The Atlantic: Newt Gingrich Supported an Individual Mandate as Recently as May 2009
Among other mandates, he also suggested that kids who live within a mile of school should be forced to walk there, even in rain and snow.
“Dying? I reject that number completely, that people die in America because of lack of health insurance. People die in America because people die in America. And people make poor decisions with respect to their health and their healthcare. And they don’t go to the emergency room or they don’t go to the doctor when they need to.”
“If I see somebody who’s earning over $50,000 a year, who has made the calculated decision not to buy health insurance, I’m looking at somebody who is absolutely as irresponsible as anyone who was ever on welfare. Because what they’ve said is, A, I’m gambling that I won’t get sick, and B, I’m gambling that if I do get sick, I can cheat all my neighbors. Now, when you talk to hospitals, a very significant part of their non-collectibles are people who have money, but have calculated it’s not worth the cost to pay. And so I’m actually in favor of finding a way to say, whatever the appropriate level of income is, you ought to have either health insurance, or you ought to post a bond. But we have no right in this society to have a free rider approach, if we’re well off economically, to cheat our neighbors.” - Newt Gingrich backing health care mandate for people making more than $50,000.
(via Slate - Gingrich on Health Care Mandates, 2005)
BREAKING: Federal court dismisses two suits that claimed Obama health care overhaul was unconstitutional
(via cocknbull)
Appeals court rules against individual mandate: The health care law is going to need a up-and-down Supreme Court take. Let’s face it, guys. EDIT: Breaking News notes that the law can still stand without the mandate.
(via shortformblog)
Via MSNBC
“Some call it Obamacare. I call it Obama Cares.”
“That radical, communistic health care policy you hate so intensely? Don’t worry, I only did that at the state level.”
“If lightning strikes, and it turns out that as many of us believe, the Supreme Court turns out to be a third political branch of government and they strike down the mandate — big deal,” Weiner said, expressing a ‘so what?!’ sentiment. “Big deal!”
“We pretty much see the direction the Supreme Court is going. The solution, if the mandate is struck down, is not that the bill falls like the house of cards … the solution is going to be offering something everyone agrees is constitutional and that’s the public option in the exchange.”
“The Supreme Court unfortunately is a corporate-dominated arm of the Republican Party right now,” Weiner said. “I put nothing past them. But they would have to take a Bush v. Gore like leap to strike down the constitutionality of the whole law. Even the mandate is a pretty thin reed.”
Congressman Weiner takes down Megan Kelly…
CBS News poll: 55% of the public disapproves of the GOP idea to cut off funding for health care reform; 35% approve. - @richardgoldberg
infuckindeed
Federal Judge in Florida Strikes Down Obama Health Care Plan as Unconstitutional - NYTimes
