Today, I’m reminded of the smash hit “Against All Odds” by Mariah Carey. (Ok, originally by Phil Collins.) Why? Because Ken Cuccinelli faces tough odds in the Fourth Circuit today. The three-judge panel selected to hear his case against ObamaCare was all nominated by Democratic presidents. Two of them were nominated by Obama himself. Yep, that’s the same Obama as in “ObamaCare.”
It was a bad dose of random chance that drew up these three judges in the first place, from the court’s 14-member bench, just about half of which were nominated by Republicans, half by Democrats.
I wish that politics didn’t play such a divisive, polarizing role in health care reform, and I especially wish that judges in our courts system could be blind to the parties and the players, and focus purely on the Constitution. Maybe the judges in the Fourth Circuit will do that today, and surprise us all.
But after a year of challenges in district courts that have turned out with rulings along party lines, it’s hard to believe that we can forget about who nominated whom.
The three judges that will hear today’s oral arguments in both the Liberty University case and the Virginia case are:
- Judge Diana Gribbon Motz – nominated by Clinton
- Judge Andre M. Davis – nominated by Obama
- Judge James A. Wynn, Jr. – nominated by Obama
Check out HealthCareLawsuits.org for more information on the Fourth Circuit, and reactions from legal experts.
If things don’t turn out his way in this appellate court, Cuccinelli has promised to appeal to the Supreme Court. He told the Wall Street Journal: “If I had to bet on one side or the other, I’d bet on us,” Mr. Cuccinelli said. “But I wouldn’t bet everything.”
Now, to the Fourth Circuit I say, “To wait for you, is all I can do, and that’s what I’ve got to face.”