When a federal judge declared the military's ban on openly gay soldiers to be unconstiutional, the Family Research Council blasted it as unconscionable judicial activism:
This is the very definition of judicial activism -- when you are unable to achieve your desired policy goals through the democratic process, simply go to court and get a judge to decree that it must be so.
Today, a right-wing Bush-appointed judge declared that a key portion of the health care reform legislation was unconstitutional, and FRC hails him as a hero:
"We applaud Judge Hudson for striking down the individual mandate recognizing that no part of the Constitution empowers the federal government to command American citizens to spend their own personal money to purchase health insurance.
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"We call on the incoming Congress to quickly move to repeal this unconstitutional law in its entirely not merely to tinker with various provisions. Such tinkering would likely doom the legal challenges that are the best hope for dooming this fundamentally flawed law that is a high taxing, poorly thought out, and taxpayer funding of abortion monstrosity."
Amazing, isn't it, how when a judge rules in a way the Religious Right dislikes, it is unadulterated judicial activism but when a judge rules in their favor, it is a heroic stand for the Constitution?
Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, said: “I applaud the ruling by Judge Hudson. There is absolutely no authority in the Constitution that would allow the federal government to force every person to purchase a particular kind of health insurance. Today marks the beginning of the end of this federal power grab. I am confident when the Supreme Court hears the cases of Liberty University and the Virginia Attorney General that the final nail will be driven into this monster’s heart.”
"It is good to see that we still have judges who take seriously the oath they took to operate within the powers granted to them by the Constitution. The court recognized that the federal government has no power to force Americans to buy a private good and penalize them if they do not. It is nonsensical for the federal government to argue that not engaging in an economic activity is, in fact, an 'economic activity' in the law.
"The individual mandate is just one part of the many troubling issues with ObamaCare. This ruling represents the first step in protecting families from an overreaching federal government that is out of control.
American Center for Law and Justice:
"We're very pleased the federal court reached a sound decision and concluded that the individual insurance mandate is an unconstitutional violation of the Commerce Clause," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "This decision guts ObamaCare and represents a decisive and significant victory for America against the largest power-grab by the federal government in U.S. history. The court correctly concluded that forcing someone to buy health insurance is not economic activity and that Congress does not have that authority under the Commerce Clause. We're already working on an amicus brief on behalf of members of Congress in support of the Commonwealth of Virginia as this case proceeds through the appeals process."
TVC warned last year that ObamaCare was unconstitutional and was a violation of our right to determine our own health care needs. We also warned that it was going to destroy private health insurance in this country and was designed to force all Americans into a government-run system. This socialist system would include death panels, taxpayer funded abortions, and the creation of dozens upon dozens of bureaucracies that would control our future health needs.
We have pushed for the repeal of ObamaCare since it was enacted – and have repeatedly detailed the numerous flaws in it. In fact, President Obama has admitted that what he really wants a "single payer" system – code for a government-run system. ObamaCare is carefully designed to destroy private health insurance in America.
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Hudson has correctly determined that Congress has no constitutional authority to force Americans to purchase health insurance or face a financial penalty.
I hope this is the beginning of the end for ObamaCare. It was a bill that no one had read in its entirety and it was rammed through on Christmas Eve last year. It should be gutted and repealed.
"Congratulations to Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for his hugely important first-round victory over Obamacare today in federal district court.
"Mr. Cuccinelli has been a true leader in the cause of freedom and constitutionally limited government. His win is also a victory for the entire Tea Party movement and constitutional conservatives everywhere.
"Now more than ever, Tea Partiers and constitutional conservatives must rally behind and support Ken Cuccinelli as he takes his case--and the Gadsden flag ('Don't tread on me') that decorates his office--through the appeals process.
