What We're Reading -- March 26
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Good morning everyone! Both the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament and the Republican presidential primary have whittled themselves down to the final four. The difference is though, that when the basketball teams lose, they go home. Unfortunately, it’s not the same in politics, and the fight to see who could be the worst candidate for women continues. Today, the Supreme Court begins three days of oral arguments on the constitutionality of the health care law. And on that note, here’s what we’re reading this morning….
Oral arguments begin in the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. “As Supreme Court justices review health-care law, stakes will be hard to ignore” – “The Supreme Court on Monday joins the nation’s vitriolic debate over the landmark health-care law and the limits of federal power. And though thousands of pages of legal arguments about the Constitution’s history and the court’s precedents have landed on justices’ desks, the outcome may also hinge on less tangible factors. Public opinion. The nation’s volatile political climate. The court’s self-consciousness about its own partisan divide. And the pivotal role it plays in deciding the nation’s thorniest social issues…. They have scheduled six hours of arguments over three days, the most in 45 years. They will examine the law in detail, even parts that no judges below them have found constitutionally questionable. And while cameras are still forbidden, the court has changed its rules to release audiotape and transcripts of the arguments each day.”
Supreme Court’s decision on ACA will have major ramification on the 2012 election. “Court's health ruling could shake fall elections” – “The Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is likely to shake the presidential election race in early summer. But the winners in the court will not necessarily be the winners in the political arena. No doubt, a decision to throw out the entire law would be a defeat for Obama. His judgment and leadership, even his reputation as a former constitutional law professor, would be called into question for pushing through a contentious and partisan health insurance overhaul only to see it declared unconstitutional by the court. But it would not spell certain doom for his re-election. In fact, it would end the GOP argument that a Republican president must be elected to guarantee repeal of the law. It also could re-energize liberals, shift the spotlight onto insurance companies and reignite a debate about how to best provide health care.”
There may be a gender gap in Washington, DC, but in Washington State, women are doing just fine. “What Gender Gap? Washington State Has a History of Women Who Lead” – “Nationwide, women’s groups point out the glaring gender disparity in public life, noting that there are only 6 female governors and 17 female senators. Across the country, women make up 23.6 percent of state legislatures, according to Off the Sidelines, a project started last year by Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand of New York. But in Washington State, women’s serving in public office has been as consistent as the rain. ‘Every once in a while a note or a letter will mention it,’ Ms. Gregoire said. ‘But mostly, it’s taken for granted.’… For Ms. Cantwell and Ms. Murray, it has been a somewhat strange dynamic. They are not in the minority among politicians in their home state, but they are at the national level, and as such, have been called on to speak up for women. Recently, the two grabbed the spotlight during the debate over contraception.”
