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Supreme to Decide Fate of Healthcare Law; March In D.C. For Trayvon Martinl; Interview with South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson; Politics of Healthcare Law

Aired March 27, 2012 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Supreme Court gets down to the heart of the matter in one of the biggest cases in more than a decade. The court is deciding the fate of the sweeping health care reform law and the future of your medical care. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington, Suzanne Malveaux is on assignment.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Ashleigh Banfield in New York. Welcome to CNN's coverage of the health care on trial. We're bringing you the very latest developments in what is sure to be a landmark case. We're also bringing it down a notch and explaining what it all means to you on a personal level.

BLITZER: A very important case. The Supreme Court justices heard two hours of arguments today. We hope to get audio from inside the court this hour. We'll share it with you as soon as it comes in. The focus was on the main issue of the case, what's called the individual mandate. It requires almost all Americans to have health insurance, and it's scheduled to take effect in 2014. It imposes a financial penalty for not having health insurance.

Let's get right to today's hearing, what went on inside the court. Our Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin and our Congressional Correspondent Kate Baldwin were both inside the courtroom. And Jeff, you said, based on what you heard today inside the courtroom, you think the court is likely, right now, to overturn this individual mandate. You just tweeted, I was just looking at your Twitter feed. You just tweeted, this was a train wreck for the Obama administration. What happened?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you saw right out of the box three conservative justices just go after the solicitor General Donald Verrilli. Anthony Scalia not a big surprise. Samuel Alito not a big surprise. And Anthony Kennedy also -- you know, who is usually the swing vote, expressing nothing but skepticism about the constitutionality. Clarence Thomas didn't say anything. John Roberts, to my surprise, was the most sympathetic of the conservatives to the Obama administration's position, but he wasn't very conservative -- he wasn't very sympathetic.

So, it really did look to me like there were five votes to strike down the affordable care act, the mandate provision. The four liberals on the court, Samuel -- Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonya Sotomayor and Elena Kagan tried very hard to defend the law. They asked sympathetic questions of Verrilli. They asked challenging questions of Paul Clement and Mike Carvin, but they did not look like they had a fifth vote in that courtroom. And you know, it takes five votes to win and look likes the conservatives have them.

Now Kate, you were inside the courtroom, the solicitor General Donald Verrilli, was he sort of stumbling? Did he not have the right answers? Did he seem unprepared and overly nervous in responding to the conservative justices' tough questioning?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to get into his mind, but I can say if you compare it to yesterday, he did -- he did appear to stumble more, almost seemed apologetic for some of the answers he was giving. There was a stark difference from his delivery yesterday as to -- compared to today.

And Jeff was talking about the conservative justices really going after and asking him some very tough questions, barely letting him finish his sentence sometimes before they piped in. I was just looking over my notes while we're still waiting for the audio to be released. Justice Kennedy, a key voice in this, asking clearly, are there any limits to the commerce clause, really trying to get to the heart. They want to know is there any boundary to what the government is trying to do with this law?

Also voicing his concerns saying that -- the government telling people that they must act that's different from how they -- from their previous cases, and he said he was concerned that that changes the relationship of the individual and government in a very profound fundamental way and voicing concerns there.

And Chief Justice Roberts, this quotation I keep returning to because I thought it was pretty key, talking about how his concerns, even albeit maybe the most sympathetic but still not so sympathetic, his concerns about where the boundaries are here and what the government is trying to do with this health care law, saying that once you're in the interstate market and you say you can regulate it and talking to the government here, all bets are off.

Those are just some of the quotations that really stuck out to me as we wait for this -- as we wait for the audio to come here. But I think Jeff would agree, all eyes turn to the issue tomorrow of severability. That's going to be a big question. If the individual mandate falls, if they find it unconstitutional, can any of the law stand? And that's going to be a key question.

BANFIELD: You know, let's dive in there. Jeff Toobin, let me dive in there with you. Because it's 2,700 pages, this act, and 450 different provisions. And it made me think right away, if this mandate -- this is just one issue, but if this mandate falls, then how can an insurance company afford -- if it doesn't have everybody in the pool, how can an insurance company afford to cover all of those people with pre-existing conditions?

