Help me settle a bet by answering this one question

fill-in-the-blank-card-set

Photo snarfed from this site, in case you have a hankering to buy these: http://laurajul.dk/2011/07/29/fill-in-the-blank-cards/

I have a bet going with a fellow Democratic activist.  I’m asking our readers to help me settle the bet by taking this as seriously as possible.

(Note: if you’re one of the people who can take nothing seriously — and you know who you are — just don’t answer at all.  If you want to leave a smart-ass comment noting that you can’t answer, well, if you’re one of those people I’d expect nothing less of some of you.)

For the purposes of this question, I want you to try to think like a Democrat defending the health care law.  (Again, if you find this impossible, just don’t answer.  I don’t want your brain damage on my conscience.)  All I need you to do in comments is to fill in the blank within the statement below as simply (meaning in as few words) and honestly as possible, although if you need to write a full paragraph to do it justice, go ahead:

 

“The health care mandate as currently structured is constitutional because ________________.”

 

Easy. huh?  Thanks for your time.  We’ll no doubt be discussing the results before long.


About Greg Diamond

Somewhat verbose attorney, semi-disabled and semi-retired, residing in northwest Brea. Occasionally ran for office against jerks who otherwise would have gonr unopposed. Got 45% of the vote against Bob Huff for State Senate in 2012; Josh Newman then won the seat in 2016. In 2014 became the first attorney to challenge OCDA Tony Rackauckas since 2002; Todd Spitzer then won that seat in 2018. Every time he's run against some rotten incumbent, the *next* person to challenge them wins! He's OK with that. Corrupt party hacks hate him. He's OK with that too. He does advise some local campaigns informally and (so far) without compensation. (If that last bit changes, he will declare the interest.) His daughter is a professional campaign treasurer. He doesn't usually know whom she and her firm represent. Whether they do so never influences his endorsements or coverage. (He does have his own strong opinions.) But when he does check campaign finance forms, he is often happily surprised to learn that good candidates he respects often DO hire her firm. (Maybe bad ones are scared off by his relationship with her, but they needn't be.)