Pelosi: Never mind the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence authorizes Obamacare
posted at 4:05 pm on March 22, 2012 by Tina Korbe
OK, so Nancy Pelosi doesn’t actually say “Never mind the Constitution” in this clip, but she practically has before and she might as well have this time, too. While I firmly believe that the Founding documents are best understood in conjunction with each other (as Rick Santorum says, “If the Constitution is the “how” of America, the Declaration of Independence is the “why”), the Constitution is far more relevant to the authorization of Obamacare than, er, the Declaration of Independence, which is not a blueprint for government but a philosophical statement on the origin and nature of the authority to form a new government in the first place.
That’s all irrelevant, though, because the Declaration of Independence doesn’t provide support for Obamacare in the way Nancy Pelosi suggests anyway. Here she is, Ms. Obamacare:
Pelosi actually claims that Obamacare increases our liberty. She says it removes the constraints that a lack of healthcare places on a person. But a lack of healthcare doesn’t constrain a person in the same way that a government mandate does. On the free market, a person can take steps to acquire health insurance if he doesn’t have it. Under Obamacare, we’re no longer free to not have health insurance — ever. The choice is gone.
To listen to Pelosi talk, the nation never boasted photographers, artists or small-business owners before the Affordable Care Act was passed — but that’s surely not fair to Ansel Adams, John Singer Sargent or Sam Walton. They did it without the help of the ACA and other greats could do it without Obamacare, too. Again, the Declaration doesn’t say we have a right to success in all our endeavors. Nobody has the right to make somebody else pay for their health care.
Update: I missed this quote, but, apparently, Pelosi did specifically mention the Constitution today. She said Obamacare is “ironclad constitutionally.”
Related Posts:
Breaking on Hot Air
Hume, Robinson, Powers agree: DoJ investigation of Rosen crosses a big line
Video: Ft. Hood shooter still drawing salary – $278,000 and counting
Chinese breach of Google in 2010 exposed counter-espionage data
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 Next »
Fluking and free contraception are in the Declaration, too.
/
Ward Cleaver on March 22, 2012 at 4:43 PM
That’s an important consideration. As much as we despise her socialist agenda it the majority of people in her district, fellow Americans, who put her in office time and again.
The shovel these politicians are using to dig our fiscal grave was given to them by our fellow citizens.
Yakko77 on March 22, 2012 at 4:44 PM
I was thinking coming into this, “Let us not insult rocks by comparison.” But
too late.
apostic on March 22, 2012 at 4:45 PM
Mrs. Pelosi’s reasoning isn’t unique. Take this critique of America:
“There is nothing in the American system worth imitating…If Americanism conquered the world, it would mean the end of all human values and of genuine freedom — the freedom to do something, not from something! — of all the values for which Europe has fought and suffered for millennia, for which it has given all its strength of body and soul.
No European could exchange places with an American. America is a pitiable country and the Americans are a betrayed people, betrayed by their leaders, betrayed and deceived in a simply indescribable way by their self chosen leader…” (Bold emphasis mine)
This is from Alfred Enst Wollschläger (1901-1996), a Nazi propagandist writing in “Das Land ohne Herz: Eine Reise ins unbekannte Amerika” (The country without the heart: a journey into the unknown America, 1942)
Nancy is in some fine company, yes?
EJHill on March 22, 2012 at 4:46 PM
What a clown. At least try to quote the DoI correctly, seeing as, you know, it’s one of our founding documents and all that.
thirtyandseven on March 22, 2012 at 4:47 PM
Where is the Republican reply telling her to shut the fu%k up…?
Seven Percent Solution on March 22, 2012 at 4:48 PM
The problem with “our fellow citizens”, is they want to force the rest of us “fellow citizens” to conform to their view of the world. Not only that, they want “us” to pay for their foolishness.
belad on March 22, 2012 at 4:52 PM
Jesus is a member of CONgress?
hawkeye54 on March 22, 2012 at 4:53 PM
Why do your blog titles frequently attribute things to people that they never said?
