Washington News

Court Mulls Severability Concerns On Third Day Of Healthcare Reform Hearings The Supreme Court's third day of hearings on the Affordable Care Act generated a great deal of coverage, but as has been the case all week, the topic had to compete with other high-profile stories for air time. None of the three networks led their newscasts with the healthcare story last night, though they did devote more than 13 minutes to their coverage of the hearings and the issue of healthcare reform in general.
Much of the reporting yesterday and this morning depicts the court as ideologically driven, and either implies or asserts that political considerations impel the court's five Republican-appointed justices to oppose the President. The AP , in an article titled "Court Appears Split By Ideology Over Healthcare," reports, "A Supreme Court seemingly split over ideology will now wrestle in private about whether to strike down key parts or even all of President Barack Obama's historic healthcare law. ... Questions at the court this week days showed a strong ideological division between the liberal justices who seem inclined to uphold the law in its entirety and the conservative justices whose skepticism about Congress' power to force people to buy insurance suggests deep trouble for the insurance requirement, and possibly the entire law."
Legal Correspondent Savannah Guthrie, on NBC Nightly News reported, "Even some of the legal arguments that some have looked at as unserious, or legal long-shots, the justices were taking very seriously. So we're set up for a decision in June in the middle of a presidential election year, and don't think the justices are not aware of [the timing]."
Brian Williams, on NBC Nightly News, said, "President Obama's healthcare law...might be on life support. Today's focus was this, how much of it can be salvaged if the court throws out the controversial requirement that all Americans be forced to buy health insurance?" Justice Correspondent Pete Williams added that if the mandate is found unconstitutional then "the justices seem to agree that more parts of the law should go with it, and many of them suggest tossing out most of it." Justice Scalia: "My approach would say, if you take the heart out of the statute, the statute is gone." According to Williams, "The best hope for the Obama Administration would be...that the justices would find it so hard to decide what to throw out and what to keep that they simply let the entire law stand, but...that seems a dim prospect."
NBC's Pete Williams, on MSNBC's Hardball also reported, "It does seem that all of the justices agree that if the insurance requirement is found unconstitutional, some parts of the law have to go," including "the ban on insurance companies refusing to give coverage for preexisting conditions."
On the CBS Evening News, Jan Crawford reported that the "liberal Justices...pushed to save the rest of the massive healthcare law." Justice Ginsburg: "Why shouldn't we say it's a choice between a wrecking operation, which is what you are requesting, or a salvage job?" Crawford added, "Opponents argue that without everyone buying insurance, the rest of the law doesn't work, including one provision that bars insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions and a second that prevents companies from hiking up premiums based on a person's medical history."
Adam Liptak, in a front-page article for the New York Times , says the justices "moved from the high theory of constitutional interpretation to the real-world consequences of what various rulings would entail." According to Liptak, Justice Breyer "seemed to agree that the Supreme Court is not well suited to editing the balance of the law should the mandate fall" when he commented, "I would stay out of politics. That's for Congress, not us."
The Los Angeles Times , in an article titled "Supreme Court Appears Poised To Nullify Entire Healthcare Law," reports that the court "appeared ready to strike down...the entire law, invalidating a major piece of domestic legislation for the first time since the Depression." The Times says this is a "prospect" that was "unthinkable to many experts as recently as last week." According to the Times, "The court's five-member conservative majority...appeared openly hostile to its scheme for mobilizing the federal government to achieve universal healthcare."
The Washington Post says the "conservative majority" is "signaling that it may be on the brink of a redefinition of the federal government's power. ... The rhetoric of the past three days led" Solicitor General Verrilli to "make an unusual and emotional plea to the justices for restraint. He asked them to respect Congress's judgment rather than insert themselves into a partisan battle." Verrilli said, "This is something about which the people of the United States can deliberate and they can vote, and if they think it needs to be changed, they can change it."
White House Has "No Contingency Plan," Points To Romney's Mandate According to Fox News' Special Report, "The White House is showing signs it's preparing a positive spin regardless of the outcome." Ed Henry reported, "While President Obama boasts about not paying attention to 'cable chatter,' his staff could not ignore the storm of criticism directed at his solicitor general, Donald Verrilli, for what many called a weak performance that may have helped put the President's signature domestic achievement on the brink." White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest: "What Mr. Verrilli delivered was a very solid performance before the Supreme Court. That's a fact." Henry added, "White House aides insist the President is so certain of victory, he does not have a 'plan B.'"
The Hill also reports that the White House "has no contingency plans in place in the event the Supreme Court rules the healthcare law is unconstitutional. ... If the law is thrown out, there's 'no contingency plan in place'...Earnest said. ... 'We're focused on maximizing the benefits of this law.'" The Hill notes Earnest "said the healthcare law 'was originally a Republican idea' and was backed by 'the former governor of Massachusetts.'"
Potential Political Repercussions Assessed The CBS Evening News reported, "If the Court throws it out, it will be the first time since the New Deal that the court has struck down a major domestic program proposed by the President and passed by the Congress."
The Washington Post , in an article titled "Supreme Court's Healthcare Ruling Could Deal Dramatic Blow To Obama Presidency," also reports that the White House is "refusing publicly to consider that the law might be struck down or to discuss contingency plans," but "other Democrats" are "surmising that a backlash against Republicans could follow a ruling against the law." However, according to the Post, "Supporters argue that on a substantive level, the results would be devastating" because "it was Obama who, at every turn during the original healthcare debate, pressed for a more ambitious package that required Americans to purchase insurance. A nullification would serve as a dramatic rebuke of that decision as well as the judgments Obama and his advisers made about the legality of the law."
Karl Rove, in his column for the Wall Street Journal , analyzes the President's options in the event that all or parts of the ACA are overturned. Rove says the President may choose to back an even more ambitious single-payer reform plan while criticizing the justices who ruled against him on the campaign trail.

