Thursday, April 1, 2010

Kutler on the 14 AGs' Suit

Stanley Kutler, professor emeritus of history and law at the University of Wisconsin, weighs in on the state attorneys general's suit against the health care bill here. Among other things, he notes an important historical parallel:
After the Republican Party pledged to repeal the Social Security Act in the 1936 election - and carried only 2 states -- opponents went to the Supreme Court the next year. But the Court, in a 5-4 decision, upheld the taxing provisions of the law ("Congress . . . may lay and collect taxes . . . to . . . provide for the . . . general welfare." U.S. Constitution, Art I, Sec.8.) The Court summarily dismissed arguments that the law encroached on state powers and sovereignty.