This Election Just Became About Obamacare

........we are about to decide whether to put what will soon be one-fifth of our economy under the control of the federal government; whether to funnel previously unthinkable amounts of power and money to Washington; and whether this nation conceived in liberty will continue to prioritize liberty.

It is understandable why President Obama has no interest in framing this election as a referendum on Obamacare. His party already suffered perhaps its worst defeat since the 19th century thanks to his centerpiece legislation. With the Supreme Court’s ruling now behind him, he will have even less incentive to remind voters about Obamacare going forward. As far as he’s concerned, the less the American people think about it, the better.

More @ The Weekly Standard

Did Roberts Give in to Obama's Bullying?

Report: Kennedy Visibly Angry Over Decision

As legal scholars study the Supreme Court's decision in the Obamacare case, more and more are concluding that Justice Anthony Kennedy's dissenting opinion, striking down the law in its entirety, was once the majority opinion--and that Chief Justice John Roberts switched his vote at a late stage. If so, it would appear that the Chief Justice may have succumbed to the bullying meted out by President Barack Obama, who attacked the Court in the aftermath of oral arguments in March, when Obamacare seemed headed for certain defeat.

As National Review's Ed Whelan, the Volokh Conspiracy's David Bernstein, and others are pointing out, the dissent refers to another opinion as "the dissent" and uses the pronoun "we," as if speaking for the Court, as majority opinions typically do. In addition, the dissent focuses on the government's arguments, rather than tackling the majority head-on. That suggests that a switch--most likely by the Chief Justice himself--may have come very late in the game, too late to offer more than the most cursory revisions of the opinions in the case.

The fact that the Chief Justice's reasoning is so flimsy is yet another piece of evidence that he may have made a late switch--and under pressure. Congress did not intend the individual mandate to be a tax--neither in the text of the legislation, nor in its public deliberations inside and outside the Capitol. (If it had chosen to go that route, the left might have put forward a far stronger argument for universal government-run health care.) It is correct that Chief Justice Roberts has tended to defer to Congress, as conservatives do--but while this opinion has the form of deference, in substance it is the opposite of deferential, rewriting Obamacare by judicial fiat.

One final point is worth noting:

More @ Breitbart

Scary: Colorado Wildfires Photos: The Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs

Via Survival

More @ Denver Post

GRNC Alert: Runoff Elections Crucial to Gun Rights

Vote on or before July 17:

Light turnout will increase the weight of your vote!

The Grass Roots North Carolina Political Victory Fund (GRNC-PVF) is GRNC’s weapon in the battle to elect legislators who support the right to keep and bear arms. Using mailings, radio spots, email and other means, GRNC-PVF makes recommendations for effective voting for gun rights supporters.

Redistricting created a record number of open seats and multiple candidate races, opening up opportunities for gun voters as many races went into runoff elections. Anticipated light turnout means your vote will count more than ever.

Remember: Unaffiliated voters may vote in either Republican or Democrat primaries, so make sure you bring friends and relatives to the polls and vote on or before July 17!

GRNC-PVF CANDIDATE RECOMMENDATIONS

US House District 8 Republican primary: GRNC-PVF recommends you vote for SCOTT KEADLE for Congress. Keadle earned GRNC’s highest 4-star evaluation and will be a leader in defending your rights. Keadle has a long history of bucking the “establishment” GOP and will represent you, not the status quo.

US House District 9 Republican primary: GRNC-PVF recommends you vote for ROBERT PITTENGER for Congress. Pittenger built a 100% pro-gun voting record in the NC Senate, earning GRNC’s highest 4-star evaluation (****). Opponent Jim Pendergraph (GRNC 0-star) claims to be a Second Amendment supporter. But during his tenure as Mecklenburg County Sheriff, he obstructed pistol permits and refused to sign Form 4s for Title II firearms.

US House District 11 Republican primary: GRNC-PVF recommends you vote for MARK MEADOWS for Congress. With a perfect 100% on GRNC’s gun rights candidate survey, Meadows earned GRNC’s highest 4-star evaluation (****) and has made defense of the Second Amendment a pillar of his campaign.

NC Senate District 41 Republican primary: GRNC-PVF recommends you vote for JEFF TARTE for NC Senate. Through his actions as mayor of the town of Cornelius and his GRNC candidate survey, Tarte earned GRNC’s highest 4-star evaluation and has vowed to sponsor pro-gun legislation once elected. He has also promised to buck Senate leadership if necessary to advance the cause of gun rights – something which has proven painfully necessary in the recent session of the legislature.

EARLY VOTING SCHEDULE

June 28: One-stop absentee voting begins for the Second Primary Election, if needed modified full-time county board offices shall remain open five days each week.

July 10: Last day to request absentee ballots in writing (exceptions due to sickness or disability).

July 16: 5pm - Absentee ballots must be received in CBE office by 5:00 p.m. If mailed, returned absentee ballots will still be timely if postmarked on or before Election Day, and received no later than 5:00 pm on July 20, 2012.

July 14: One-stop voting ends.
July 17: 2nd Primary Election - polls are open 6:30am - 7:30pm

HOW TO FIND EARLY VOTING SITES:

Go to: http://www.app.sboe.state.nc.us/webapps/OS_sites/

HELP GRNC-PVF ELECT PRO GUN LEGISLATORS

GRNC is restricted by law from using organizational money to advocate the election or defeat of candidates, meaning GRNC-PVF must raise money separately from membership resources. GRNC-PVF depends on your contributions to run radio spots and do mailings. Again, because our effort is all-volunteer, we are able to put your money to more efficient, effective use than any other organization.

