A smaller and more subdued crowd gathered outside the Supreme Court Wednesday for the third and final day of the historic hearings over President Obama’ health care law.
About 100 supporters of the law, many carrying signs saying, “Protect our Health, Protect the Law,” marched in front of the Court, while about 30 opponents stood nearby with their own placards.
The justices are scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday morning about whether the rest of the health law can stand if the individual mandate is overturned by the court. In the afternoon, they are considering a challenge to the law’s Medicaid expansion.
Marty Hayden, 54, of Alexandria, Va., a supporter of the law, said he was optimistic the justices would uphold it, even though the government’s top lawyer had come under tough questioning Tuesday. “I still think the justices will do the right thing,” he said. “We are a long way from the ruling.”
Angela Bartels, 56, a nurse from Seattle who supports the law, also expressed confidence. She said pundits’ predictions are often wrong, adding, “It’s really hard to gauge what the judges will do based on the questioning.”
John Stevens, 49, of Richmond, Va., an opponent of the law, predicted a different outcome. “This law will not stand,” he said, adding that he was pleased by the justices’ aggressive questioning on Tuesday.
Several people also spoke outside the court about the value of Medicaid, the joint federal-state coverage program for low-income people slated to be expanded under the law, including an Ohio state lawmaker, a doctor and the grandparents of a child on Medicaid.
“We are beyond grateful for how Medicaid helped us with our granddaughter,” who suffers from multiple sclerosis and heart issues, said Linda Christianson of Arlington, Va.
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Today, on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building, there were about 100 supporters of the health care reform law and about 30 opponents? Is this some sort of joke? So, where’s the huge Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck/Sean Hannity crowd we were promised? The Tea Party movement is here to stay? Don’t make me laugh! Maybe you should do a web search for “REPORT: Number Of Tea Party Events Down More Than 50 Percent In 2011″? Maybe they should take their three ring circus on the road and call it, The Great Vanishing Tea Party Movement?
I think the more important issue coming up for republicans is getting this socialist clown (Obama) out of office. Not that the current healthcare system is without faults, but if his administration concentrated on improving the economy and more people had jobs, healthcare would not be an issue. Instead, we just keep catering to people that want to sit and collect hand outs or make irresponsible decisions with their life while taking money out of hard working Americans pockets to pay for it. Socialized healthcare is not the answer and other countries that currently have it are having serious problems, worse than we face now. Why do you think so many Canadians are coming into America to get healthcare?