Everyone (including me) is cracking on Donald Verrilli, Obama’s Solicitor General. He figuratively died on the biggest legal stage in the world today. Here’s a sample of the left’s reaction to Verrilli’s performance:
Mother Jones:
Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. should be grateful to the Supreme Court for refusing to allow cameras in the courtroom, because his defense of Obamacare on Tuesday may go down as one of the most spectacular flameouts in the history of the court. via Mother Jones
The New Republic:
Solicitor General Don Verrilli seemed to struggle more than Paul Clement, attorney for the states. via The New Republic
Business Insider:
In an audio of the hearing, Verrilli, who is arguing the Obama administration’s side in the case over healthcare reform, seems like a nervous wreck. Delivering the first remarks of the day, Verrilli clearly loses his composure when he starts to cough, and then appears to take a sip of water and get on with his statement, sounding a little rattled. Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-vericilli-coughing-supreme-court-obamacare-meltdown-2012-3#ixzz1qNaaVfJL
Look, Daniel Webster would not have fared any better today. The President sent General Verrilli to defend the indefensible, to argue nonsense, to convince the Supreme Court that what is is not.
The Constitution prohibits the federal government from doing anything that’s not enumerated in the Constitution (Tenth Amendment). But ObamaCare says you must buy a product solely because the government says so. The power to compel commerce is nowhere in the Constitution.
So give Donald Verrilli some slack. He had the impossible task of rewriting the Constitution before the Supreme Court’s prying eyes. And we all know, rewriting the Constitution is the exclusive domain of the Supreme Court.
Still, you have to watch this video:
https://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=iFExb
My Cousin Vinny — MOVIECLIPS.com
Sorry. Couldn’t resist.