Behind The Scenes Of The Supreme Court OBAMACARE Ruling
June 30, 2012
Justice Roberts Makes His OWN Brand Of Judicial History
Legal experts, healthcare watch dogs, and political staffs are weeding through the Obamacare decision to try and discover clues which reveal Chief Justice John Robert’s legal pathway to UPHOLD Obamacare under the Constitutional right to tax.
Indeed, there may have been some horse-trading.
Apparently Chief Justice John Roberts did not want to throw out Obamacare as a whole and make it kitty litter. He felt this would be overstepping and give the Court a political bent. However, it is also
Ginsburg Sides With Obama..But For Her Own Reasons...Not His
interesting to note that Justice Ginsberg wrote a CONCURRING opinion, which stated that she supported Sotomayor, Kagan and Breyer, but came to her decision on the law in her own way. Her views did not mirror those of her Liberal colleagues on the Court.
Legal Beagles are also noting that the DISSENTING opinion, written boldly and angrily by Anthony Kennedy and supported by Scalia, Thomas, and Alito, might have originally been the MAJORITY OPINION! Until Judge Roberts decided to switch sides.
Groundbreaker
Roberts clearly crafted a new path for the Court leaving the real mess of Obamacare in the hands…of its makers. Most are cheering the long-term importance of Chief Justice Roberts strategy.
For GOP presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, the outcome is actual a real winner. Temporarily, Barack Obama can tout a moral victory. As we roll into November, President Obama is now carrying the burden of Obamacare’s new distinction as a TAX. There is nothing worse than that in an election year. Americans overwhelmingly
Romney Well-Positioned To Oppose Obama...TAX
despise Obamacare in polls, if only because legislators did not respect the People enough to READ IT before APPROVING it.
Worst of all, or most CLEVER of all, by Chief Justice John Roberts upholding Obamacare as a TAX, the 2400 page “tax” legislation can perhaps now be taken to Conference Committee….and actually OVERTURNED.
Roberts....A Real Public Servant
It appears that Justice Roberts bartered with Ginsberg, Kagan, Sotomayor and Breyer, and gave up the Commerce clause, and Medicaid issues, and upheld Obamacare as a tax. Giving the Left a victory.
But an empty one.
Roberts comes out the winner for taking Politics out of The Supreme Court. Roberts has led with courage….and craftiness.
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How refreshing to see someone with a backbone who can stand on what he beleives in.
I have heard that what Roberts did was to go outside the law in order to do what he did. Is that true? If so, I don’t understand the Supreme Court. I thought that the job of the justices, was to insure that cases brought to the court were to be judged as Constitutional or not. I did not think that it was the purpose of the court to choose to inact law. If I am right, then did Roberts not overstep his authority? Can someone be removed from the Supreme Court?
I certainly hope this is the truth. so far, we havent had the truth from our president or his friends in DC.
Thank you for for seeing through this mess. First it was a shock, but after
reading and understanding your choice, many Blessings to You and Your Family.
God Bless America….
Proud of that man.
This is the biggest bunch of malarkey I’ve ever read! It’s laughable! The reason he let Obama win was so he could lose. It wouldn’t have been enough just to kill it. I see you and those like you are desperate to do anything that will give you a sliver of a chance at returning to the white house. No matter what you say, your presidential candidate created the affordable healthcare act. So that alone neutralizes that. But , we know and remember what you did to this country under bush. Then , wewatched ylie pass the buck and lie like a wife caught cheating. You have nothing credibletenor is anything that you say trustworthy and this story would do better in a high school writing class under fiction!
The Supremes are there to ensure constitutional compliance, not to horse trade or be crafty. The Constitution says that taxes must originate in the House of Representatives, but it is my understanding that Obamacare originated in the Senate. If so, and if Roberts honestly believes it is a tax, he should have overturned it on that basis. Additionally, his supporting the federal government’s expansion into the healthcare decisions of each citizen, which isn’t a power granted by the Constitution, wasn’t an act of courage. It was treason.
WE now know it is aTAX. bad for Obamo, goodie.
While in the middle feeling despondent over the June 28, 2012 Supreme Court decision on Obamacare, while lamenting about why Justice Roberts, whom we’d all assumed to be a staunch conservative and Constitutionalist, would betray us and our country in our time of great need, I was suddenly struck with an epiphany which, I hope, is not simply trying to find the silver lining in the storm cloud, but might actually have been a brilliant move to, in actuality, strength our, and his, cause.
