On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision to uphold the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare." This panel, convened at the Aspen Ideas Festival on the morning of the ruling's announcement, discusses its impact on American healthcare."
Bio
David Brooks
David Brooks has been an op-ed columnist for The New York Times since 2003. Previously, he was an editor at The Wall Street Journal, a senior editor at The Weekly Standard, and a contributing editor at Newsweek and The Atlantic. Currently a commentator on PBS’s “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” Brooks is also the author, most recently, of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character. His earlier books are Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There and On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense. He has contributed essays and articles to many publications, including The New Yorker, Forbes, The Public Interest, The New Republic, and Commentary. He is a frequent commentator on NPR, CNN’s “Late Edition,” and “The Diane Rehm Show.”
Tom Daschle
Tom Daschle is a senior policy advisor in DLA Piper’s Government Affairs practice and serves as a member of the DLA Pipers Global Board. He is a former US senator (D-SD) and served as Senate majority leader from 2003 to 2005. In 2007, Daschle joined with former majority leaders George Mitchell, Bob Dole, and Howard Baker to create the Bipartisan Policy Center. Daschle serves on the board of the Center for American Progress and the National Democratic Institute and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He also is a member of the Health Policy and Management Executive Council at the Harvard School of Public Health as well as a member of the Global Policy Advisory Council for the Health Worker Migration Initiative. His most recent book, Getting It Done, is a close-up look at the 2009 passage of health care reform legislation.
Joe Klein
Joe Klein is a columnist and senior writer at TIME. He joined the magazine in 2003 to write a regular column, In the Arena, on national and international affairs. He is the author of The Natural: Bill Clinton’s Misunderstood Presidency and several other nonfiction books. As “Anonymous,” Klein wrote the critically acclaimed novel Primary Colors, a best-seller inspired by the 1992 political race. Klein is an occasional contributor to The New Yorker, where he formerly served as Washington correspondent. He has written articles and book reviews for The New Republic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, LIFE, Rolling Stone, and other publications. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a former Guggenheim fellow.
Suzanne Malveaux
Correspondent, CNN, White House
Vin Weber
Vin Weber is co-chairman and partner of Mercury/Clark & Weinstock and Mercury in Washington, DC. He provides strategic advice to institutions with matters before the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. Weber has successfully advised numerous clients on matters pertaining to mergers and acquisitions, crisis management, and strategic communications. Weber served in the US House of Representatives from 1981 to 1993, representing Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District. He was a member of the Appropriations Committee and an elected member of the House Republican leadership. Weber is one of the most prominent and successful strategists in the Republican Party and enjoys strong bipartisan relationships across the legislative and executive branches of government. He serves as a trusted advisor to senior officials in the administration and on Capitol Hill and has counseled numerous presidential campaigns. In 2004, Vin was the Bush-Cheney ’04 plains states regional chairman.
Joel Klein, a columnist and senior writer at TIME, and Vin Weber, a prominent and successful strategist in the Republican Party, discuss the Supreme Court's view that Obamacare is a tax and offer a few predictions on how voters in the presidential election will react to this large tax increase.
David Brooks, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times, believes the fiscal foundation of Obamacare is ultimately unsustainable and has a few harsh words for Romney's pathetic inability to talk about his own healthcare plan.