TOOBIN: That's why it's a very key issue, this issue ever severability. I mean, there have been various ways that the law has been constructed that suggest the possibility that some aspects of the law could remain. For example, one very popular aspect of the law is that the children can stay on their parents' health insurance policies until age 26. That strikes me as something that could probably remain even if the individual mandate is struck down.

You know, the -- some people think, I mean, there's sort of conspiracy theories here, that the Obama administration might be better off with the individual mandate struck down because it's proven not to be that popular, where as the other provisions are popular -- are more popular. I don't buy that. I think this is -- it would be a disaster for the Obama administration if this thing is struck down.

But, the question of how you carve out the individual mandate is a very difficult one. In fact, it's so difficult that the Supreme Court asked a third lawyer to argue tomorrow, because the Obama administration argues that the individual mandate plus something else should be struck down if you strike something down. The opposing lawyers say only the individual mandate would be struck down, and the court appointed a third lawyer to argue that the whole thing should be struck down.

BANFIELD: So many more questions and so little time.

TOOBIN: It's the other way around, sorry. It's the -- it's the -- it's the opponents who are arguing that the whole thing should be struck down and they appointed a lawyer to argue that just the individual mandate should be struck down. Thank you for that.

BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE.)

BANFIELD: And I still want to ask you all about the possibility of the return of the public option and health care exchanges but that's going to be for another segment, so you can think that through in the meantime. But I do want to let our viewers know that --

TOOBIN: Don't hold your breath.

BANFIELD: -- we have a rundown of -- I did -- just to tax you more than you have already been today. A rundown of some other stories that we've got on the docket for your as well today. First, keep your hands off my health care, certainly one battle cry going on at a rally in D.C. today. And Michele Bachmann is leading the charge on that.

Then also, we're hearing more about the shooting of Trayvon Martin from a leaked police report.

And also, there is no question about it, this health care reform trial is going to have very serious political implications. The impact, going to take a look at what the potential rulings could mean for the candidates on the stump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: It's truly an historic day for health care reform in the United States as the Supreme Court decides if the so-called individual mandate requiring almost everyone to have health insurance is in fact constitutional. Demonstrators are wanting their voices to be heard. Our Dana Bash is out there at a rally in Washington. Dana, it's what some are calling, hands off my healthcare, the rally. How fired up is this crowd here?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are very fired up, Wolf. In fact, I want Jeremy Harley just to give you a sense of what the crowd is like here. It goes on and on and on. We're just next to the capitol in what is called Russell Senate Park.

Right now, the first speaker is just starting, but if you can see, this just goes back for a very far while. And the people that were here, I talked to many of them, they have come from all over the country. They were bused in from -- everywhere from North Carolina, three buses from Michigan, from Philadelphia, and really all over the country, and every person I talked to said that they felt it was critical to come to have their voices heard. And I talked to one woman who said that she has been to every single one of what effectively are Tea Party rallies since they started to get fired up back in 2009, 2010 about this health care issue.

BLITZER: You know, Dana, Michele Bachmann, other members of Congress, are addressing the crowd out there. Looks sort of reminiscent of those intense rallies that all of us remember back in 2009, 2010. And those rallies clearly had a major political impact in the elections in November 2010. Give us perspective.

BASH: You are absolutely right. This very much feels like it's back to the future, like it is back then. And as I said, many of the people I've talked to here have been coming back to rallies. And they did make a huge impact. Look, I mean, you have to remember politically that the whole idea of the health care bill really did help to inspire the Tea Party is movement. They were already out there, there were other issues in the Obama administration that really did fire them up, but health care really helped crystallize the whole concept of the government having too much power, the government telling people what to do, don't tread on me, that kind of sentiment, the mantra of the Tea Party movement.

And the kind of speakers that we're going to see today, Wolf, really tells you some of them had some success back in 2010 and actually probably are in Congress because of the Tea Party and probably because of the president's health care bill. For example, Congressman Allen West of Florida, he is going to be here. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and others. As you said, Michele Bachmann was an early supporter of the Tea Party movement. She was an early opponent of the health care legislation. She is going to be speaking here momentarily.

