Patrick Leahy can’t cite where congress gets the constitutional authority to mandate healthcare insurance

  Yesterday I wrote a post about Steny Hoyer’s asinine claim that the “general welfare” clause gives congress the right to force people to buy healthcare insurance, but today when Patrick Leahy ws asked where in the constitution power was granted to congress to mandate healthcare insurance he couldn’t do it.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) would not say what part of the Constitution grants Congress the power to force every American to buy health insurance–as all of the health care overhaul bills currently do

  When asked specifically to point out where the authority was granted to congress in the constitution, Leahy answered with a question of his own:

We have plenty of authority. Are you saying there is no authority?

  They just have the authority? When asked again this was his answer:

Why would you say there is no authority? I mean, there’s no question there’s authority. Nobody questions that

  Still he refused to cite where the constitution granted congress the power to force the American people to buy healthcare coverage. He states, “there is no question there’s authority,” but he cannot prove that statement. Instead he says that nobody questions the fact that congress has this authority. And perhaps he is right, not about whether congress has the authority, but rather the fact that nobody, or at least enough people, do not question whether congress has the authority. Congress does not have the authority to mandate healthcare insurance and it is well beyond time for people to begin questioning the constitutionality of mandate such as the one being proposed. As well as most of the laws passed in the federal government.

  When asked once again Patrick Leahy claimed that the same provision in the constitution that allows the federal government to regulate speed limits is the provision that allows healthcare mandates; evidentially he is unaware that states regulate the speed limits in their own states. The federal mandate of speed limits was repealed in 1995.

  Asked one last time Senator Leahy walked away, never answering the question.

 According to Leahy’s theory we aren’t supposed to question if congress has the authority to mandate healthcare insurance or where they get that authority, we are just supposed to acknowledge that they have it– sounds dictatorial to me when instead of questioning authority you are relegated to accept it.

  The problem is that while Leahy just assumes that the American people will not question the authority of congress on this issue he has the bases covered if they do eventually question congress’ authority. Patrick Leahy is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the committee that vets Supreme Court nominees. Certainly President Obama will nominate judges to the Supreme Court who hold the belief that congress is empowered to mandate healthcare insurance and a committee headed by Patrick Leahy will approve them.

  Congress may not have the authority to mandate healthcare insurance but eventually the Supreme Court will have enough justices sitting on the bench that are sympathetic to the position that congress has this authority. Once that happens it doesn’t matter if healthcare mandates are constitutional because the Supreme Court will never rule against the mandates. The Supreme Court will adjudicate healthcare mandates into the constitution.

  He knows that he doesn’t have to cite the constitutional authority of healthcare mandates because if he and President Obama have their way and seat the proper justices on the Supreme Court they will do it for him.