VIDEO: Republican Governor Caught On Tape Demolishing The Legal Case Against Obamacare

[riversedge]

Source: ThinkProgress.org



VIDEO: Republican Governor Caught On Tape Demolishing The Legal Case Against Obamacare

by Ian Millhiser Posted on January 7, 2015 at 11:14 am
1,697Share This 395Tweet This

"VIDEO: Republican Governor Caught On Tape Demolishing The Legal Case Against Obamacare"




Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R)

CREDIT: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) spent “nearly two years” studying the Affordable Care Act, according to a live interview he gave to the Wall Street Journal in 2013, and what he discovered was that the central claim in a lawsuit seeking to convince the Supreme Court to gut Obamacare is wrong. Though Walker’s statement was not made in reference to this lawsuit, his understanding of the law has special significance in light of a particular constitutional doctrine at issue in this case, and his reading of the Affordable Care Act directly contradicts that of the lawyers seeking to undermine the law.

The Affordable Care Act gives states a choice: they can either set up an exchange where consumers can buy subsidized insurance plans or they can elect to have the federal government set up this exchange for them. Consumers with income below a certain level qualify for tax credits to help them afford this insurance. A case called King v. Burwell, however, asks the justices to cut off these tax credits in states with federally-run exchanges — an effort that could potentially collapse the individual insurance markets in those states if it succeeds. The plaintiffs’ premise in King is that Obamacare was never intended to offer credits to people in states with federally-run exchanges. Indeed, by reading one passage of the Affordable Care Act out of context, they claim that the law unambiguously states that only state-run exchanges are allowed to provide tax credits.

But that’s not the conclusion Walker reached after spending a couple of years considering the question. Rather, in his interview with the Wall Street Journal, Walker explains that there is no practical difference whatsoever between state-run and federally-run exchanges:

WALKER:...........

This really isn’t an exchange that the states run or even run in a partnership. The federal government determines what’s going to be covered. How it’s going to be covered. And the only distinction is whether or not a state can say that they’re running it, put up a sign that says they are running it. But, in the end, there’s no real substantive difference between a federal exchange, or a state exchange, or the in between, the hybrid, the partnership. And so I said, if I can’t run it, if I don’t have control over it, why would I take the responsibility of explaining to people something that I don’t have any control over.

Watch it:

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/01/07/3608672/video-republican-governor-caught-on-tape-demolishing-the-legal-case-against-obamacare/

---

Walker does come up with his own 'theories' or excuses most of the time. The thing I take away is that Walker wants Control. Yup--that describes him to a teaparty!
And if Walker can not have control--then the people of
WI will and have suffered.

[Cha]

1. No one Kicked this!? Good Grief.. don't tell me we have scott walker to the rescue on Obamacare!

mahalo riversedge

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

6. It's always nice to have Republican support!

[Cha]

9. Yes, like when Ted Cruz and his drooling hate for the President's Immigration Reform made it

possible for Obama's Judicial Noms to get through and we now have Vivek Murthy as our SG!

[riversedge]

7. Walker prob. does not realize he may have helped #aca....

[Cha]

10. Of course not.. he wouldn't want to.

[Scuba]

2. Kickety kick kick.

[vanlassie]

3. Kick

[wildbilln864]

4. and a kick! n/t

[groundloop]

5. Hmmmm.... interesting.

I wonder if his next trick will be to admit that GOPers in congress will do anything and everything to embarrass the President, even if it's against the best interests of the American people.

[turbinetree]

8. Shirking

In typical fashion of hypocrisy, this right wing governor wants to SHIRK is responsibilities of caring for and letting the taxpayers of Wisconsin get something back in health care, and he now has to come up with theories on his incompetency to justify his lack of responsibilities.
He must put on a tin foil hat everyday to control his theories, this is the only item he can control, what a jerk.
Wisconsin how does it really feel to be going down to the third rate state and have this hypocrite in "control".
The only saving grace is the GREEN BAY PACKERS, at least they put there theories to practice ----Go Green Bay

[freshwest]

11. Was there Medicaid expansion in WI or not?

Single payer is in the ACA. Each state with a majority that wants it, can have it (see VT) but even with that, at times it fails through the legislature. This is our job to do this.

