The Citizens United case is the most important

[xchrom]

Political event to happen in my life time.

Not HCR -- because that case will affect HCR from here on out.

The American voter will not be ultimate arbiter
of the HCR.

[tridim]

1. HCR passed despite the horrible SCOTUS ruling

How do you explain that?

[amborin]

2. easy

lobbyists and advertisers have already been plying pols with $$$$$$$$$$$$ and ads.

take Obama, for example:


Big Pharma and Big Insurers got paid back with this HCR:


Health Sector Totals to Candidates
Display: Select a Sector Agribusiness Communications/Electronics Construction Defense Energy/Natural Resources Finance/Insurance/Real Estate Health Lawyers & Lobbyists Transportation Misc Business Labor Ideology/Single-Issue Other

Total to these candidates: $41,955,231 (Dems 66.7% and Repubs 33.1%)

Health
Obama, Barack $19,507,812
McCain, John $7,409,123
Clinton, Hillary $6,392,399
Romney, Mitt $2,274,300
Giuliani, Rudy $2,076,547
Paul, Ron $826,583
Richardson, Bill $775,870
Edwards, John $591,891
Thompson, Fred $538,074
Huckabee, Mike $489,402
Dodd, Chris $334,250
Biden, Joe $283,380
Brownback, Sam $109,080
Thompson, Tommy $66,811
Nader, Ralph $62,251
Kucinich, Dennis $53,857
Vilsack, Tom $32,800
Tancredo, Tom $31,600
Hunter, Duncan $27,930
Barr, Bob $22,550
Gilmore, Jim $15,600
Gravel, Mike $11,721
Keyes, Alan $11,600
Baldwin, Chuck $6,050
McKinney, Cynthia

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/sectors.php?sector=H

[tridim]

3. The Insurance Industry did NOT want to be regulated.

And you know what?

Today they are regulated, for the first time in American history.

They're lucky that they are still in business, and it's now up to them if they want to follow the law. The penalty for not following the law is corporate suicide. Investors don't like that.

[amborin]

4. naive

"the penalty for not following the law is corporate suicide"

you need to read up some! even just a tiny bit of reading will reveal the folly of that statement.

take insurers, for example:

Anthem Blue Cross in California has broken the law repeatedly. They enact recissions all the time. The state of CA tried to sue them. Anthem can out-spend the state. CA gave up and dropped its lawsuits.

Numerous other examples abound.

Please, don't be so naive.

The Wall Street debacle is yet another example.

And, have you ever heard of loopholes? There are PLENTY!

[xchrom]

5. +1