Today Politico Arena Asks:

Is Health Care Repeal Gaining Steam?

My Response:

It’s striking how POLITICO Arena contributors on the left like Professors Skocpol and Jost blithely dismiss the idea that the Constitution could actually limit what Congress may do in the area of “social welfare” — including such monstrosities as ObamaCare. It’s as if they had no conception, despite their years of schooling, of what the Constitution is all about. It’s not a document that authorizes the federal government to do whatever may be in “the public interest,” as conceived by those in power at any moment. It’s a carefully crafted plan for government that both grants and limits power, so that individuals may plan and live their own lives.

Judge Henry Hudson got it exactly right when he wrote: “While this case raises a host of complex constitutional issues, all seem to distill to the single question of whether or not Congress has the power to regulate — and tax — a citizen’s decision not to participate in interstate commerce.” The left may ridicule the suits that have been brought against ObamaCare by more than 20 states and others, but in doing so they ridicule nothing less than the American heritage of limited constitutional government. If ObamaCare revives that heritage, it will all have been worth it.