Several months ago, I wrote an article for the AFA Journal about Obamacare and the potential collapse brought on by the oncoming King v Burwell case decision.
Twila Brase, president of Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom, one of the nation’s foremost experts on Obamacare, had served as a key figure in helping many Americans understand the importance of the oncoming Supreme Court decision. It all looked pretty black and white.
The healthcare law authorizes subsidies for Obamacare enrollees “through an Exchange established by the State,” not an exchange established by the federal government. So when the Supreme Court released its decision Thursday to uphold millions of unauthorized subsidies paid through federal exchanges, questions immediately surfaced: How? Why? On what basis?
This makes no sense! The Supreme Court’s job is to apply the law. But as I read through the statements intended to justify the decision, what I saw within the word game was something like this: “The law does not authorize subsidies set up by federal exchanges, but it should. We wish it did. We want it to say it does. Therefore, we have decided it does.”
Brase and many other experts expected the Supreme Court to rule in favor of King and for the federal subsidies to be overturned. But our expectations for justice at the judicial level were apparently out of line.
The expected challenge was once the federal exchange subsidies were ousted. Would the Republicans be ready with an alternative plan to replace the failing Obamacare tragedy, or would they acquiesce under pressure and simply change the language of the law to expand Obamacare? That would have been a disaster. But we never made it there. Things are more dysfunctional than most of us thought.
A number of news sources are reporting that Republicans are privately pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision – relieving them of pressure to follow through with their symbolic vote to repeal Obamacare in February. I wish I doubted this. But I don’t.
These failings come after Executive branch precedence. Do you remember the appalling decision and announcement in February 2011 concerning the federal Defense of Marriage Act? President Obama unashamedly directed the Justice Department to simply stop enforcing the 1996 law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Just like that – We don’t like it, and we are not going to enforce it!
And just today, the Supreme Court has followed through in devastating fashion by legalizing same sex marriage. They changed the definition of the word “marriage.” They want it to mean something different than it does, so they think they can make it so. In essence, they have said, “…because we said so.” In actuality, marriage is and will always be defined by God. But today, the Supreme Court has again ruled against King …The King.
What has happened to our country? This doesn’t seem real! And sadly, too many Americans either don’t understand or don’t care about the sinkhole of corruption consuming our constitutional republic. In generalized terms, the responsibility of the three branches of government are as follows: Legislative (Congress) makes laws, Executive (President) implements and enforces those laws, Judicial (Courts) applies those laws. However, the clarity, order, and protection provided by the three branches have been replaced with chaos.
The following assessment (borrowed from my husband) presents the sad truth:
We now officially have three legislative branches of government:
1) Congress does and should write laws.
2) President Obama uses executive orders to create laws and refuses to enforce the ones he doesn't like.
3) The courts chose to interpret any way they like with no regard for the Constitution. And they rewrite laws to fit their opinions.
The American way of life is gone. Our balance of powers is gone. The rule of law is gone. Words have no meaning. Our whole nation is in a pit of miry clay, and we are in desperate need of help. Go wake up your neighbor, and pray. . .