But you are absolutely right, this does remind you that this health care bill, as much as Democrats found it a big accomplishment for the president, it really did fire up the opposition that at the end of the day it helped lead to the Republicans taking over the House.

BLITZER: Yes, it could have -- it's a major political impact as well in the months leading up to November, the election this year. Stand by, Dana, we're going to get back to you. I want to bring Ashleigh back into this conversation. Ashleigh, you asked Jeffrey Toobin before if this Supreme Court decision could potentially lead to a single payer government sponsored health care system in the U.S. like the Canadians have, for example, and you heard him say don't hold your breath. Let me echo that. Don't hold your breath, Ashleigh, if you think that that could potentially be on the horizon any time soon.

BANFIELD: Yes, but you know that is what a lot of people are talking about, that, very ironically, Democrats might actually get what they wanted which was that extraordinary provision that they fought so hard for, that exchange -- the insurance exchange, you know, and the public option. So, this all gets thrown back to the drawing board. Who knows if that's going to be back on the table at some point, but it sure does make for some more political talk for people like you and me, that's for sure.

We're going to get back to the Supreme Court's debate over health care in just a moment. But first, we want to get you up to speed on a lot of other stories that are developing as well. There's a rally that was being held in Washington for slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. Students from a public school in D.C. as well as the faculty marched to the White House in a call for justice.

Later today, Trayvon Martin's parents are going to take their case to Capitol Hill. They'll attend a House hearing on racial profiling and hate crimes. The teenager's death has certainly sparked a national outcry with protests stretching from coast to coast. Listen in.

(CROWD CHANTING)

BANFIELD: People are just outraged that his killer, George Zimmerman, has not yet been charged in this case and no indication thus otherwise. A leaked police report, though, is starting to paint the unarmed teenager as the potential aggressor here. George Zimmerman claims that he stood his ground because he was attacked and beaten by the 17-year-old boy.

A memorial service is being held today for an Iraqi woman whose brutal beating death may have been a hate crime here in the U.S.

The woman's body will be flown home for burial. Her daughter describes the pain of finding her mother's body on the dining room floor of their southern California home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FATIMA ALHAMIDI, DAUGHTER OF VICTIM: She's innocent. She hasn't hurt anybody, you know. She is a mother of five. Why did you do it? I mean, I found her on the floor, drowned in her own blood, with a letter next to her head, saying, "Go back to your country, terrorist."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Scenes from Syria as the activists say at least 53 more people have been killed across the country today. It comes as we get word of a peace plan.

International Envoy Kofi Annan says Syria has accepted his proposal to stop the violence. The plan calls for government and rebel forces to commit to a cease-fire supervised by the United Nations. It does not include a Western and Arab demand for President Bashar al-Assad to resign from his post, which is something that Russia and China both oppose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First of all, are the mikes on? (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: That's President Obama having a little bit of fun, because of this moment on Monday where the mikes were open, and he was overheard telling the Russian president that he could be a little more flexible over missile defense after the November election.

He's also is defending his comments, about that, too, telling reporters that they were, quote, "consistent with his public opinion."

Hundreds of people evacuating their homes after a wildfire burned through 3,000 acres in Colorado, this in the mountains near Denver. Authorities have called in 450 firefighters to help out. One person has already died as a result of these fires; at least 15 homes have burned. And it started as a controlled burn by the Forest Service.

So, how did we get here? All the way to the Supreme Court when it comes to your health. We're going to talk to a state attorney general, who was one of the first to raise what he says was a red flag on the national health care debate. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: The epic legal fight before the Supreme Court today pits 26 states against the Obama administration. The justices heard two hours of arguments today on the administration's health care law, specifically that requirement that you have to have health insurance, and buy it even if you don't want it.

Alan Wilson is the South Carolina attorney general, and he's one of the AGs to file suit against the health care reform law. He helped lead the 26 states involved in this case and he joins us live from Washington.

Mr. Attorney General, thanks so much for being with us. I'm sure that you've been following along as we've had the breaking news, our Jeffrey Toobin calling the government's argument today in front of the nine "a train wreck." I want to get your reaction to that.