Dante on March 22, 2012 at 4:55 PM
Good lord but she’s a moron!
Richard Blaine on March 22, 2012 at 4:57 PM
Nancy thinks that just because it comes out of her mouth, it’s AUTO-TRUE and don’t you doubt her for a minute!!! She assumes everyone is so stupid they will just believe her because she’s NANCY, after all!
samazf on March 22, 2012 at 4:58 PM
I love how the Democrats are still trying to defend this.
txhsmom on March 22, 2012 at 4:59 PM
Say, isn’t this why we had to wait until it passed, to see what was in it?
Bmore on March 22, 2012 at 4:59 PM
Seems like they are starting the meme before the Supremes hear arguments. Those people disgust me, but they always play to win no matter what. I give them kudos for that.
SouthernGent on March 22, 2012 at 5:00 PM
Probably the only woman(?) on the planet that makes DWS look semi-coherent.
Thank you San Francisco.
Tim_CA on March 22, 2012 at 5:03 PM
“Hey look, Norman, I caught Walter!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_h8C_rCbgU
Del Dolemonte on March 22, 2012 at 5:04 PM
The US Constitution is the basis for US law.
If it cannot be “defended” under the Constitution, then it is no longer legal under US law.
The Declaration of Independence? Really, Nancy, are you truly that effin’ stupid? You should be removed from any legislative body for life in any jurisdiction in the US merely for your total ignorance of law.
coldwarrior on March 22, 2012 at 5:05 PM
At some point she is just too stupid to comment on. I think the more we can just let her talk and play back her words, the better off the GOP is.
Tater Salad on March 22, 2012 at 5:05 PM
jayhawkingeorgia on March 22, 2012 at 5:06 PM
Under that logic, couldn’t I argue against the mandate on the premise that it would make me happy to spend my money however I want without a tax/penalty to strongarm me into making a purchase?
NathanHale on March 22, 2012 at 5:06 PM
This woman is truly a dangerous fool.
rjh on March 22, 2012 at 5:08 PM
As a layman, I’d call it paraphrase.
Not sure about the ethics of a blogger doing it, but it’s at least as ethical as a pol doing it to our founding documents–especially when done incorrectly.
rwenger43 on March 22, 2012 at 5:08 PM
As long as she is for the homosexuals and abortions she can be in congress.
Mormontheman on March 22, 2012 at 5:08 PM
I am far more worried about Nan’s lack of Constitutional knowledge dimwit.
CW on March 22, 2012 at 5:08 PM
She is a demon. From hell.
SilverDeth on March 22, 2012 at 5:09 PM
Dear San Fran Nan,
I, too believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It’s what makes us happy that sets us apart. Apparently what makes you happy is telling delusional lies and strangling the country with oppressive ‘government’. What makes me happy is doing what I can to make sure that you and your ilk go away.
ghostwalker1 on March 22, 2012 at 5:14 PM
+1 — Nanzi is a complete dimwit — but I guess she delivers the goods for her SF constituents well enough that they continue to support her. You have to wonder, though…
KS Rex on March 22, 2012 at 5:15 PM
Does the dope know the declaration was a letter to the king and not law of the land as the constitution. Liberals are dumb as hell
Conservative4ev on March 22, 2012 at 5:16 PM
A ‘Right’, endowed by our creator, cannot be something that costs anything. She is a blithering idiot.
mouell on March 22, 2012 at 5:18 PM
Holy crap. This just keeps getting funnier and funnier.
These people are truly unhinged. Amazing.
RedNewEnglander on March 22, 2012 at 5:29 PM
If conservatives ever get the chance again to dominate the legislature and executive branches, I’m going to fight like hell to convince elected officials to pass a bill requiring candidates to elected federal office to pass a constitutional competency exam. It’s outrageous that boneheads like Pelosi wield the power to destroy this country.
subsonic on March 22, 2012 at 5:29 PM
Ok Nancy, the Declaration DOES mention a creator so I guess we can use that to give religion back the power you want to take away, huh?
