Repealing the Social Safety Net



Half the country would like to take your health insurance coverage away from you.

WASHINGTON (AP) — States and a business group opposed to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday for a speedy ruling that puts an end to the law aimed at extending insurance coverage to more than 30 million people.

And for the record, this is a repeal, not replace, effort:

The high court should strike down the entire law, not just the main requirement that individuals purchase insurance or pay a penalty beginning in 2014, their appeals said.

Aside from over half the country's states, some business group is involved, too:

The filings, on behalf of 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business, also said the justices should act before the 2012 presidential election because of uncertainty over costs and requirements.

I realize our Chris Christie adoring press prefers its candidates to punch teacher union hippies rather than insure people, but a simple fact of the upcoming campaign is that the 111th Congress passed the ACA, which the president supported, and which was designed to get the country closer to something like universal health care coverage. And it was a pretty big fecking deal. I hope the president and congressional candidates embrace this accomplishment, rather than *apologize* for it.

*I plan to say a few things about Mitten Romney's "Obama Apology Tour" rhetoric in the near future.