ALAN WILSON, SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, I believe it was a train wreck before it even got out of the station, Ashleigh. The biggest thing that I took out of this court today is Justice Kennedy's questioning that, if the court upholds this law, this will fundamentally change the way that the government relates to individuals.

That is very telling to me that at least Justice Kennedy had that concern. So I'm very -- I'm very optimistic that we will prevail in this lawsuit in the end.

BANFIELD: But, sir, at the same time, while Justice Kennedy is usually the swing vote, so, sure, that would be an intriguing thing to listen to, you know, Justice Roberts was also equally hard on Paul Clement, who was arguing on behalf of you and your colleagues that don't want this -- don't want this law.

So, is it sort of a flip to think that it's possible, the chief justice may, in fact, side with the four more liberal justices?

WILSON: Well, I'm not going to tell that you Justice Roberts is going to flip, or that Justice Kennedy is going to support the state's proposition, because I just don't know what they are going to do.

But I'm -- what I am saying is that I'm at least excited to hear that Justice Kennedy recognized that the fundamental way this will change this country from hence more (sic).

I also like the fact that Justice Roberts, when the government tried to say that the health care market is unique and that's why it needs special attention from the federal government in being regulated and commanding people to enter into commerce, he said, well, if we do it for the health care market, we can't differentiate between other markets. So this is something that would be a slippery slope.

Justice Scalia followed up by saying that the federal Congress, the federal government is a government of enumerated powers. Any powers not delegated to them are left to the states under our 10th Amendment. So I believe that those messages are resonating with the court, and I'm hopeful that the court will ultimately conclude with those.

BANFIELD: Well, and to that argument, I just want to quote what Senator Patrick Leahy has just said, just within the last hour or so. He's the Democrat -- the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman.

He said, "I think it's a clear cut case. I think you have to really stretch to say this is unconstitutional, but Social Security, for example, or Medicare is constitutional. If you say this is unconstitutional, then you have to say Social Security or Medicare is unconstitutional, and I am not so sure the court is prepared to do that."

That sounds like a pretty logical argument. WILSON: Well, I would go on to say this, can the court force someone into a contract? A contract is between two mutually agreeable parties. If I'm coerced or compelled into a contract, that is -- there is nothing mutual about that and that contract is null and void. You know, we're talking about the Congress's power to regulate commerce.

The difference between the commerce clause and other clauses and the Constitution are that nowhere did the drafters give Congress the power to create commerce. They gave them the power to create money then regulate it.

They gave them the power to create the Navy and the Army and then regulate it. But they only gave the power to regulate commerce, not create commerce. And that's what this effectively does.

BANFIELD: Although if it is a tax, they certainly are in a contract with me, because I see it go out of my paycheck every single week. So it's great to see you, Alan Wilson. Thanks for weighing in on this, and I think we'll be talking again, at least between now and June.

WILSON: Thank you, Ashleigh

BANFIELD: Wolf, back to you.

Sure.

BLITZER: All right. Ashleigh, thank you. Thanks very much.

Let's get to some of the audio now, the audio being released on the same day as the arguments were made before the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.

First up, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the liberal justices on the court, listen to her questioning of the various lawyers.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

RUTH BADER GINSBURG, U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: A major, major point of your argument was that the people who don't participate in this market are making it much more expensive for the people who do.

That is, they will get -- a goodly number of them will get services that they can't afford at the point when they need them, and the result is that everybody else's premiums get raised, so you're not -- it's not your free choice just to do something for yourself. What you do is going to affect others, affect them in a major way.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLITZER: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the liberal justices, making the case to uphold the law, to let it stand. Now we're going to hear from some of the conservative justices in a moment as well. Stand by for that. Also, what's the political fallout going to be for the President of the United States and for the Republican candidates if the court shoots down the health care law? Our political panel is standing by for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: There are no cameras when it comes to Supreme Court proceedings, so you can't get a televised look at what the arguments are like. But you can hear them. Usually it takes a little time for the justices to release those audio recordings of the proceedings. But today, they are coming out pretty quickly, actually, just within a few hours of taking place.