One day we’re not supposed to have religion and God influencing politics because God supposedly isn’t mentioned in the Constitution, the next we’re supposed to follow a document that does have God mentioned to support Obamacare . . .
PastorJon on March 22, 2012 at 5:29 PM
“…services that prevent disease, like pregnancy, for instance.”
LizardLips on March 22, 2012 at 5:31 PM
Nancy Pelosi lecturing on the Declaration seems reasonable. What next? Ron Jeremy lecturing on abstinence?
CorporatePiggy on March 22, 2012 at 4:10 PM
Bill Clinton lecturing on being faithful.
Wagthatdog on March 22, 2012 at 5:34 PM
In 2010, Nancy Pelosi won her San Francisco Congressional district with 79.94% of the vote.
In 2012, Pelosi’s district will have slightly different boundaries due to redistricting.
And Pelosi will have to win her Primary which will be using California’s new “Top Two Candidates Open Primary” rules for the first time in 2012.
This means that it is possible (and in San Francisco, highly likely) for only 2 Democrats to appear on the November ballot for Pelosi’s Congressional seat.
In addition to Pelosi, 5 other candidates have qualified for the June 5th Primary ballot. 1 is a Ron Paul Republican. 3 are Democrats and 1 is a member of the Green Party.
So there are 2 chances to defeat Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco. First in the Primary where the new rules might make unusual results possible and then in November when Pelosi might be running against another Democrat.
But the best bet is for the rest of the country to send Republicans to Congress to maintain or grow the Republican majority to prevent Pelosi from ever becoming Speaker of the House again!
Here are the details on California’s new “Top Two Candidates Open Primary” rules:
If you live in California, these new Primary rules will apply to your Congressional and State elections too.
wren on March 22, 2012 at 5:35 PM
Casey Anthony lecturing on child care .
burrata on March 22, 2012 at 5:36 PM
She got her mouth set on Stupid.
Jack Squat Bupkis on March 22, 2012 at 5:38 PM
Bless you, Sister Nancy.
This is the justification I needed for my “Free Beer” mandate!
I can’t be happy without free beer.
Deafdog on March 22, 2012 at 5:38 PM
I don’t know. If she wants to use the Declaration as some guide to government, I’m sure right-thinking people could just the same. In fact, the Declaration of Independence does mention – quite specifically – what a people, who want to be free, should do to a tyrannical government.
rjd27 on March 22, 2012 at 5:39 PM
Water is precious. How about one of those barrels the Occupy miscreants are flinging around?
Rixon on March 22, 2012 at 5:40 PM
In a sane world, this woman would be in a straight jacket and padded cell. She’s clearly deranged.
labrat on March 22, 2012 at 5:41 PM
She is where she is only because she was a diversity check mark way back when. Like Obozo is now and will be. Some weak feathers in the cap of PCness for the latte suckers.
BL@KBIRD on March 22, 2012 at 5:42 PM
So she lacks the knowledge that could have been obtained from watching School house rock. So what? The good news this thing generated over 300,000 jobs within months, right? Hello? What happened to them?
Blue Hen on March 22, 2012 at 5:48 PM
Political slut.
Ronnie on March 22, 2012 at 5:48 PM
Either way, she certainly seems to think we are…
affenhauer on March 22, 2012 at 5:53 PM
The federal government has no liberty to pursue its own happiness.
crosspatch on March 22, 2012 at 5:54 PM
Push it overboard…
affenhauer on March 22, 2012 at 5:55 PM
Constitution of the United States
**********************************
The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription
Note: The following text is a transcription of the Constitution in its original form.
Items that are hyperlinked have since been amended or superseded.
*****************************************************************
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
********
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
canopfor on March 22, 2012 at 5:57 PM
She’s no more stupid than President Jackass McDowngrade.
slickwillie2001 on March 22, 2012 at 5:57 PM
… and it also guaranteed Freddie & Fannie as an investment. (remember?)
kregg on March 22, 2012 at 5:57 PM
Declaration Of Independence
****************************
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is at once the nation’s most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson’s most enduring monument. Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers. What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in “self-evident truths” and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country. We invite you to read a transcription of the complete text of the Declaration.
