The Battle of the Ilyas III: Together against Obamacare

As the number of events I’ve participated in as a result of my challenge to debate “anyone, anywhere, any time” on the constitutionality of Obamacare approaches 50, I find myself in many interesting situations. This past Tuesday was no exception, as George Mason law professor (and Cato adjunct scholar) Ilya Somin and I took on Yale law professor Akhil Amar and NYU law professor Rick Hills in an Oxford‐​style parliamentary debate organized by the Amherst College Political Union.


This event had a number of interesting subplots: Somin and I have held an annual “Battle of the Ilyas” but now appear on the same stage arguing from the same position; Amar wrote a scathing oped attacking Judge Roger Vinson’s decision in the Florida Obamacare case to which I responded by rewriting to lyrics to “Every Breath You Take”; Hills and Somin were both students of Amar; and, of course, the debate was in Massachusetts, home of the Romneycare state‐​based individual health insurance mandate.


I think Somin and I acquitted ourselves rather well, especially given that the audience was hardly a sympathetic one. I’ll reserve other comment, however, because you can view video of the debate here:

Postscript: After the debate, Amar and I made a $100 bet that our respective sides would prevail at the Supreme Court.