While we know that an anti-government group funded by plutocratic corporate powers is behind the lawsuit intended to terminate Obamacare – who are the four people who’re out front as the actual plaintiffs in the case?
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is the corporate front, but it had no standing to sue, so it had to find some actual people who would claim they’ve been harmed by the health care law. Thus, David King, a 64-year-old Vietnam vet, was recruited to be the lead plaintiff in King v. Burwell, which is now in the Supreme Court’s hands. He and three co-plaintiffs were chosen to put sympathetic human faces on what essentially is a right-wing political ploy.
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But who are they? An investigative article in Mother Jones magazine by Stephanie Mencimer reveals that King’s modest income as a self-employed limo driver exempts him from Obamacare’s insurance mandate – so he’s been done no harm by the law and, therefore, actually has no standing to sue. Moreover, as a veteran, he’s entitled to VA care and, in a few months, to Medicare, making him double-covered by public health programs. Mr. King’s main reason for being on CEI’s lawsuit appears to be that he loathes Obama.
None of the three other recruits seem to have been harmed by Obamacare, either. “I don’t know how I got on this case,” says Brenda Levy, adding that, “I don’t like the idea of throwing people off their health insurance.” Then there’s Rose Luck, whose low income also exempts her from the mandates. But she also loathes Obama, calling him “The anti-Christ” who is president only because “he got his Muslim people to vote for him.”
If five Supremes use this fraud of a lawsuit to take away the health coverage of as many as 10 million Americans, they’ll not be acting as “justices,” but as rank political hatchetmen.
“Meet the Unusual Plaintiffs Behind the Supreme Court Case That Could Destroy Obamacare,” www.motherjones.com, February 9, 2015.
“An Ode to Obamacare,” The New York Times, February 12, 2015.
“Health-Law Challenger’s Standing in Supreme Court Case Is Challenged,” www.wsj.com, February 6, 2015.
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