And just before the break, we brought you a very short piece of an argument, questioning by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is considered to be extremely left wing on this divide -- and it is a divided court, make no mistake. So considered to be Left.

And on the right side of the court, considered to be extremely right on the court is Justice Antonin Scalia. We also have something we want to play for you of him asking questions. And it's about that argument you keep hearing about, if I have to buy insurance, then why can't the government then just turn around and make me buy broccoli? Have a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ANTONIN SCALIA, U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: (INAUDIBLE) that everybody needs health care sooner or later, but not everybody needs a heart transplant, not everybody needs a liver transplant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct, (INAUDIBLE), but you never know whether you're going to --

SCALIA: Could you define the market -- everybody has to buy food sooner or later. So you define the market as food. Therefore everybody is in the market, therefore you can make people buy broccoli.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. That's quite different. It's quite different. The food market, while it shares that trait that everybody's in it, it is not a market in which your participation is often unpredictable and often involuntary.

It is not a market in which you often don't know before you go in what you need, and it is not a market in which, if you go in and seek to obtain a product or service, you will get it even if you --

(CROSSTALK)

SCALIA: Is that a principal basis for distinguishing this from other situations? I mean, you know, you could also say, well, the person subject to this has blue eyes, that would indeed distinguish it from other situations. Is it a principal basis? It's a basis that explains why the government is doing this, but is it a basis -- (END AUDIO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I want to bring in our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, who is live on the steps of the Supreme Court, who was able to sit through those as they were transpiring.

You had one of the 117 seats allotted for the media, I think, allotted to the media.

Jeffrey, bring it down to --

(CROSSTALK)

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I did. It was great.

BANFIELD: You lucky dog. Bring it down for us. I get it. I get it when the questioning is tough. I get it that a lawyer brings his best game and can barely get part of his argument out because the justices keep interrupting. How feisty were these justices, both for and against this particular Obama policy?

TOOBIN: Well, the Roberts court, as a general rule, is known as a hot bench. They ask a lot of questions. It is often the case, even in a routine matter, that a lawyer will not get three sentences out before the justices start asking questions. And that was definitely the case today. You had eight justices, very engaged in the argument. As has been true for the past six years Clarence Thomas didn't ask a question. But the other eight were all over these lawyers.

And what made today striking because of the stakes of the case was how apparent the sympathies of the justices were. You had four liberals obviously defending the law at every turn -- Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan. But what was even more striking was the conservatives. Right out of the box. It was 15 minutes before a liberal justice got asked a question. Justice Scalia, Justice Alito, and even Justice Kennedy, who was often described as the swing vote, but today, was very sympathetic to those challenging the law. He did not say one thing in the course of two hours of arguments that gave me the sense he was thinking of upholding the law.

Among the conservatives, the only justice who seemed sympathetic to the Obama administration side was Chief Justice John Roberts, and I didn't think he was that sympathetic, but he did say some things that indicated that he understood that Congress saw this was a national problem that needed a national solution. And you could see a scenario where he might vote with the four liberals. But if I had to bet, I would certainly bet, after hearing this argument, that this court is going to strike down the individual mandate.

BANFIELD: Jeff, I'm trying to do the chess pieces in my head. Let's make this quick. Look, if this is political in chambers, and you wrote the book on the nine, if this is political, could those liberal justices go back to day one and say, well, we were really thinking maybe day one did give us jurisdiction to hear this, maybe we won't be so inclined to vote yes to day one. What does that do to day two and day three?

TOOBIN: You know, I think it just depends how cynical you are. I don't think that's how the court operates. The court was so unified yesterday on the issue of the procedure that now is the time to decide the case.

Most importantly -- I mean, the most important fact about the liberals on the United States Supreme Court is there are four of them, not five. It takes five of them to decide, takes five justices to win a case. If the four liberals got up on Friday morning, the day they have the conference to discuss the case and say, by the way, we now agree the case should be put off, it's still only four votes. So I mean, I appreciate your fiendish imagination, Ashleigh --

(LAUGHTER)

-- but I don't think that's going to play out that way.

BANFIELD: I never heard it called fiendish. I've heard it call clever or calculated, but never fiendish.

