Unconstitutionality A Pretty Rare Thing, Says Podcast

May 9, 2012 - PRLog -- PHILADELPHIA, PA - As the Supreme Court weighs President Obama's healthcare reform legislation, one history podcast is reminding us that the Supreme Court knocking down Acts of Congress is actually quite rare.

One may think that with the myriad laws past by Congress every year that the Court has a large record of overturning law, that there have been thousands of laws overturned by the fellows in the robes.  But according to the My History Can Beat Up Your Politics Podcast, the number is less than 200, slightly less than one per year since the Court's history.

"Between 1803, when the Court used its power of unconstitutionality in Marbury vs. Madison, up until 2008, when they ruled against military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, the Court has only found 165 Acts of Congress unconstitutional," host Bruce Carlson said.

The podcast's source is the Congressional Research Service and the statistic does not include state laws, municipal codes and executive branch actions or rulings, only Acts of Congress.  Still for anyone reading into this historical reluctance that the Court will be cautious, the podcast advises not to look at it that way.  

"I'd tell supporters of healthcare that past practice does not guarantee future results, as the saying goes," Carlson notes.  "It's an interesting factoid, but it shouldn't be applied to the healthcare decision for anything more than to say, if it happens, its a pretty big news story."

The program, My History Can Beat Up Your Politics, has been commenting on the history behind today's politics for over five years and has thousands of listeners who obtain the program on iPods, laptops, or smartphones.    

Free episodes are available at www.myhistorycanbeatupyourpolitics.com