26 Mar 2012 Black Conservatives Comment on U.S. Supreme Court’s Consideration of ObamaCare Constitutionality

Washington, D.C. – Just days after the second anniversary of its enactment, the U.S. Supreme Court begins hearing arguments today regarding several cases that could declare all or significant parts of “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (popularly known as “ObamaCare”) to be unconstitutional. Black conservatives affiliated with the Project 21 black leadership network are speaking out against ObamacCare in favor of more patient control over their own health care decisions.

“Amid the second anniversary of ObamaCare’s passage, its diagnosis is grim,” said Project 21 spokesman Jerome Hudson. “Last month, economist Jonathan Gruber — a chief architect of the legislation — told the Daily Caller that ‘[a]fter the application of tax subsidies, 59 percent of the individual market will experience an average premium increase of 31 percent.’ The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently determined it will actually cost Americans nearly a trillion dollars more than President Obama said it would. The majority of the public wants it repealed. And now the Supreme Court is evaluating its constitutionality. It’s no wonder the White House is virtually mute these days about its flagship domestic achievement.”

ObamaCare’s constitutionality will be considered in an extraordinary three-day, six-hour hearing regarding four cases before the U.S. Supreme Court that will run from March 26 through March 28. The main issue will be the Obama Administration’s assertion that mandating that all Americans obtain health care coverage is a legitimate federal government power enforceable through the Constitution’s Commerce Clause regulation on interstate commerce, and that health care concerns fall under the Necessary and Proper Clause. One lower court ruled ObamaCare unconstitutional because it “obliterat[es]” limits on government power over the citizenry.

“When Barack Obama took office, he swore to uphold the Constitution. But it wasn’t long before he went to work ramming his supremely unconstitutional ObamaCare mandate through Congress,” said Project 21 spokeswoman Lisa Fritsch. “A pure Federalist can see that an overreaching program such as ObamaCare is the prime reason our founders framed the Constitution the way they did. They sought to limit federal authority over states’ rights and prohibit federal control over individuals’ rights. The justices should bear in mind that their oaths of upholding the sacred words of our Constitution protect our freedoms: big and small.”

A mid-March poll of likely voters by Rasmussen Reports found that 56 percent favored the legislative repeal of ObamaCare. This percentage in favor of repeal is fairly consistent throughout the past year.

“Having lived in several European countries and experienced their brand of socialist medicine, I feel now — more then ever — that liberty and the free market are integral factors in a successful health care system,” said Project 21 spokeswoman Cherylyn Harley LeBon, a former senior counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. “The Supreme Court’s decision on ObamaCare may be one of the most important decisions regarding the future of our liberty and the course of the nation for decades to come. For all Americans, this shows how valuable their participation is to a viable political process.”

Project 21 and National Center for Public Policy Research staff, members and supporters plan to participate in the Americans for Prosperity “Hands Off My Healthcare Rally” on Tuesday, March 27 at 1:00PM eastern in Upper Senate Park on the U.S. Capitol grounds. National Center staff will hand out free copies of “Shattered Lives,” an account of foreign socialized medicine mishaps that talk radio host and author Mark Levin says “will educate you, the American public, to the horror of government-managed health care where it exists today.” A free PDF copy of “Shattered Lives” can be downloaded at https://nationalcenter.org/ShatteredLives.html.

Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives since 1992, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research (https://nationalcenter.org).

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