Thank you for that. We've got a lot more questions to ask you. I am going to get back to you on that health care exchange and the public option.

But first a quick break, and we're back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, THE SITUATION ROOM: The most controversial part of the health care reform law is front and center at the United States Supreme Court. Most Americans would be required to have health coverage by 2014, or they would face a financial penalty. Let's take a closer look at the politics.

Joining us now are our White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin, and our national political correspondent, Jim Acosta.

First to you, Jessica.

What's at stake specifically for the president of the United States in this Supreme Court decision that will come probably sometime in June?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the fate of his signature domestic policy achievement and a big crowing achievement for the Republican nominee if it should be struck down in part or in whole, Wolf. It could challenge the president's credibility as a leader and his ability to make good judgments, which is what they would no doubt challenge him on.

But Wolf, I want to -- if it were struck down. I want to tell you what administration sources are saying to me in response to some of the reporting that's come out of the court, including from our Jeff Toobin, saying that this has gone badly today for the administration. Sources are saying to me that they still believe that this will be upheld because they make the case that, when they presented this same case about the individual mandate to lower court -- very conservative lower court judges, Silverman and Sutton, that they also received similar difficult questions, and both those lower court judges, icons of the judicial right, upheld the individual mandate.

They also believe that Roberts, Chief Justice Roberts was tough on both sides. And they make the argument that when, last year, the voting rights case was brought before the Supreme Court, court watchers argued that they were going to lose that case as well, and they won. So, they are arguing that it is folly to prejudge the outcome at this point -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Are they saying anything, Jessica, about Donald Verrilli, the solicitor general, who was representing the Obama administration, arguing that the law should be up held, that according to our own Jeff Toobin, Kate Bolduan inside, he was stumbling. It was as if he was nervous, wasn't well prepared, wasn't making the case to uphold the law. Are they reacting to that part of the story?

YELLIN: They -- no one I spoke to commented on him one way or the other -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Jessica, stand by, because there are enormous ramifications for the Republicans as well.

Jim Acosta is working this part of the story.

What's the reaction so far from Republicans, Jim?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you heard Rick Santorum yesterday up in front of the Supreme Court, Wolf, trying to tie Mitt Romney to this case that is before the high court. It remains to be seen whether that issue is going to work for Rick Santorum.

Keep in mind, Mitt Romney has been picking up the support of pretty conservative Republicans over the last couple of days -- Mike Lee, the Senator from Utah, a Tea Party-backed Senator, who has opposed the president's health care law, and also noted conservatives with the American Conservative Union, Alfred Ennis, also coming out in support of Mitt Romney.

And you know, the other thing that Mitt Romney has going for him, he has the support of a lot of other Republicans up on Capitol Hill who are also, as Mitt Romney is, opposed to this health care law. a few of them were speaking up on Capitol Hill earlier today, led by Marco Rubio, widely speculated as a potential vice presidential running mate from Mitt Romney. Here's what some had to say earlier -- Wolf?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA: Obama-care has been a disaster for America and Americans financially. There is no doubt our country has a health insurance crisis that has to be confronted. This is the wrong way to confront it. SEN. JOHN CORNYN, (R), TEXAS: The reason this case is so important, as you all know, and the Senator points out, is because this legislation does grow the size and the role of government in ways that are really unprecedented in our history. And as we all know, as government grows, individual freedom shrinks.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: What I believe is it's the single worst piece of legislation that's been passed in the time I've been in Congress. It's still a bad idea. And if Senate Republicans become the majority next year, the first item on the agenda of a new Senate Republican majority would be to repeal Obama-care and the replacement of it with something that makes more sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: One thing we haven't heard a lot of from Mitt Romney over the last couple of days is a stout defense of the health care law he passed in Massachusetts. While he has said he is still satisfied with that law, you know, he has not talked about it a lot on the campaign trail the last couple of days.

And, Wolf, this is despite the fact that law is pretty popular up in Massachusetts. More than a majority of people in Massachusetts support that law. It has near universal coverage in the state. But it's something we do not hear Mitt Romney talking a lot on the campaign trail. And for good reason. He knows this is a political loser with a lot of conservatives.

