tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post7740989575413175059..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: CNN's Real GaffeJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-25551732605631184382012-06-29T08:41:20.491-05:002012-06-29T08:41:20.491-05:00It's notable then that the court ultimately ga...It's notable then that the court ultimately gave the GOP a slight but significant win on the aspect of the challenge that did most directly bear upon the central ideological issue of coverage expansion: the nature and implementation of Medicaid expansion.<br /><br />First best outcome for the GOP policy-wise was to have the law struck down, but second best was much more to have the expansion limited in some way, not more abstract, hypothetical issues surrounding federalism and which clause grants authority (for in many instances, it's a wash in terms of federalism whether federal power derives from taxing or regulating interstate commerce).PFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00263515090451316188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-82043729247181051782012-06-29T08:30:52.913-05:002012-06-29T08:30:52.913-05:00This seems like nuance-disabled TV and print journ...This seems like nuance-disabled TV and print journalists carelessly misadapting cues taken from SCOTUSblog: "The centerpiece *of the challenge to* the Affordable Care Act was the so-called individual mandate" (Amy Howe, http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/06/todays-health-care-decision-in-plain-english/ ). And I believe she'd used that phrasing as well in the lead-up to decision day.PFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00263515090451316188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-48883292830857610592012-06-28T22:49:24.792-05:002012-06-28T22:49:24.792-05:00Just ran into this one: Doug Schoen called it the ...Just ran into this one: Doug Schoen called it the "centerpiece" too. Or maybe he called the whole law the centerpiece; he was just doing a quick drive-by of the decision on his way to declaring that What This Means is that Obama should start slashing Medicare and Social Security.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/topic-a-parsing-the-supreme-courts-ruling-on-health-care/2012/06/28/gJQAGwNN9V_story_1.html" rel="nofollow">See here.</a>Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-62548154345482366232012-06-28T22:33:05.206-05:002012-06-28T22:33:05.206-05:00It really isn't, though. The real debate is ov...It really isn't, though. The real debate is over whether universal coverage is a good thing; the mandate is a means to get there, and the outrage over it is, I suppose I should add in my opinion, entirely phony.Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-36210218838593153462012-06-28T22:31:49.334-05:002012-06-28T22:31:49.334-05:00Damn. That's the word I was looking for when I...Damn. That's the word I was looking for when I was writing this post, and it just escaped me. Linchpin. That would have worked for CNN.Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-89915439611117450322012-06-28T22:25:35.898-05:002012-06-28T22:25:35.898-05:00It's the centerpiece of the political/ideologi...It's the centerpiece of the political/ideological debate around the ACA.WiseGuisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08498518837567919398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-31568661044235891462012-06-28T19:37:12.391-05:002012-06-28T19:37:12.391-05:00It totally is not the centerpiece of the law, it&#...It totally is not the centerpiece of the law, it's the linchpin. I have been happily surprised to hear it referred to that way by some commentators today and in the monthslong wait for the opinion.<br /><br />That said, I agree with Matt. We and they have been talking about it for so long within the context of the imminent ruling, which focused our attention solely on the mandate, because it was, as Denniston says, "the crucial – and most controversial — feature of the Affordable Care Act." That arguable makes it a centerpiece of the case, but not the Act.andrew longnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-76488488591828405012012-06-28T19:06:14.409-05:002012-06-28T19:06:14.409-05:00It's the centerpiece because it's what Wol...It's the centerpiece because it's what Wolf Blitzer was talking about at that moment! That makes it the most important thing in the whole universe!!!<br /><br />Killjoy.<br /><br />I agree, that mistake was more revealing of the pathology that is modern news reporting. Among other things, it means they fell for the right's framing. Again.<br /><br />OTOH, there were people warning beforehand that the opinions might be complicated and not instantly clear. So stationing someone in the courtroom with instructions to rush out in the first moments and deliver the "news" to the on-camera person outside was basically not knowing what kind of event you were covering. Pretty boneheaded.Jeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-77293790203087937122012-06-28T18:49:40.244-05:002012-06-28T18:49:40.244-05:00But, but, but, Jon: "it's important to t...But, but, but, Jon: "it's important to the extent it makes the really important stuff work." That's what a centerpiece *does.* Like the heart.Andrew Sprunghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17601269968798865106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-35127611979747161432012-06-28T18:20:21.909-05:002012-06-28T18:20:21.909-05:00Well, it was A centerpiece of the legal issues.......Well, it was A centerpiece of the legal issues....<br /><br />And FNC bolloxed it up this AM, too, for what it's worth.Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.com