Ron Paul on Monday said that his “big guess” about the Supreme Court’s ruling on the constitutionality of the controversial healthcare reform bill is that it will uphold the law.
The Supreme Court begins hearing three days of oral arguments on the Affordable Care Act on Monday. The case has drawn a high level of public interest and is also a political landmark, since the GOP presidential candidates are running on pledges to repeal the law and President Obama’s reelection campaign is touting the legislation as a signature achievement of his first term.
“I suspect they're going to rule it constitutional, but that is a big guess out of thin air,” Ron Paul said on Bloomberg Television. He said “this Supreme Court is slightly better than in the past, [but] they haven't done a real good job in defending the free market and the original intent of the Interstate Commerce Clause.”
He added, “This would be a real tragedy if they ... support this law."
The Commerce Clause is a key element in Democrats' argument supporting the healthcare bill’s individual mandate requiring Americans to buy health insurance. The individual mandate is one of the most widely panned aspects of the healthcare legislation for conservatives. Paul, a passionate critic of government mandates, has called the reform legislation an “unconstitutional monstrosity.”
Rick Santorum, another GOP White House hopeful, plans to appear in person Monday on the steps of the Supreme Court to express his opposition to the legislation.
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