I would wager a guess here, Wolf, that if this is struck down by the high court, this is going to be greeted as very good news over at the Romney campaign. This will essentially take one of the key issues of this race off the table for them heading into the fall campaign. They know that the White House, the president's re-election team has sort of a trump card hanging over them going into the fall campaign. The president and his team can say, look, you know, if you don't like our health care law, why did you pass it in Massachusetts first. That has basically been the argument from the Obama re-election campaign on this subject for months now -- Wolf?

BLITZER: You heard David Plouffe, the president's senior advisor, one of his to political strategists, called Mitt Romney the godfather of the president's health care reform law when it comes to mandates. So they think they neutralized him if Romney does become the Republican presidential nominee.

We'll continue our discussion of what's going on. Lots of breaking news happening out of the United States Supreme Court. You heard the politicians argue about it. The Supreme Court is certainly weighing in.

What does the health care law mean for you? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he's standing by live. He will answer your questions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: The audio from the arguments heard earlier in the day at the United States Supreme Court being released. We heard from Antonin Scalia, one of the conservative justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the liberal justices. Anthony Kennedy has been the so-called swing vote. A 5-4 decision, he is usually the man, the justice who makes that final decision.

Listen closely to what he was saying earlier today over at the Supreme Court, because I'm sure Obama administration officials were pretty depressed to hear this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY KENNEDY, U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: But the reason this is concerning is because it requires the individual to do an affirmative act. In the law of torts, our tradition, our law has been that you don't have the duty to rescue someone if that person's in danger. The blind man's walking in front of a car, you do not have a duty to stop him, absence some relation between you. And there's some severe moral criticisms of that rule, but that's generally the rule. And here the government is saying that the federal government has a duty to tell the individual citizen that it must act. And that is different from what we have in previous cases.

(CROSSTALK)

KENNEDY: That changes the relationship of the federal government to the individual in a fundamental way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That's the key argument against the Affordable Health Care Act, the law of the land right now, that what the government has done in passing health care reform is totally different than anything it's done before. You heard Justice Anthony Kennedy make that point just there. Certainly, a very significant moment in the two-hour arguments that were presented earlier in the day.

Ashleigh, none of us knows what is going to happen when the final decision comes done, probably mid to late June some time. But you heard Jeffrey Toobin say -- and he tweeted a while ago, as you pointed out -- this is a train wreck -- his word -- a train wreck for the Obama administration.

BANFIELD: And fascinating to hear Anthony Kennedy, the person you might not expect to be that tough, say what he did, and give that kind of inclination and indication.

Wolf, 30 percent of Americans want the Supreme Court to actually overturn President Obama's entire health care law. But it seems a larger number doesn't really understand what it's all about.

So, if you're out there and you're wondering how this law can impact you, we have the definitive resource for you.

(LAUGHTER) His name is Sanjay Gupta, best-selling author, happy to say.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: "New York Times" best-selling author.

Look at you.

Also former White House fellow.

You got more degrees, so there are your creds. You're live in Atlanta.

(CROSSTALK)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I read the bill, twice. I should point that out because it's relative here.

BANFIELD: 2700 pages.

GUPTA: I know. A lot of people have not read it. And I think that's part of the reason a lot of people don't understand it. I've read it. There's a lot of nuance which is worth discussing.

BANFIELD: I know you are being deluged with questions sent via Twitter and Facebook. Let's get right to them. I know a lot of people watching are hoping that they get their question asked.

Here is one. "I keep hearing the new law expands Medicaid. Why would that be a bad thing"?

GUPTA: You know, that depends on your perspective, whether it's good or bad. Medicaid, as things stand now, most know is a joint program between the federal and state governments and provides about 50 million people with health insurance as things stand. The income level would go up so more people would fall into it. The tough part, the federal government has agreed to pick up the initial tab on that but after that the states are expected to pick up the additional tabs. And 28 states, as a result of that, have sued, and that's part of this lawsuit as well. So more people being insured. But no one's quite sure how to pay for it or who is going to pay for it.

BANFIELD: That's a big issue tomorrow for day three that they are going to hash this out. This comes via Twitter. It says my daughter was diagnosed with a brain disorder, how will repealing the health care law affect that disorder? How will repealing the law affect pre-existing status?

