brilliant....
Speaking today on CBS' "Washington Unplugged" with Bob Schieffer, here's how Cuccinelli put it:
"Never before in our history has the federal government ordered Americans to buy a product under the guise of regulating commerce.
Imagine if this bill were that in order to protect our communities and homeland security, every American had to buy a gun. Can you imagine the reaction across the country to that?"
Yes, we can.
On page 25 of his decision, Judge Hudson writes, "Despite pre-enactment representations to the contrary by the Executive and Legislative branches, the Secretary now argues that the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision is, in essence, a ‘tax penalty.'"
That's a polite way of saying that the Obama administration willfully misled the public during the health-care debate. In fact, President Obama repeatedly denied that the mandate was a tax - but now, in order to pass constitutional muster, his administration is insisting it is. I urge you to watch the president's interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos to see just how emphatic Obama was. When Stephanopoulos says that the mandate is a tax increase, Obama scolds Stephanopoulos. "That's not true, George," the president says. "[It] is absolutely not a tax increase."
Now the president and his administration are arguing exactly the opposite.