Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said President Obama should campaign against the Supreme Court, painting it as a conservative, activist institution if it rules that the administration’s healthcare law is unconstitutional.
“In terms of the Congress, I believe that it would be off-base for us to do that, but for the president, I don’t think it is,” Clyburn said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday. “I think the president ought to take a look at what happened in years before — we’ve seen presidents run against Congress and we’ve seen presidents run against the Supreme Court. Franklin Roosevelt did it to the Supreme Court; [Harry] Truman did it to the Congress.”
After last week’s high-court hearings on the constitutionality of the Obama healthcare reform law, many Democrats fear the five conservative judges will vote in unison against it.
Some legal watchers panned Solicitor General Donald Verrilli’s presentation, with CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin describing the Obama legal case as a “train wreck” after the second day of oral arguments.
Senate Democrats were also infuriated by comments Justice Antonin Scalia made during the hearings. Scalia mocked a provision of the bill that had been removed two years ago, and joked that the bill was too long to read.
“I think the president will take a look at exactly what he needs to do to connect with the American people, let them know that he’s done everything he can possibly do and ask them to give him a mandate for the years going forward,” Clyburn continued.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the healthcare law in June.
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