I started thinking beyond the immediate realization that Obamacare is now the law of the land, and realized that it is not by any means engraved in stone. And then I started wondering why Roberts had joined the other four, obviously assigned himself to write the opinion, one which in several ways the likes of Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan could not have whole-heartedly approved, and why did he interject such statements which seem to question the wisdom of the law and also reminding the people that there are consequences, and remedies, to political decisions made at the ballot box. And that’s when it struck me that perhaps, perhaps, in all actuality Roberts achieved a great victory over the forces of Socialism and Liberalism today, and did so in such a brilliant way that the forces of liberalism and tyranny never saw coming.
Let us consider that I’m the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, faced with a multitude of daunting issues. First, you have the ages of some of the Justices, including at least one of my fellow conservatives, to consider, knowing that at least a few of them will be replaced before the end of the next Presidential Administration. Ginsburg is 77 and has a history of health problems. It’s surprising that she has not retired already. Scalia is 74, Kennedy is 73, and Breyer is 71. Two of those four are staunch Statist and Liberals, Kennedy is squishy at best, but Scalia is nearly irreplaceable as a beacon of conservatism and rational thought. Then I would look at the incredible destruction to the nation’s economy, the lawlessness which has been exhibited by the current President throughout the entire previous three years, a split Congress unable to stop him, and the arrogance and disdain that this neophyte President has shown for not just the Court but for anyone who dares presume to oppose or contradict him. I would also have to consider that, perhaps, as damaging as Obamacare would be to the Constitution as a whole, Barak Obama’s open and continual criticism of the Constitution, its foundations and it’s framers, and his almost daily willingness to ignore it if it seems to get in the way of what he wants to accomplish, and I would have to conclude that Obama is himself an even greater threat to the Constitution and the Republic than the law before me. And since I cannot take any active measures to defend against both threats, I have to look at trying to defeat the most dire threat of the two.
And then I look at the national polls which show, in spite of the horrid state of the economy, President Obama still has a 50/50 chance, if not better, of being re-elected, being able to continue with his lawless and destructive ways, and able to replace any retiring Justice with even more intellectual midgets like Sotomayor and Kagan. And if Scalia has to step down, Obama gets to change the makeup of the court for the next 20 to 30 years! So how do I, as a Justice who is not supposed to get involved in politics, but who cares deeply for the Constitution and the law, give it my best shot at seeing him defeated in the next election and preserve the life and health of this Republic?
As Chief Justice, I could have joined Scalia, Alito, Kennedy, and Thomas in declaring the entire law Unconstitutional, but doing so might well have been only a temporary measure at best, for if Obama is re-elected, he can replace retiring Justices with those who agree with his policies and politics. I have a President who, when balked, always strikes out with childish temper tantrums, who has already shown his willingness to use the Court as a political football and foil, and who could, in a couple of years’ time, either bring back Obamacare, or up the ante with a single payer system, and have a new court all too willing to give go along. Or I can give him what appears to be a victory, and do so in such a way that not only damages him politically, but also his allies in congress! Let’s look at these facts. With this majority opinion, Roberts declares that the Congress cannot force a person to buy a good or service under the commerce clause, thus creating a precedential limit on what up until now had been a steadily increasing power used and abused by congress on a whole host of issues. As Roberts, let’s say that I tell the liberal members that I am the deciding vote. The other four have all decided to throw out the entire law, and if I join with them, Obamacare dies in its entirety. If the liberals want to save Obamacare, they have to agree with me to call it a tax, not an exercise of the commerce clause, or they lose the whole law. And, by the way, they have to agree that the States can’t be punished for not going along with the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid. Now, by declaring the mandate to be a tax, federal law stipulates that the merits or legality of a tax cannot be debated by the courts until said tax has been implemented, which means that in 2014, if Obama is not defeated and the law not repealed, conservatives have another chance to argue against the mandate on the merits, legality, and fairness of the tax, on a whole host of legal and constitutional grounds related to equal protection and on being punitive to only certain citizens of the nation, and not applied equally and fairly across the board.
Next, by declaring this mandate to be a tax, I have just forced President Obama to loudly and proudly claim credit for having pushed for, defended, and signed into law the largest tax increase in world history! Hardly something any sensible person would wish to have hanging around his neck during such bad economic times. And speaking of the economy, I know full well what the uncertainty of Obamacare has done to economic activity and business are reluctant to hire or expand without knowing whether or not, or to what extent, Obamacare will be implemented. Now with it the law of the land, business will most likely freeze hiring, and perhaps even further reduce their workforce, thus adding to the economic woes already assailing this president, making his re-election even more problematic. And let us not forget, that with the state of the economy the only major issue on which Republicans to run, it is entirely possible that, in the next four month, economic conditions could improve enough to help the President with his re-election bid. And let us also not forget the fact that we know that the administration plans on removing tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of unemployed persons from the unemployment statistics when their unemployment benefits either run out or are cancelled, thus giving him the chance to claim that unemployment is continuing to fall under his administration. If making Obamacare the law of the land causes a further downturn in the economy, and an upturn in unemployment, that further hurts Obama and makes him and his claims and promises look even more pathetic and foolish. After all, he claimed that passing this legislation will create jobs, and if tens of thousands of more jobs are lost as a result of the law having been legitimized, that will turn public perception and voters away from him.
