Carville: A Supreme Court loss will help Democrats
(CNN) - While the Obama administration fights to protect the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, Democratic strategist and CNN contributor James Carville said a Supreme Court overruling may not be such a bad thing for the president, politically.
"I think this will be the best thing that has ever happened to the Democratic Party," Carville said Tuesday on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer."
He added: "You know, what the Democrats are going to say, and it is completely justified, 'We tried, we did something, go see a 5-4 Supreme Court majority'."
Carville, who gained fame working on Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, predicted health care costs will only increase in the future, in which case Republicans will be to blame for leading the drive to expel a federal program designed to help Americans cover those costs.
"Then the Republican Party will own the healthcare system for the foreseeable future. And I really believe that. That is not spin," Carville said.
Republican and RedState.com editor Erik Erikson, meanwhile argued that an overruling would represent more mainstream sentiments than not.
"Both sides, not just the Democrat side, even if the laws were upheld or struck down, there is a 5-4 conservative majority, and historically you see Republicans picking justices who have a greater propensity to gravitate to the left than you see Democrat judges propensity to gravitate to the right," Erikson, also a CNN contributor, said. "This will be an undercurrent issue for both sides, though."
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This is about the governments right to mandate its citizens to purchase a product. High price, low price, bad idea, good idea..it doesn't matter...it is about "does the government have the authority to do this". How easily distracted we are...and i think both sided counts on that.
Yes the democrats will say "we tried, we did something." Of course, that's the democrat way... symbolism over substance! We didn't do anything good, but we did something. Thanks but no thanks. I don't want a congress that just tries something. I think we all wanted a real solution to the health care insurance issues. But it became politicized.. Does anyone remember that this 5000 page bill was shoved down our throats in the eleventh hour right before Christmas break in a closed debate? My health insurance has gone up $100 a month since the bill was passed. I hate this bill but I hope it holds up, because what everyone is going to see in a few short years is what a disaster this unthought out plan really was.
Oh, see? James is always thinking.
The Republicans will have a hard time 'splainin' how come they killed the Healthcare Act without a viable replacement. But when they say that it's because the Tanman Satan needed to be stopped, everybody will just fall in line. Hallelujah, pass the snake, y'all
Another one that makes me throw up a little in my mouth at the mention of his name or sound or sight of him
LOL! They're already trying to spin this enormous failure and over reach. Yes, they tried to do something, like bend the constitution. It's all yours democrats and I hope no one forgets who tried to perpetrate this.
Obamacare goes down 7-3.
Okay, Carville, tell The Dear Leader to order Verrilli to declare defeat and abandon the case ASAP, so that The Dear Leader exploits his "triumph" sooner.
This Country and Constitution was framed and formed under Conservative principles. Conservatives have ethics, and moral values and take responsibility for our own actions. We do not ask anything of anyone and don't expect anyone will ask anything of us. We work to support the truly needy, and infirm.. We are not interested in doing wrong, smoking dope, or being in Government for political gain, like the Liberals are. We feel it is our responsibility to serve our country in whatever capacity within our ability.
We respect God and our Country. If that is something people can't live with, that is a shame, but we are not going to change. Get over it Liberals. Stop making us out to be bad people.
I don't know about how Obamacare is already effecting any of you, but my Anthem Blue Cross policy has jumped from $191/month to $362/month. I was told that even though I seldom make use of my insurance, the reason for the increase is because they are mandated to cover things like mammograms and maternity services they were not required to provide before. I'm a 55 year old guy. I neither need paternity services nor mammograms last time I checked. My situation is nothing compared to the millions of Americans that have already been effected in an adverse way despite Obama's claims of how your wouldn't see your premiums go up and you could keep your current insurance. Sure, I was able to keep it, by raising the deductible to $5100. Now my insurance is useless unless I contract a catastrophic disease. This is the tip of the iceberg if this train wreck really becomes law. Next you'll have to buy a government approved car and government approved food, etc. If we reelect Obama we all need our heads examined.
Yes James, if it is not a majority decision it will be very obvious that the LIBERAL justices do not follow the law and the constitution. So we DO need a Republican majority for 8 more years to fix it and repair all the damage that Obama did.