For some reason there are enough people in WI even if we think they are crazy, that put this guy and his pals in office. There have not been real world repercussions for what he has done, nor for what Christie has done. Good luck to WI in changing things there, maybe this is signaling a change?

We didn't get single payer, but many of us wanted it. Instead, we went with something else. Although we did Medicaid expansion, which for the poor, and for them it is like single payer. A lot of people qualify for it and are doing very well with many services provided in insurance, transportation and other necessities.

Any defense of the ACA may help and Canadians have reminded us that it took them TWENTY YEARS after their first legislation to get away from for-profit health care to their current plan which is better than ours.

I think the American people, at least those who are being honest, will eventually go for single payer nationally, but at this point, it's up to the states. It can be had, though.

[BlueEye]

12. Excellent points!

To those of us who complain that the ACA "isn't progressive enough..."

The transition to true universal health care will not happen overnight. It is an evolution, one that starts with the ACA, so we must protect the progress we have made to date. Since the most substantial challenge to the law today appears to be judicial in nature, progressives should continue to wage the public opinion war and highlight statements like Walker's above. SCOTUS does take such things into account, as was apparent in their last ACA ruling.

[freshwest]

14. Here are some more details, I'd stopped posting the defense of the ACA some time back:

to BlueCaliDem

9. This has been the conundrum that President Obama and Democrats were faced when mulling single-payer vs a system that Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and other European countries have chosen: half gov't (subsidies), half private (premiums). This is ObamaCare at its core today and it's less expensive and quicker to implement.

Lest some forget, it took Canada no less than thirty years to implement their single-payer system. Considering the presidents and Congresses we've had in the past thirty years, I don't see how we could've done it.

That said, a provision in ObamaCare does provide for each State to either implement the ACA or they can apply for a waiver under subsection 1332 the "State Innovation Waiver" which will help fund their own system if that system can show that they can cover more people for less and won't burden the Federal budget. NO STATE can afford to implement single-payer because it's just too expensive to set up - as Vermont is now finding out.

So to those who claim that President Obama and Democrats had abandoned single-payer... they need to read section 1332 in the ACA. Single-payer is there. It's up to them and their State to choose that route.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014984216#post9

If you go to the link there the part I have underllined will produce the document. The reason I stopped defending it is because the attacks on PBO about single payer were made baseless but no one seemed to want to hear it.

And it's from a thread that is reporting and complaining about the VT governor who was trying to implement but there is not sufficient state revenue to do so. So VT did not get it, but may have done Medicaid expansion. I wish that people would look deeper into how these things happen or don't happen. Believe me, I wish my state implemented it. But after we did the Medicaid expansion the GOP legislators here tried to literally defund the entire state government and it took months to resolve. The enemy of single payer and Medicaid expansion is not the Democratic Party or our elected officials. The opposing forces exist in blue states, too.

At this point I have to leave for an appointment, though and not search any further.

Thanks for the post.

[riversedge]

13. No, Gov Walker did NOT expand Medicaid--and

lots of problems because of it.

[freshwest]

15. He's proven himself a Koch lackey. Do they still have an office across the street from the capitol?

The high court in Nebraska (which I believe is virtually owned to the Koch brothers) just ruled against the lawsuit by landowners blocking Keystone. They have certainly done the grassroots work of producing anti-progressive measures nationally.

[mwb970]

16. Walker gives me the creeps.

I would be less repelled, I think, if his eyes were the same size and shape and if one weren't higher than the other. I am nervous about obvious physical defects so close to the brain.

[midnight]

17. I take away the same thing you take away…