Though the Sisters' legal struggles seemed to have ended in 2016 and 2017, they are now enduring death by a thousand legal cuts at the state level, enabled by the federal courts and their Obama-appointed judges. Continue Reading »
I yield to no one in my recoil from Donald Trump. But for anyone who shares the perspectives of the Republican Party, far more is involved here than aversion to an implausible candidate. A conservative should have an interest in repealing and replacing Obamacare, a program that tends inexorably to the political control of medicine. Continue Reading »
Conservative populism can't catch a break. The party's elites have a stranglehold on policy. As Reihan Salam has pointed out, most Republicans are opposed to increasing immigration, but most Republican office holders favor vastly increasing immigration when they think the voters aren't looking. Only . . . . Continue Reading »
Liberals are enjoying a moment of confidence. Across the board, there is a sense that the salient political issues are evolving and that demographic shifts are weakening the center-right political coalition. It’s true that the challenges have changed, but more than ever it’s the right, not the left, which has the resources to address the problems of today. Continue Reading »
President Obama’s recent actions to effectively exempt millions of unauthorized immigrants from deportation and to issue them work permits has caused frustration among many who believe that neither the precedents nor the law support the his actions. The president’s opponents have focused on what can done in the short-term to reverse his executive orders, or at least make him pay a political price. But rather than simply reacting, conservatives should learn from their experiences with Obamacare. In the short-term,, the ability of the Republican Congress to reverse the president’s executive orders or repeal Obamacare is very limited. It matters much more what President Obama’s opponents are prepared to do the next time they wield greater policymaking power. Continue Reading »
The inaugural post of Pseudoplotinus, aka Forfare Davis Continue Reading »
The cover story on National Review is by Jonathan Adler and Nathaniel Stewart, who are insisting there were Positive Steps, Silver Linings in the Supreme Court’s ruling in NFIB v. Sebelius ruling. Since I am expecting stormy weather over the next few years in the matter of . . . . Continue Reading »
1. When looking at the Obamacare case, many wondered if the individual insurance purchase mandate was severable from the rest of Obamacare. According to the Chief Justice, the mandate is severable from itself. You take (what he admits to be) an unconstitutional scheme of mandate . . . . Continue Reading »
This is a great day for President Obama. The argument against Obamacare from constitutional norms has been fatally wounded to the extent of winning over persuadables. To the extent that pesuadables (especially fairly low information persuadables), feel in-their-bones that the government . . . . Continue Reading »
Wow. The oral argument defense of Obamacare’s constitutionality so far has not just been bad, as has been reported, but has been stunningly bad. And the incompetence displayed goes beyond that of Solicitor General Verrilli, but extends to several of the meaning-to-help-his-case comments . . . . Continue Reading »
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