SCOTUS Decision on Same-Sex Marriage

Today In Washington, D.C. - June 26, 2015
Congress is not in session today and both chambers will return on Jul 7th after their 4th of July Vacations. No votes occurred in the Senate yesterday. It seemed they were ready to "get out of Dodge," i.e D.C.. SCOTUS was issuing their rabid decisions creating law yesterday and their major reshaping of American Culture was scheduled for today. More on that later.

Yesterday the House passed:
H. Res. 341 (240-184) aka, Booting State Flag with reference to states Confederate heritage. It Resolved, "That the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall remove any State flag containing any portion of the Confederate battle flag, other than a flag displayed by the office of a Member of the House, from any area within the House wing of the Capitol or any House office building, and shall donate any such flag to the Library of Congress."
H.R. 1295 Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015: (286-138) Agreeing to an amendment by the Senate of House Bill
H.R. 1615 (423-0) — "To direct the Chief FOIA Officer of the Department of Homeland Security to make certain improvements in the implementation of section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act), and for other purposes."
H.R. 2200 (420-2) (247-180) - To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear intelligence and information sharing functions of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security and to require dissemination of information analyzed by the Department to entities with responsibilities relating to homeland security, and for other purposes."

A couple additional comments relative to yesterdays "SCOTUScare" decision on the Affordable Care Act. Despite the triumphant rhetoric from President Obama and Democrats in Congress, yesterday’s ruling by the Supreme Court on federal exchange subsidies doesn’t change the long list of problems inherent to Obamacare, nor does it change the law’s longstanding unpopularity with voters.

Recognizing this reality, Politico writes today, “Obamacare has cleared a second major hurdle at the Supreme Court — but its troubles are far from over. The law is still highly unpopular, and significant structural issues remain: Health insurance rates are rising, many people don’t have as much choice of doctors and hospitals as they’d like, some states continue to struggle with their exchanges, and 21 states still haven’t backed Medicaid expansion. . . .

“Some of the states that decided to set up an exchange are dealing with ongoing technological problems or financial difficulties, especially now that they can’t get federal grants.

“Hawaii decided earlier this year to move to HealthCare.gov for enrollment, and Colorado and Vermont are still working to fix problems with their systems. Some Republicans in blue states are already saying their states should switch to the federal exchange now that the subsidies will stay nationwide. . . .

“The law’s legal problems are not yet over, either. Another challenge to the ACA mandate that employers cover contraception in their insurance plans is moving through the courts — and very likely to return that issue to the Supreme Court in the next term. And a suit backed by the House of Representatives against the law’s cost-sharing provisions was filed earlier this year. . . .

“The law remains underwater in the polls.Politico then looks at the many reasons Americans remain unhappy with the effects of Obamacare: “For one, the public is frustrated with insurance premium increases that they view as directly related to Obamacare. A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis found that 2016 premiums are up by a greater percentage than in 2015. Benchmark silver-level plans are rising by an average of 4.4 percent in a select group of cities but could be much higher in parts of the country — with a Wellmark plan in South Dakota wanting to raise rates by 42.9 percent, CareFirst seeking a nearly 30 percent increase in Maryland and Health Care Service Corp. going after a 51.6 percent hike in New Mexico. While premiums were on their way up before the law passed, the public faults Obamacare — and that’s something the White House hasn’t been able to shake. . . .

“Some people who have signed up have been shocked to discover the size of their deductibles or that they can’t go to the doctor they want because insurers have imposed narrow ‘in-network”’ care. . . .

“The law’s future is also threatened by the potential repeal of a few elements that are particularly vulnerable to Democratic opposition.

“Repeal of the medical device tax passed the House last week with nearly enough votes to override a presidential veto. A Medicare payment board that is tasked with controlling health care spending is unpopular with House Democrats, too, and likely to get a repeal vote soon. . . .

“The ‘Cadillac tax’ on high-cost employee health insurance plans, which goes into effect in 2018, is vehemently opposed by labor unions and some Democrats on Capitol Hill.”

So while the president tried to declare the discussion of his unpopular health care law over yesterday, there are clearly many many problems with it that must be highlighted.

TODAY THE SUPREME COURT RELEASED IT 5-4 DECISION REDEFINING MARRIAGE. A definition that has been a bedrock of American society since its foundation.

As Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, noted: Today, five unelected lawyers on the Supreme Court decided that they know better than thousands of years of Judeo-Christian civilization and millions of American voters.

The majority opinion, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy who joined the four most liberal justices, redefines marriage coast-to-coast. Once again, the Supreme Court has imposed its morality on the entire country and told millions of citizens that their votes and their values do no matter.

In his dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts told supporters of same-sex marriage that they could celebrate their victory and the expanded benefits that come with it. "But do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it," he wrote.
"Although the majority randomly inserts the adjective 'two' in various places, it offers no reason at all why the two-person element of the core definition of marriage may be preserved while the man-woman element may not. . . . It is striking how much of the majority's reasoning would apply with equal force to the claim of a fundamental right to plural marriage." ... " “Celebrate the achievement of a desired goal. Celebrate the opportunity for a new expression of commitment to a partner. Celebrate the availability of new benefits. But do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it.”
Justice Antonin Scalia, well-known for his scathing critiques, was particularly harsh in his dissent. He called the decision a "judicial putsch" and compared Justice Kennedy's reasoning to "the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Justice Scalia warned that the decision represented a "threat to American democracy." Consider this excerpt:
"Today's decree says that my Ruler, and the Ruler of 320 million Americans coast-to-coast, is a majority of the nine lawyers on the Supreme Court. . . . This practice of constitutional revision by an unelected committee of nine . . . robs the People of the most important liberty they asserted in the Declaration of Independence and won in the Revolution of 1776: the freedom to govern themselves."Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his dissenting opinion, "Aside from undermining the political processes that protect our liberty, the majority's decision threatens the religious liberty our Nation has long sought to protect."

We will provide more analysis in the days ahead. But there is one thing we must focus on right now: How do we respond?

Are we going to throw up our hands and give up? If that response is widely embraced, I guarantee you that your children will grow up in a country that no longer tolerates religious liberty.

So you can run up the flag of surrender or you can redouble your efforts at your church, within your families and with the groups and candidates you support.

This is absolutely critical in the upcoming 2016 elections. The men and women we elect to public office nominate and confirm the judges who serve on our courts, including the Supreme Court.

Four justices of the Supreme Court are 76 years-old or older. The odds are overwhelming that the next president we elect will have the opportunity to fundamentally change the ideological balance of the Supreme Court.This issue alone would be worth every effort you can possibly make and every dime you could possibly invest between now and next November to ensure that we take back the White House and hold the Senate!

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