House Votes Down Simpson-Bowles-Based Budget 382-38 The AP reports the House "voted decisively late Wednesday to reject a bipartisan budget mixing tax increases with spending cuts to wring $4 trillion from federal deficits over the coming decade." The plan by Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN) and Steve LaTourette (R-OH) "was patterned on a plan by President Barack Obama's 2010 deficit commission." It was defeated 382-38 . House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan "was the only lawmaker to speak against the plan, saying it relied too heavily on tax increases and not enough on spending cuts." The Washington Times reports Ryan said, "This doesn't go big. This doesn't tackle the problem. This doesn't do the big things."
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports the bill failed even though LaTourette "believed it had a better chance of Senate passage than the six other budget proposals under House of Representatives consideration." LaTourette said, "Obviously, there is resistance from both parties' leadership,' LaTourette said. 'They want to continue the partisan beat-down on the budget every year."
The Wall Street Journal says the plan would reduce tax rates but also eliminate or drastically curtail tax breaks. It would limit federal healthcare spending growth and order Congress to find at least $300 billion in spending cuts in other programs. Roll Call says "even by some of its biggest boosters" like Minority Whip Steny Hoyer voted against it. Hoyer "said in a statement that he did so because he did not think now was the right time to vote on the measure."

Campaign News

CNN Poll: Obama Up Double Digits Over Romney And Santorum A CNN/ORC International survey of 925 registered voters taken March 24-25 shows President Barack with double-digit leads over both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, much larger than other recent surveys. According to the poll, Obama leads Romney 54%-43% and Santorum 55%-42%. Of the survey results, CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said, "President Obama currently wins majority support among groups that have been problematic for him in the past, including men, older voters, and suburbanites. He has a solid lead among independents as well."
On its website, Politico reported on the poll results, noting that the survey showed that Obama's "approval rating has inched over the 50% mark in CNN surveys for the first time since last May, when the polls were still registering the after-effects of the death of Osama bin Laden." The poll also shows "that Obama is also the only presidential candidate with a personal popularity rating over 50%, with 56% of the public having a favorable view of Obama as a person and 42% seeing him in an unfavorable light. By contrast, nearly half of the respondents have an unfavorable view of Romney, compared to only 37% with a favorable view."

