Paul Clement Predicted Obamacare Decision In 2010

Paul Clement, who argued for the 26 states suing the government over Obamacare, is a former Solicitor General to President George W. Bush.  Pretty much everyone should know who he is by now.  He also defended Arizona's law to the Supreme Court and is representing the House of Representatives to defend DOMA.

The day that Obamacare was decided last week was a dark day for many of us who value the freedom we have from government intrusion in our lives.  We were, of course, shocked by the Chief Justice's opinion. It had been speculated, of course, that Justice Kennedy would be the swing vote.

Paul Clement was interviewed the day that the Obamacare ruling came out, and he said that he was surprised, of course, and also frustrated that he didn't have the ability to discuss the taxing power more in the case.  The government had claimed that the law is valid due to the commerce clause in the Constitution, so of course, that is what Clement focused on in his argument.

Either way, no one expected the Chief Justice to do what he did.  At least, almost no one.  The link below has Paul Clement back in 2010 actually saying that the Chief Justice may be an available vote to support Obamacare.  In this clip, he is discussing a different case (Comstock) which he said perhaps could be a precursor decision to the Obamacare case.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgfp7l_fmr-solicitor-general-is-healthcare-the-next-comstock_news (the clip is under 3 minutes.)

Interesting.  I wonder if he remembers saying this.