From the Senator’s Desk
In comments in Ohio late last week, President Obama criticized Republicans for “playing politics” by recognizing the fact that the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare’s individual mandate ONLY AS A TAX INCREASE. He criticized the idea that political pressure would compel someone to change their position on the status of the mandate. He claimed he would “make no apologies” for the individual mandate in Obamacare, and also went so far as to say the following: “One of the things that you learn as president is that what you say matters and your principles matter.…And sometimes, you’ve got to fight for things that you believe in and you can’t just switch on a dime.”
Which is interesting, because in 2009 the President said that “For us to say that you’ve got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase….George, the fact that you looked up Merriam’s Dictionary, the definition of tax increase, indicates to me that you’re stretching a little bit right now. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone to the dictionary to check on the definition.”
But two years later, in January 2012, here’s what the Obama Administration argued in federal court – take a look at the headings on page 52 of the government’s appeals court brief in the case of HHS v. Florida (emphasis in the original):
THE MINIMUM COVERAGE PROVISION IS INDEPENDENTLY AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS’S TAXING POWER
The Minimum Coverage Provision Operates As A Tax Law
Why did President Obama and his Administration change positions – twice – on the individual mandate, saying the mandate was not a tax increase before passage, arguing before federal courts it was a tax increase after the law passed, and then arguing for the past week-plus the mandate isn’t a tax increase? Well, George Stephanopoulos knows why. In an exchange with House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan on his show last week, the Democrat journalist admitted that such flip-floppery was the only way to get the law passed in the first place:
RYAN: The president on your show said this is not a tax. Then he sent his solicitor general to the Supreme Court to argue that it is a tax in order to get this past the Supreme Court….Believe me, if this was brought to the public as a tax, there’s no way this law would have passed into law in the first place. That’s what’s so frustrating and disappointing with this law.
STEPHANOPOULOS: I think you may be right about that.
So you tell me: Who’s the one playing politics here?
On Twitter
Here is my mobile office schedule for July.We invite all Utahns to take advantage of this great resource: ow.ly/bZXwo #utpol
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) July 9, 2012
Btw, O’s budget has $2T in tax hikes. Does he pay down the debt with that? Nope. Uses it to fuel new spending. So why believe him now?
— Brian Phillips (@SenLeeComs) July 9, 2012
That explains the cake for breakfast! MT @OKnox: today is the birthday of the marvelous @ShawnaNBCNews. Happy Birthday!
— Emily Bennion (@SenLeePressSec) July 10, 2012
#Smallbusiness confidence plunges by most in two years: fxn.ws/NGACrd #ObamaIsntWorking #jobs #economy #tcot #tlot
— Joe Tauke (@SenLeeResearch) July 10, 2012
Around the Water Cooler
Why small business owners feel besieged
The National Federation of Independent Business released its business optimism index Tuesday, its gauge of confidence among small businesses.
Report: 83 percent of doctors have considered quitting over Obamacare
Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving their practices over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical Association.
Looking Ahead
Tomorrow, Senator Lee will meet with representatives of Utah Metal Works. He will also host a Jell-O bar for office visitors at 3:30 PM EDT (1:30 MDT).