************
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html
canopfor on March 22, 2012 at 6:00 PM
Still trying to justify stalking through the protestors in front of the Capitol with that giant gavel and that sh*t eating grin, eh, Nance?
RebeccaH on March 22, 2012 at 6:00 PM
A Maerose Prizzi reminder from David Kahane:
“Yes, the Baltimore machine princess — oops, I mean, “distinguished daughter of the beloved d’Alesandro political dynasty” with a penchant for parking-garage scandals, whose brother was once indicted for statutory rape and perjury but miraculously escaped scot-free — has gone and blown the code of omerta and taqiyya that our side so assiduously practices when it comes to dealing with you wingnuts.
Now, I know you’re going to find it inconceivable that la Pelosi could be in any familial way connected to what we used to called “municipal corruption,” if not actual “organized crime” back in the day when her dad, “Big Tommy” d’Alesandro, and his wife Annunciata (also called “Nancy”), ran the city of Baltimore. And, as you know, we Fairness & Tolerance lefties are scrupulously averse to “guilt by association” except when it comes to you. But in the interests of full disclosure, and as long as Maerose is letting it all hang out, what the hell? Let’s hop in the Wayback Machine:
Dominic Piracci, whose daughter Margie had married Tommy’s oldest son, (known as Tommy III), had been a good friend of his for years. As a prominent Baltimore building contractor, he’d received lucrative contracts related to the parking garages Tommy started building all over Baltimore just after his first mayoral election. Piracci had been charged with fraud, conspiracy, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, all related to what amounted to the fact that he had received a lion’s share of the parking-garage-building business. His trial on these charges was publicized widely, including in TIME. Along the way, it was charged that, while engaged in his alleged criminal enterprises, he’d funneled funds under the table to Tommy. Soon it was claimed that some of those funds had even helped fund Tommy’s on-going gubernatorial bid.
Piracci had taken steps to hide some of the names of those he’d passed monies to, but inasmuch as those monies were paid out in the form of checks, it wasn’t hard for investigators to find them and — of course — to identify the individuals whose names were on them. It happened that Tommy’s wife, Nancy, had received no less than six of Piracci’s checks, in the aggregate amount of $11,130.78. On the witness stand, she testified that $1,500 was a gift to the newlyweds Tommy III and Margie, and the rest was a loan, partly to help her with debts related to her feed business, the rest for debts incurred in a venture involving a skin softener.
So I guess it really is true that the “inconceivable is the inevitable,” especially regarding the upper reaches of the Democratic party. I mean, who would ever conceive that a once-and-perhaps-still-inconceivable-but-inevitable Speaker of the House would have a background like that — and that the mainstream media would be totally silent on the subject throughout her speakership? Meanwhile, the Washington Post devoted all sorts of vital journalistic resources to warn Amerikkka that Rick Perry’s ol’ Texas huntin’ spot was racially insensitive because some stories just need to be told – and this one was certainly more important than letting the public know early and often that Maerose is one of Congress’s biggest insider traders.”
Resist We Much on March 22, 2012 at 6:03 PM
the left is always channeling FDR
Right to a job, a living wage, decent home, medical care, old-age pension
r keller on March 22, 2012 at 6:07 PM
I get it! The right to pursue happiness; Is the right of the government to be happy taking your money and spending it any way it wants to.
Dasher on March 22, 2012 at 6:07 PM
That doesn’t even come close to being a paraphrase.
And Tina also flubs the direct quote from the DOI. It is not, ““We are endowed by our Creator,” it is “that they are endowed by their Creator”.
Dante on March 22, 2012 at 6:13 PM
Whaaa?
Liberals have been telling us for decades the Declaration is “not law” – going back for me, to at least 2 poli-sci profs.
