Fox News contributor Ken Starr downplays risk to Affordable Care Act as “totally presumptuous and unfounded”
Published
Citation From October 12, 2020, Fox News coverage of Amy Coney Barrett confirmation hearings:
BILL HEMMER (ANCHOR): Ken Starr joins our coverage, former independent counsel and Fox News contributor.
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Where are we today, what have you observed so far, sir?
KEN STARR (FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR): Oh, it's such a breath of fresh air, as somewhat acrimonious as it may seem. This is really child's play in light of what we've seen in prior confirmation hearings. So I think the game is improved.
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The other thing is the one-trick pony, and it's a pretty darn good political trick, is she will strike down the Affordable Care Act, that is so totally presumptuous and unfounded. The issue coming up on November 10th is very narrow, it's very important, but it's whether the whole act gets thrown out.
Here's my prediction, and I agree with what's been said earlier. The supreme court is not going to throw the whole thing out. No way. You can take that to the bank. Why? Because the court is cautious, only two members of the court will be willing to say if one part of the statute is invalid, the so-called tax part, the penalty part, then the whole statute must fall.
That's not the law that the vast majority of justices ever to serve, including Antonin Scalia, certainly including Ruth Ginsburg, and I'm going to predict that if she's on the court, she, Justice Barrett, will not vote in fact to tear down the entire -- not as a political act, but that as jurisprudentially, you should try to be as respectful, whether you agree with it or not, the congressional process as possible, to preserve as much as you can when you disagree with it or not.