The arrogance of power

Feeling threatened by the Supreme Court’s diligent and persistent questioning of the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare), President Obama referred to the court as an “unelected group of people.”

He went on to show an extreme arrogance of power when he said, “Ultimately, I am confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.”

My good friend Mayor Ed Koch once explained to me that sometimes even the smartest people say the dumbest things. Such was the case last week, when our president proved to have a shocking lack of understanding of the law.

He was so ignorant in his remarks that even Larry Tribe, his former Harvard law professor, “flunked” him. Tribe should have checked his attendance records to see if Obama was there for Law 101, when Marbury vs. Madison was taught to Harvard law students.

The president’s critics chastised him for what they viewed as an obvious threat to the Supreme Court to not overturn the law. However, Obama’s statement contains several glaring constitutional flaws. He should know better.

As a Harvard Law graduate and a professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago, the president should be keenly aware that in 1803, in the historic case of Marbury vs. Madison, the court set the basis for judicial review, which allows it to overturn laws on the grounds that they violate the Constitution.

The president warned the Supreme Court that if it overturned the bill, it would be a “prime example of judicial overreach.” Mr. President, this case is a prime example of why the Supreme Court was formed: to question and determine the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress and to protect the American people from overreaching executive and legislative branches.

The Supreme Court’s striking down a law of Congress is not extraordinary. For the federal government to force Americans to buy health care coverage or pay a penalty violates the Commerce Clause laid out in the Constitution. In the past 20 years, two laws have been invalidated for violating the clause.