The Democrats had sold their bill to the American people by claiming the ACA was not a tax.
Here’s the “logic” Roberts and Co. used…
- You’re not required to buy health insurance.
- But you can be compelled to pay a tax if you don’t buy health insurance.
Notice the trick. The Democrats claimed the penalty wasn’t a tax in order to pass the bill, and the Supreme Court majority proclaimed that it was a tax in order to make the program “constitutional.” But now these tricksters have a problem…
Can $0 be a tax?
Congress recently adjusted the penalty/tax for not buying insurance to zero. That removes Justice Roberts’ “constitutional” justification for ACA.
- If the penalty is zero dollars, is there actually a mandate?
- And if you don’t have to pay, are you actually being taxed?
Twenty states have filed suit in Texas v. United States contending that the removal of the individual mandate penalty is the very undoing of Obamacare.
Indeed, the slender reed of the 2012 decision would be gone. It’s fairly obvious there is no tax. Absent this “clever” rationale, Roberts should be compelled to flip and rule Obamacare unconstitutional.
This case is just starting. There will be a great deal more to say about it. For now…
We are seeking an injunction. That means Obamacare would not be enforceable or in effect during the length of the case!
The jurisdiction chosen is the Northern District of Texas. That gives us decent odds of obtaining an injunction. An injunction would mean that some or all of Obamacare would be put on ice for the duration of the case. But more likely, if the injunction is granted, it will have a “stay” placed on it pending the outcome at the Appeals Court level. That would still be great because the injunction argument should bring the case towards the Supreme Court faster.
In addition, filing a brief this early gets us in on the ground floor. We might even be the only one filing an amicus brief at this stage, so our arguments will be noticed.
For this brief to happen, we need your support.
That means we must have…
- 40 people making generous contributions,
- Ten new monthly pledgers, who will also make future briefs possible, and…
- At least one patron at the $1,000 to $2,000 level.
Please choose which level is right for you, because we cannot repeal Obamacare without you.
DownsizeDC.org is partnering with the Downsize DC Foundation, home of the Zero Aggression Project. When you click this link, you’ll be taken to the ZAP contribution form. That way your contribution can be tax-deductible if you itemize.
Thank you, in advance, for your support,
Jim Babka & Perry Willis
Downsize DC Foundation
& DownsizeDC.org, Inc.