Now that’s the document we’re supposed to adhere to? Oh, and it gets better – pursuit of happiness is an individual right last time I checked, not a government mandate imposed at the end of the barrel of a gun.
Unreal.
Mr Galt on March 22, 2012 at 6:13 PM
Locking and loading…
Roy Rogers on March 22, 2012 at 6:25 PM
I haz teh hate for this stoopit witch…
ladyingray on March 22, 2012 at 6:27 PM
“Are you serious? Are you serious??”
/witch
Eren on March 22, 2012 at 6:34 PM
Minority business coalition: Dem Convention inclusion goals not DIVERSE enough
Debbie Wasserman Schultz is on it!
Roy Rogers on March 22, 2012 at 6:38 PM
We are endowed by our government to life through middle age, liberty to provide our fellows with free stuff in any way the government has not proscribed, and the pursuit of happiness with the benefit of said free stuff.
I understand the need to attack the presumption that one has a “right” that is actually someone else’s labor, but to even concede that Obamacare provides any significant number of people with healthcare is to concede too much.
Also, what about those who need high quality, expensive healthcare – and can afford it – but can’t have it because it no longer exists? Are they not having their imaginary rights violated as well?
HitNRun on March 22, 2012 at 6:39 PM
This despicable troll is mentally unbalanced from all the botox injections to her face and hair dye applied to her head. That’s not to say that her numerous trips to liposuction haven hasn’t sucked out not only fat, but also any gray matter still present.
Rick013 on March 22, 2012 at 6:41 PM
Barack Obama lecturing on honesty and humility.
arnold ziffel on March 22, 2012 at 6:44 PM
I keep asking this question but have yet to get a coherent answer: If the government can force you to buy one product whether you want it or not, what’s to stop it from forcing you to buy a Chevy Volt?
Jeffrey Quick put it more forcefully:
“If you think you have a right to force me to pay for your health care, then why don’t you have a right to force me to pick your cotton?”
Paul_in_NJ on March 22, 2012 at 6:53 PM
Dan Rather lecturing on honest impartial journalism.
infidel4life on March 22, 2012 at 6:56 PM
Oh my…now that’s a comeback…
right2bright on March 22, 2012 at 7:00 PM
So the pursuit of happiness doesn’t apply to children in the womb? Their pursuit ends at the point of a scalpel?
Hey, but if it makes the mom happy, why not?
right2bright on March 22, 2012 at 7:10 PM
I’m still wondering how she can logically point to a “right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” within the Declaration of Independence, and then endorse abortion.
dominigan on March 22, 2012 at 7:11 PM
To liberals your “rights” are an invitation for government intrusion and oversight instead of an explicit barrier to government infringement.
gwelf on March 22, 2012 at 7:13 PM
“I think we should interpret the Constitution progressively, reflecting the times, no I mean we should follow organic law/rights……. wait, what?”
marinetbryant on March 22, 2012 at 7:22 PM
To loosely quote an old Ice T rap/song…”SHUT UP! Be happy. The life you have demanded is now manditory!”
Boogeyman on March 22, 2012 at 7:29 PM
I wonder if she realizes the Declaration of Independence also gives us the right to DISSOLVE a tyrannical Regime?
wildcat72 on March 22, 2012 at 7:37 PM
I might be happy after b!#ch slapping Ms. Pelosi.
How will Obamacare let me pursue happiness this way?
WhatNot on March 22, 2012 at 8:01 PM
You know, those straws you’re clutching at aren’t going to save you from drowning. Then again, liberalism, just like stupid, can’t be fixed.
I know it’s a stretch, but please try to read the documents you so earnestly try to dismiss as irrelevant, before you allow your grubby fingers to touch a keyboard. Nit-picking Ms Korbe, when you don’t believe in the substance and intent of the original documents amyway, is really an exercise in semantic onanism.
Thanks! You can go back to stroking your keyboard now. “Up twinkles!”
creekspecter on March 22, 2012 at 8:06 PM
Pelosi would never understand the irony of arguing total dependence on the government is somehow authorized by a document with the word “independence” in the title.
englishqueen01 on March 22, 2012 at 8:07 PM
Mitt going to art school for etch-a-sketch lessons?
