1. For Conservatives, August Begins and Ends in Florida

2. More Proof We Need More Conservatives in Congress

3. Repeat after me: THE OBAMACARE ‘MANDATE’ WAS ACTUALLY A TAX.

4. The Supreme Court’s Disappointing Tax Ruling

5. Arkansas Democrat Puts On A Weird Show

6. Holder’s Contempt Citation Could Give New Meaning to “House Arrest”

1. For Conservatives, August Begins and Ends in Florida

At the end of August, Republicans will gather in Tampa, FL to nominate Mitt Romney for President. But at the beginning of August, Conservatives will gather in Jacksonville, FL for the RedState Gathering.

We’re going to have RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Florida Governor Rick Scott, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Senator Ron Johnson, former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, along with a number of candidates including Joe the Plumber, Ted Cruz, and more.

There’ll also be a few big names attending who we will announce in the coming week. We’re also going to throw in, free of charge, activist training from American Majority. It is, bar none, the best training you can get as we try to take back the Senate and White House.

You are not going to want to miss it. I’ll be there as well.

Remember, unlike any other conference, the RedState Gathering happens because the politicians and candidates want to meet you. There is no fancy stage. There is no big divide between you and the candidates. Every person who speaks is required to take 15 minutes of their time to answer your questions. The candidates and politicians pay their own way and answer your questions because they value the authentic grassroots conservatives who make up the RedState readership. It helps us keep your costs down and your access up.

But time is running out. You only have a couple weeks left to get a super deal on the hotel and a discounted registration rate. Go here now to register for the 2012 RedState Gathering.

You won’t want to miss it. See you in Jacksonville, FL on August 2nd as we begin the march to Tampa and our campaign to take back the White House.

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2. More Proof We Need More Conservatives in Congress

Every Republican swears up and down that he/she supports limited government, a balanced budget, and free markets. Yet, once again, only a fraction of Republicans in Washington were able to stand for those ideals. The House and Senate passed the Obama highway bill/student loan stimulus on Friday with overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress.

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3. Repeat after me: THE OBAMACARE ‘MANDATE’ WAS ACTUALLY A TAX.

And that affects profoundly the question of how to get rid of it. Mickey Kaus is correct, and Ryan Lizza & David Frum are wrong on this: the only reason that Obamacare was not cast down was because the US Supreme Court decided 5-4 that the so-called ‘individual mandate’ was constitutional if it was considered to be a tax. The US Supreme Court also decided, 5-4, that the so-called ‘individual mandate’ was not Constitutional if done under the Commerce Clause. So anyone who wants to argue that the Obamacare health tax is not actually a tax must also admit that Obamacare is unconstitutional. Supporters of Obamacare do not get to have it both ways. The Supreme Court has ruled that Obamacare’s centerpiece is a half trillion dollar tax hike on the middle class. This is a thing that has happened. And it means, among other things, that the Democrats’ threat of a filibuster is an empty one when it comes to repealing it next January. We have a Senate majority, we can remove the health tax. Simple as that.

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4. The Supreme Court’s Disappointing Tax Ruling

The ruling that Obamacare’s individual mandate exceeded Congress’ power under the Commerce Clause showcased the Supreme Court at its intellectual best: the fruits of years of detailed and heated scholarly and judicial debate, intensive briefing and vigorous argument were reflected in the various opinions. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Court’s opinions on the alternative ground – the taxing power – that Chief Justice Roberts and the Court’s four Democratic appointees found to be an alternative basis for the mandate. Critics on the Right have assumed that Roberts is wrong about the taxing power, and the cheerleaders on the Left are simply pocketing the result, but neither the various opinions nor most of the commentary have bothered to explain a theory of what Congress can and cannot constitutionally do through its power to tax.

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5. Arkansas Democrat Puts On A Weird Show

I just … I don’t even … wut? The above video shows Democrat State Senator Gene Jeffres, who is running for Congress in Arkansas against Republican Tom Cotton, answering a question about healthcare. The first weird thing Jeffres did was get down on his knees in front of a woman, like maybe he was going to whisper the secret 11 herbs and spices to her. The second weird thing he did was assert that Germany has provided for the healthcare of their citizens for “centuries”. No wait, sorry. The first weird thing he did was to choose to wear that suit.

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6. Holder’s Contempt Citation Could Give New Meaning to “House Arrest”

I’ll give you two disclaimers here: 1) I am nowhere near as well-versed on the Fast & Furious events as folks here like Moe & Jeff, so this piece won’t help anyone understand the events behind that, and 2) I Am Not A Lawyer…and there’s a lot of lawyerly stuff here.

With that out of the way … when the Holder contempt of Congress vote first came up, I asked my attorney buddies here on RS a question: if Holder is found in criminal contempt of Congress, who is going to enforce it? It’s not likely that a representative of the Department of Justice is going to swoop in and arrest their own boss. So what happens? The consensus was – there’s not a lot that can be done.

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