Please contribute to GRNC-PVF by going to:

https://ssl4.westserver.net/grnc.org/pvf/pvfdonate.html

Better yet, you can buy GRNC-PVF raffle tickets and even win a Glock 27 or a Kahr Arms CW9 at:

http://grnc.org/grnc-pvf/raffle

This alert, supporting Scott Keadle, Robert Pittenger and Mark Meadows for Congress and Jeff Tarte for North Carolina Senate was authorized and paid for solely by the Grass Roots North Carolina Political Victory Fund.

In This Awful Hour

Via Western Rifle Shooters Association

"How many divisions does the Supreme Court have?"

The Washington Post, no less: An attorney general lacking trust

Fights between Congress and the executive branch over access to information are a staple of American politics. Every president will prefer less disclosure about the messy internal processes of his administration. Congressional investigators suspecting scandal prefer more. In the end, some accommodation short of a constitutional crisis is usually achieved.

The government’s “gun-walking” program would be considered a scandal in any administration, involving 2,000 loose firearms and a dead Border Patrol agent. But an accommodation with congressional investigators has not been reached. The balance of powers has become a showdown. And the main reason is Attorney General Eric Holder.

In a February 2011 letter to Congress, the Justice Department denied any knowledge of “Operation Fast and Furious.” During May congressional testimony, Holder claimed that he had only recently learned of the matter. Both letter and testimony turned out to be false. Holder’s top aides had reviewed wiretapping applications containing specific details. Holder had received memos referencing the operation. Congress had been left under a false impression for nine months.

The Justice Department’s response to this disclosure was to fight further disclosures —

More @ The Washington Post

Chief Justice Roberts Is A Genius

Via The Feral Irishman

Another favorable one which brings them to three, not that I'm convinced.

• What a disaster for the Democratic Party
• 
  
• John Roberts
• ========

Before you look to do harm to Chief Justice Roberts or his family, it’s important that you think carefully about the meaning – the true nature — of his ruling on Obama-care. The Left will shout that they won, that Obama-care was upheld and all the rest. Let them.

It will be a short-lived celebration.

Here’s what really occurred — payback. Yes, payback for Obama’s numerous, ill-advised and childish insults directed toward SCOTUS.

Chief Justice Roberts actually ruled the mandate, relative to the commerce clause, was unconstitutional. That’s how the Democrats got Obama-care going in the first place. This is critical. His ruling means Congress can’t compel American citizens to purchase anything. Ever. The notion is now officially and forever, unconstitutional. As it should be.

Next, he stated that, because Congress doesn’t have the ability to mandate, it must, to fund Obama-care, rely on its power to tax. Therefore, the mechanism that funds Obama-care is a tax. This is also critical. Recall back during the initial Obama-care battles, the Democrats called it a penalty, Republicans called it a tax. Democrats consistently soft sold it as a penalty. It went to vote as a penalty. Obama declared endlessly, that it was not a tax, it was a penalty. But when the Democrats argued in front of the Supreme Court, they said ‘hey, a penalty or a tax, either way’. So, Roberts gave them a tax. It is now the official law of the land — beyond word-play and silly shenanigans. Obama-care is funded by tax dollars. Democrats now must defend a tax increase to justify the Obama-care law.

More @ White House 2012

The Next Step – State Nullification

Conservative Heritage Times
VERBATIM POST

DanPhillips

So all you state attorneys general who challenged Obamacare, now that the Supreme Court has gone against you what is your next move? Do you just roll over and take it, or do you put your money (actions) where your mouth is and seek to nullify this abomination in your state? The ball is in your court.

Chances for Senate vote poor, so Repeal ObamaCare in 2013

Today’s Supreme Court decision upholding the ObamaCare law has provided the perfect issue to activate the Tea Party movement, and this means that the November elections will be a national referendum on repealing ObamaCare.

We need to act now in preparation for repealing ObamaCare in 2013. One thing we can begin doing now is to urge our Representatives and Senators to introduce and pass legislation yet in this session of Congress to repeal ObamaCare period, not replace it. In fact, House Republicans have already announced they'll vote again on repealing ObamaCare on July 11. However, we already know that the chances for a vote in the Senate this session are virtually nil.

The idea about pressuring our Representatives and Senators to vote on repealing ObamaCare yet this session is not to get ObamaCare repealed before the November elections, because we know that the Senate and President Obama would not permit that. Instead, the idea is to get as many Representatives and Senators as possible on record regarding the repeal of ObamaCare before the November elections and for them to feel the heat of constituent pressure for repeal, the better to use ObamaCare as an election issue.

Contact your Representative and Senators and urge them to vote for full repeal of ObamaCare now. This will help set the stage for a national referendum on ObamaCare in the November elections for President and Congress.

The Rasmusssen poll for June 23-24, 2012 shows 54% of likely voters favor repeal of ObamaCare and 39% oppose repeal, so we have numbers on our side.

Thanks.

Your Friends at The John Birch Society

Leader Cantor: House Will Vote To Repeal ObamaCare On July 11th