GM Volt makers renaming it “firebird”?
Sarah Palin playing with a grizzly, which is a lot safer than exposing her back to her own party.
Don L on March 22, 2012 at 8:16 PM
Speaking of the Declaration…
What activity did our Founders do in unison, less than two months before they signed the Declaration of Independence?
Most people are familiar with the largest and most recognizable signature on the Declaration of Independence… that of John Hancock.
But most people are not familiar with a document he (and several others) consented to less than four months earlier…
Take a serious look at this and compare it to today.
(Black and red emphasis is mine, capitalization emphasis is from the original text.
The Library of Congress Document Image
ITguy on March 22, 2012 at 8:18 PM
ITguy on March 22, 2012 at 8:22 PM
This is almost two years old, but still spot-on…
ITguy on March 22, 2012 at 8:25 PM
It’s actually rather telling to see Democrats start trying to co-opt Tea Party ideas…
… Obama pretending that he’s Mr. “Drill Baby, Drill”…
… Pelosi pretending that she’s Ms. Declaration of Independence…
Their internal polls must be showing them that the Tea Party values remain very, very strong.
The Demonrats are scared. The mask that came off in 2009 is getting put back on, because they can’t win when people know what they really stand for.
ITguy on March 22, 2012 at 8:28 PM
If the Supreme Court finds Obamacare Unconstitutional, thereby proving beyond a shadow of a doubt the Pelosi doesn’t have the mental cajones to be a Senator, does anyone think she would have the honor to resign?
I don’t
Fatal on March 22, 2012 at 8:29 PM
Umm, Pelosi’s not a Senator. She’s a Representative in, and former Speaker of, the House of Representatives.
ITguy on March 22, 2012 at 8:31 PM
A liberal mind is a terrible thing to have to defend.
antipc on March 22, 2012 at 9:49 PM
My happiness would be keeping the government and people like Pelosi and Obama out of my business and health care
Wade on March 22, 2012 at 10:08 PM
I ave one thing to say to you Ms. Pelosi: IDIOT
mkm19602000 on March 22, 2012 at 10:24 PM
It says it in the Declaration right there on page three right after “Dieu et mon Droit” but before “Do not fold, spindle, or mutilate.”
viking01 on March 22, 2012 at 10:35 PM
I thought our side was opposed to “fake but accurate”?
AesopFan on March 22, 2012 at 11:07 PM
Ditto.
oryguncon on March 22, 2012 at 11:19 PM
YES
Kenosha Kid on March 23, 2012 at 12:18 AM
I’m glad someone else sees this. Too bad the clueless muddled middle is happily reelecting these creeps over and over because ’25 years in congress must count for something’.
yhxqqsn on March 23, 2012 at 12:28 AM
Dearest Nancy,
I have goal, goals that require money to achieve.
If you take my money away to pay for anothers health care you are impeeding my “pursuit of happiness”.
So there!
The Rock on March 23, 2012 at 12:40 AM
I’ve always thought she was a bit unstable but in this video she proves it by sounding like it. Did she just stumble out of the wine cellar before she gave this blubbering speech?
stukinIL4now on March 23, 2012 at 12:45 AM
I am sick and tired of hearing the drivel spewed by this wacky liberal moon bat. Can’t get myself to watch the video of the wicked witch from the left coast, don’t care what she has to say anyway.
SUPPORT CONSTITUTIONAL TERM LIMITS to get crud like her, Reid, McCain, and other fossils from both corrupt parties out of the government.
AttaBoyLuther on March 23, 2012 at 12:53 AM
Please . . . can’t this woman just go far, far away?
joecollins on March 23, 2012 at 1:23 AM
Okay, well, it’s time to send this particular elderly dementia patient off to ‘The Home’, isn’t it?
SuperCool on March 23, 2012 at 2:00 AM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 Next »