GUPTA: As it stands now, children cannot be discriminated against, based on pre-existing conditions. It will include adults in 2014 if this goes through.

The real issue here is if the whole law is scrapped, then there won't be a pre-existing clause anymore, so this person's daughter will be affected. One thing that will probably get discussed over the next couple of days is whether this act can be severed. So you take the individual mandate out, which is being discussed right now, and say that's unconstitutional, but leave the rest of the law in place, again, you raise the same question, who is going to pay for it, where is the money going to come from. But it's possible, if it's severed, she could still be protected under pre-existing conditions.

BANFIELD: Oh, man. Sanjay, if that happen, that's going to be such a mess. You've read it. You know there's 450 provisions. How can they extrapolate which ones can survive without that mandate? Glad I'm not doing it.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Thanks so much, Sanjay.

Go ahead.

GUPTA: You've got it.

I was going to say. Also the part of the bargain was you get more money come in because more people are buying into the system under the individual mandate, and that helps offset the costs of people with pre-existing conditions. That's the pragmatic part of this as well -- Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: Right, bigger pool, more money able to cover the costs.

All right, Dr. Gupta, thank you so much.

GUPTA: You've got it.

BANFIELD: Congratulations on your best seller. No surprise. Your parents would be so proud.

Whether this law survives or does not survive, it's not just going to affect health care in America. It could also have a big effect on who your next president is going to be. Yes, I said it. Political fallout from the Supreme Court. Are you surprised? Wait for it. We're back after this.

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BLITZER: President Obama fought very hard to get the health care reform law passed. Two years after he signed the legislation, he know faces the possibility that the United States Supreme Court will overturn parts or all of it. And it's one of the most politically charged issues in the presidential race right now. The presidential Republicans rivals are all promising to repeal the law if they're elected.

Let's bring back our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger.

Gloria, as we take a look at this right now, the stakes for the president, especially after hearing these arguments today, doesn't look -- they don't look very good as far as upholding the law. The political stakes are enormous. GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure. The stakes are enormous for both Republicans, Democrats, and the president. Look, we don't know what the Supreme Court is going to do. We know, if all or part of this health care law is repealed, that at the very least it would be a huge disappointment for this White House, even a huge embarrassment. This was, as Jessica Yellin pointed out earlier, the signature political issue for President Obama, that he spent two years working on.

Now, Wolf, having said that, let me also say that the political fallout is not at all clear cut. For example, if the court were to repeal all of health care reform, there's 43 percent of the American public that says, just overturn some provisions, because they like some of the provisions. For example, that insurance companies have to insure you for a pre-existing condition. They like that. And so there are parts of this health care law that have people have decided they like and part they decided they don't like. If the court just strikes down the individual mandate, then the question becomes, how do you pay for the rest of health care reform? And President Obama can make a case and take it to the American public against the Supreme Court, saying that's why he's got to get re-elected and try to galvanize his base.

On the other side, if Mitt Romney were to become the nominee, he would say, this is why we need to rewrite health care, because President Obama and the Democrats passed something that the Supreme Court decided was unconstitutional.

So in the end, Wolf, it's very difficult to say how this, the fallout is going to appear on both sides. Whoever loses is going to figure out a way to try and turn it to their advantage.

BLITZER: Yes, and if Romney is the Republican nominee, Rick Santorum certainly has a point in saying he's not going to be as effective in fighting the president on health care reform since Romney himself supported mandates in Massachusetts when he was the governor of Massachusetts.

BORGER: Exactly.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Stand by, Gloria.

BORGER: And it's not the top issue, Wolf, either. When this law was decided a couple of years ago, health care reform was number one. Now people care about the economy, about the deficit, about jobs. So it may not be as prominent an issue as it once was.

BLITZER: Gloria is going to be back later in "The Situation Room."

I'm going to have a lot more coverage, Ashleigh, on what happened today. History unfolding on this important day in Washington.

BANFIELD: A totally joy to be working with you, Wolf, but we're cutting it short now to make room for CNN NEWSROOM, which continues right after this with Brooke Baldwin.

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