via Lauren McGaughy, New Orleans Times Picayune Gov. Bobby Jindal said oral contraceptives should be available over-the-counter in a Thursday evening op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. The self-described “unapologetic pro-life Republican” governor of Louisiana said this would lower health-care costs, prevent government intrusion into citizens’ lives and fight the influence of big pharmaceutical companies. … Continue reading
via Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), San Gabriel Valley Tribune Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, represents California’s 29th Congressional District. Three weeks ago, in a decision all but lost in the tumult over the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act, the Justices overturned a century-old Montana law that prohibited corporate spending in that state’s elections. In … Continue reading
via Josh Gerstein and Darrenn Samuelsohn, Politico Chief Justice John Roberts promised not to pitch or bat, but he sure threw a curve ball [June 28, 2012]. By voting to uphold President Barack Obama’s health care law, Roberts shocked conservatives who thought they could rely on him to help sink Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment. Instead, … Continue reading
via Laura Bassett, The Huffington Post For years, Democrats and progressive women’s groups have characterized Republican attempts to limit access to abortion — such as mandatory ultrasounds and mandatory waiting periods before abortions — as the ultimate government intrusion into a woman’s personal medical decisions. On Thursday, conservatives usurped the very same pro-choice rhetoric to … Continue reading
via Michael McAuliff, The Huffington Post The House of Representatives advanced a bill Friday that funds cheaper student loans by cutting a preventive health care program — sparking a heated battle in which House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) accused Democrats of manufacturing a war on women. The House passed the bill by a vote of … Continue reading
via E.J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post Conservatives are not accustomed to being on the defensive. They have long experience with attacking the evils of the left and the abuses of activist judges. They love to assail “tax-and-spend liberals” without ever discussing who should be taxed or what government money is actually spent on. They … Continue reading
via Jonathan Cohn, The New Republic Before this week, the well-being of tens of millions of Americans was at stake in the lawsuits challenging the Affordable Care Act. Now something else is at stake, too: The legitimacy of the Supreme Court. Nobody knows how the justices will rule. And nobody can know, not even the … Continue reading
via David G. Savage, L.A. Times The Supreme Court’s conservative justices said Wednesday they are prepared to strike down President Obama’s healthcare law entirely. Picking up where they left off Tuesday, the conservatives said they thought a decision striking down the law’s controversial individual mandate to purchase health insurance means the whole statute should fall … Continue reading
via Mark Sherman and Jesse J. Holland, The Huffington Post Sharp questioning by the Supreme Court’s conservative justices cast serious doubt Tuesday on the survival of the individual insurance requirement at the heart of President Barack Obama’s historic health care overhaul. Arguments at the high court focused on whether the mandate for virtually every American … Continue reading
via CBS News The Supreme Court finished Monday the first of three days of arguments on the fate of the Obama administration’s overhaul of the nation’s health care system. The justices appear unlikely to allow an obscure tax law to derail the case. A decision is expected by late June, in the midst of a … Continue reading
via Adam Liptak, The New York Times The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge to the 2010 health care overhaul law, President Obama’s signature legislative achievement, setting the stage for oral arguments by March and a decision in late June as the 2012 presidential campaign enters its crucial final months. The decision to hear the case prompted confident … Continue reading
via Katharine Q. Seelye, The New York Times Voters turned a skeptical eye toward conservative-backed measures across the country Tuesday, rejecting an anti-labor law in Ohio, an anti-abortion measure in Mississippi and a tightening of voting rights in Maine. Even in Arizona, voters turned out of office the chief architect of that state’s controversial anti-immigration law. … Continue reading
via Nedra Pickler, The Huffington Post A conservative-leaning panel of federal appellate judges on Tuesday upheld President Barack Obama’s health care law as constitutional, helping set up a Supreme Court fight. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a split opinion upholding the lower court’s ruling that found … Continue reading
via Philip Elliott, AP, Deseret News A day after he refused to endorse an Ohio ballot measure that limits public employee union rights, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he is “110 percent” behind the effort. While he was in Ohio on Tuesday, Romney seemed to distance himself from anti-union measures that have … Continue reading
The Obama administration Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to settle the constitutional question over the 2010 health-care law this term, meaning that the decision will probably come next summer in the thick of the presidential campaign. The Justice Department asked the justices to review the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th … Continue reading
There has been no shortage of liberal discontent with the path pursued by President Barack Obama during his first few years in office. But when the discontent manifests itself (as it occasionally does) in talk of a primary challenge in 2012, the chatter usually succumbs to political reality. For all the Democratic base’s tiffs with … Continue reading
The participant’s in last night’s GOP presidential debate once again took the opportunity to pretend that the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) put a massive dent in Medicare by cutting $500 billion from the program. Michele Bachmann told us that “We know that President Obama stole over $500 billion out of Medicare to switch it over to Obamacare.” … Continue reading