Romney Edging "Into Mop-Up Phase" Of GOP Race The momentum of the GOP race, which has swung wildly throughout the last year, appears to be turning inexorably towards Mitt Romney, as he secures key endorsements while his remaining rivals struggle for traction. The AP reports, "After a three-month struggle, Mitt Romney edged into the mop-up phase of the race for the Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday, buoyed by Newt Gingrich's decision to scale back his campaign to the vanishing point and Rick Santorum's statement that he would take the No. 2 spot on the party ticket in the fall. Romney campaigned by phone for support in next week's Wisconsin primary while he shuttled from California to Texas on a fundraising trip, praising Gov. Scott Walker, for 'trying to rein in the excesses that have permeated the public services union.'"
Former President George H.W. Bush To Endorse Romney Today The Washington Post reported in its "Election 2012" blog that ex-President George H.W. Bush "will formally endorse Mitt Romney's presidential bid on Thursday, becoming the latest establishment Republican to rally behind the GOP frontrunner."
The AP says that "formal backing from the 41st president shows the" GOP "is uniting behind Mr. Romney while pressure builds on challengers Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich to leave the race." The AP notes that ex-first lady Barbara Bush "has formally backed Mr. Romney," as has ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, "a son of Mr. and Mrs. Bush."
Rubio Backs Romney The AP reports that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, potential VP candidate, endorsed Romney last night, "saying it's increasingly clear that Romney will win the nomination and that continuing the primary fight will only damage the effort to defeat President Barack Obama." The Senator "had pledged to stay neutral in the race." Backing Romney during an appearance on Fox News, however, Rubio "called a floor fight over the nomination at the party convention in August 'a recipe to deliver four more years to Barack Obama.'"
The New York Times reported in its "The Caucus" blog that Rubio said, "I am going to endorse Mitt Romney and the reason why is not only because he is going to be the Republican nominee but he offers, at this point, such a stark contrast to the president's record. In Mitt Romney, we have a candidate, an alternative, that in addition to being successful as a governor, running an important state in this country, has also been successful in the private sector and offers a very clear alternative to the direction this president is going to take our country."

Gingrich Cuts Staff And Travel Plans, But Vows To Remain In GOP Race While Romney continues to gain high-profile endorsements, the viability of Newt Gingrich's new strategy to concentrate on taking the fight to the convention is being questioned. USA Today reports, "With dwindling funds and a series of losses in key" primary contests, Newt Gingrich "overhauled his presidential campaign this week, shedding staff and scaling back travel in order to stay in the race until the Republican convention in August."
The Washington Post reports, "Short on cash and out of states where he can make a stand," Gingrich is pursuing "a new convention-or-bust strategy that puts him on a course to play party spoiler at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August. ... In switching from a more conventional primary calendar strategy, Gingrich is acknowledging the obvious: With victories in just two states, and drubbings in several others," he "may be out of chances for victory."
The Los Angeles Times reported on its website, "Though he has announced his full-time campaign staff will be cut by a third, that his campaign schedule will be scaled back and his campaign manager has been replaced...Gingrich remains adamant that he will stay in the race. 'Romney has to earn this. It's not going to be given to him,' Gingrich said in an interview with Washington's WTOP-FM Wednesday morning, soon after his campaign's announcement of the cutbacks."
Adelson: Gingrich "At The End Of His Line" The Jewish Journal reported that Sheldon Adelson, "who with wife Miri, has given more than $15 million to the Newt Gingrich Super PAC Winning Our Future, said Monday he believes Gingrich is 'at the end of his line' regarding the race for the Republican presidential nomination."