There was the historic ruling striking down the handgun ban in the District in which the court said the Constitution’s “right to keep and bear arms” means exactly what it says.
There was the deconstruction of much of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms that imposed severely unconstitutional restrictions on political freedom of speech.
And there was the decision in the Citizens United case that corporations were just like people and should be free to contribute money to the candidates of their choice.
That ruling really stirred the president’s ire in his 2010 State of the Union address. In an unprecedented public display of presidential petulance, with the embarrassed robed justices sitting before him, Mr. Obama charged that the court had “reversed a century of law” that would “open the floodgates for special interests” to influence the outcome of political campaigns. Justice Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. could be seen mouthing the words, “Not true.”
Mr. Obama’s feigned outrage didn’t last long. His campaign set up a super PAC to accept business contributions from Wall Street and the like that his fundraising handlers hope will push his total contributions to the $1 billion mark.
Still, Mr. Obama’s outburst, months before the court will hand down its health care ruling, was a rarity in presidential posturing.
“Though past presidents have occasionally inveighed against judicial activism, legal analysts and historians said it was difficult to find a historical parallel to match Mr. Obama’s willingness to directly confront the court,” The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
This was a performance dripping with politics, and Mr. Obama was preaching to the choir to energize his party’s base at a time when polls show voters aren’t very enthused about their choices in this election.
The nearly $2 trillion health care law is widely unpopular, especially the mandate that forces uninsured Americans to buy health insurance they do not want or cannot afford.
Mr. Obama says he expects the court will uphold the law, and the White House says there is no “Plan B.” They had better get one soon, because this mandate is going down.
Donald Lambro is a syndicated columnist and former chief political correspondent for The Washington Times.
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
By Susan Crabtree - The Washington Times
President Obama forgot to return the salute of a U.S. Marine while boarding Marine One Friday morning, then came back out to shake the Marine’s hand, according to a tweet by CBS News’ Mark Knoller.
By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times
House Republicans who are critical of the federal health care law have written to more than a dozen companies, including top insurers Aetna and BlueCross BlueShield, to ask if President Obama’s top health official tried to solicit funds from them to support the overhaul.