Based on the comments here you would think it were just the Republican appointed justices that have been derailing the solicitor general's arguments. From what I've read that isn't the case. Even Obama's appointees have questioned the federal case. They could just be paying lip service to make it seemed they were impartial but at this point I'd wager Obamacare is defeated by more than a 5-4 margin. And to those that believe this legislation will reduce healthcare cost I ask what planet are you on? I pay for my own healthcare and since this legislation passed my premiums have increased more than 60%.
Wow, the spin starts already...anticipating a potential loss at the supreme court, the spin machine begins to get behind the notion that this "loss" is really a win....so typical!
you gotta love carville. with the small part of obamacare already implemented, health care costs have already gone up. please mr. carville tell us what the government runs now or at any time that was/is cost effective. no accountability equals waste. an obamacare loss in the supreme court will only emphasize the federal government's plan to ignore the constitution. this will resonate loudly with moderate democrats and the independents come november.
Since the real costs to us won't hit until after the elections, most people don't know how much Obamacare will cost until it actually hits them. Then it will be too late. It is better to scrap it and start over, where it can be done more efficiently and with less than 2700 pages like this law has.
The Supreme Court's directive is not to follow the Law but to follow the Constitution.
Carville is a clown. So a defeat would be GOOD for Democrats? Imagine what a victory would do? According to Carvile, no matter what happens, it's good for Democrats. I bet he'd even say a Romney victory in November would be "good" for Democrats.
...and Carville gets paid for this crapola....
If the Supreme would uphold the law, it could help Republicans. If they rule it constitutional, it doesn't mean they rule it's the right thing to have done and doesn't mean it's the law forever. Congress passes bad laws all the time that are nonetheless constitutional. All the Republican Presidential candidates have promised to sign repeal legislation. The House repealed it once. There will need to be a Republican controlled Senate to get a repeal sent to the President. Polls show most people are against it. If that's really the case, they'll have an opportunity to make it right in November.
Even without winning the Senate, a Republican President's HHS Secretary can arbitrarily rescind the arbitrary pronouncements and regulations of the present Secretary, and some of the most atrocious portions of Obamacare can simply go unfunded. People know this and can vote accordingly.
What he is really saying is a win or a lost helps the democrats because they are not accountable. Anyone who voted for this bill should be voted out of office come the next election. You cannot attempt to highjack a nation with closed door legislation building and walk away unscathed.
Liars. Talk about Intellectual dishonesty, look at this comment board. News flash: conservatism in the legal sense does not equal the definition of politically Conservatives, no matter how much you want to make up non-existent terms and use them as if they have a legal meaning.
NVa Native has it backwards. Conservatives attempt to interpret the original meaning of the constitution. Liberals impose their personal views. How do people get it so wrong? Are they muddying the water or are they that confused?
It's amazing how people can look at the same set of facts and draw completely opposite conclusions. It appears the four Democrat justices are prepared to blindly support the federal government's effort to control every aspect of our lives by forcing us to enter into a contractual agreement against our wishes.
Liberals never let facts get in the way of their absurd delusions. Obamacare is a disaster, legally, economically, and practically. having lived in Toronto for five years, and watching the interminable waits for specialists or surgeries, and my friends who could afford it flying to the US for private care, I recall the words of Winston Churchill: Socialism means to spread the misery.
The best thing that will ever happen to the Republicans was the complete super majority take over by the democrats. No more will the selling of the totally biased media be able to convince anyone otherwise. Elect liberals and debts, taxes, cost of living and anxiety goes up while the economy, independence, standard of living, and entrepreneurialism fades. Good luck spinning that for the next 20 years. Carter still tries!
The US is so stuck in “capitalism” that it cannot define anymore how to run a civilized, modern country worth living in. Special interest bent on making money is represented well – the needs of the majority is too often dismissed in favor of a very narrow view for money and profits by a few. Too many are uneducated about what can be done – especially in the field of providing health-care to everyone but also in many other fields (environment, education, transportation, energy, military spending, …). People should be ashamed – talking big and not working for good solutions while the country suffers (and looking down on other countries who do often a lot better for their people)!!
It's true that Republican Supreme Court appointees have tended to be more politically diverse than have Democratic ones in the last 30 years. What's the Democratic Presidential appointment's equivalent to Republican appointees like Sandra Day O'Connor or David Souter? There is none. I see a lot more uniformity among Democratic Party selected Supreme Court Justices than I do among Republican ones.
James, hope you didn't pull at muscle from all that stretching. The dems tried to end run the Constitution and hopefully the Supreme Court will put them in their place.