After viewing these videos, I see no end in sight on health care quarrels. I’m starting to believe if the health care bill passes, it will become as contentious as abortion with decades of court cases to follow.
The first video has Stanford Law Professor Michael W. McConnell arguing the health care bill is unconstitutional, because it violates article one section seven. McConnell said it violates the rule that before the President can sign the bill, it has to have been voted on separately by the House of Representatives and the Senate. McConnell also points to article one section five, that the votes have to be recorded in a journal if one fifth of the members present request a vote.
Stanford Law Professor Michael W. McConnell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v6YUrP77gE
But then you have Andrew Napolitano arguing the Supreme Court would not rule deeming the health care bill as ‘passed’ unconstitutional, because the Constitution states the houses write their own rules for how bills are passed. The Constitution states a bill that has ‘passed’ the House of Representatives and the Senate can go to the President, the key word is ‘passed.’ The house can define how it chooses to pass a bill.
Judge Andrew Napolitano
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyQ_fMmfD8s
Someone probably will contest to the Supreme Court asking them to define what ‘passed’ means. If the votes were there, they would just vote on it and be done with it and not have to declare it as passed. If the houses can define what ‘passed’ means through rule changes to mean hypothetically voting on a bill, it should be taken to the Supreme Court.
Throw in states challenging the health care bill by means of the 10th amendment along with how the bill passed the house, and there will be no end in sight to Supreme Court challenges over this issue.
I was foolishly starting to believe that someday the health care debate would be over, but it looks like it’s really just begun.