And for the conservatives, now do they not only have the bad economy and Obama’s mismanagement to run against, but now they can rally around the need to replace him in order to repeal the law, but also run against every single Democrat up for re-election who voted for a law which two-thirds of the country already wants repealed! By upholding this law, I’ve just made it much, much harder for many of those democrats to hold onto their seats in congress!
And finally, as Chief Justice, I included in my opinion the admonition that elections have consequences, and this horrid law is a glaring example of that fact. Yes, I could have given Conservatives an easy out and victory, but one which very well could have proven fleeting. Now, they have a chance to even further energize their efforts to defeat not only Obama but many of his fellow democrats, and this is also a test of the will and direction of the country. If Obama still manages to hang onto the office even with all of this going against him, then the people of this nation are no longer worth defending and fighting for, and I may very well add my own name to the list of those retiring from the Court, and thus be able to escape the future consequences of a Government and Court turned almost wholly socialist. After all, I’m only 55 years old, and I still have several decades of life ahead of me. I can either do so as the Chief Justice of a Court over which I have little or no control or input, one which time and time again continues to erode and destroy the Constitution in ways I cannot stop, or I can step aside and watch the final death of this country from the sidelines, perhaps even from the safety and comfort from outside the borders of the former United States of America.
Or I can do something completely unexpected; strike a blow for freedom and the Republic in ways the opposition cannot understand. Perhaps my ego and sense of self is such that I can withstand the slings and arrows which will come my way from those on my side of the political spectrum, and perhaps I will gladly suffer the stain and tarnish to my name and reputation if it means the chance to prevent an abomination like this law from appearing again before this court any time in the near future. Perhaps it’s worth the ire and hatred from those whom had previously respected and admired me if it increases the chances that the makeup of the future court will be more in line with conservatism and “strict constructionism” rather than a court which will finish re-making the country into an European style socialist democracy. Perhaps, as Chief Justice, I am willing to take a leap of faith in the people and the electoral system, to trust the electorate to right the ship on their own instead of depending upon five judges to do so for them. Perhaps, just perhaps, I will go down in history, not as the man who only temporarily halted the slide of this country into the abyss, but as the Chief Justice who was willing to gamble everything on a leap of faith in the people of this country, on the chance that America could and would finally begin turning away from this destructive course and once again embrace the concepts of limited government and federalism without depending upon five men in robes to do so for them!
Of course, maybe he’s just tired of getting his name dragged through the mud and decided to take the easy way out by going along with the liberals, thus abating much of the name –calling, hate, and vitriol. Maybe he’d rather be popular than right, but as a man who up until this point has spent his entire career fighting for the Constitution as it was written and intended, perhaps, just perhaps, Chief Justice Roberts has chosen a course of wisdom and courage by forcing right-thinking Americans to once again stand up and fight for what is right and just.
Robert Leonard
Suffolk, Virginia
June 28, 2012
I am sorry..but I do not agree. I think Roberts lost his nerve and caved. I think he has left us a real mess. I only hope the voters clean it up in November.
Justice is a turncoat of unparralled proportions!!
While I have calmed down from being physically sickened by the decision, I remain in disbelief that a Justice on the SCOTUS could take an argument from the Government and fashion it to fit a certain pidgeon hole to pass it. It’s tantamount to having taken my SAT’s and having the proctor change my answers to fit his grading desire…………………………… IT IS WRONG ………
I just feel like I’ve been betrayed by all of them. My grand kids and great grand kids will never know the America I love so much. Breaks my heart. God have mercy on us all. Are we still allowed to say God. Not for long.
Roberts gave the Congress the power to tax non-activity. If I don’t buy health insurance, then Congress can tax my sitting on my hands. If I don’t buy a pack of chewing gum, then Congress can tax me all the same. Robert’s opinion ranks among the worst and most tortuous legal opinions ever handed down. We now need a constitutional amendment to reset to proper boundaries the power of Congress to tax activity and deny to them the power tax inactivity. If allowed to stand and be cited as precedent, then this case will open the door to a totalitarian regime demanding all kinds of actions and penalties for failure to engage in commerce. In short, unless this decision is reversed, then our liberty is, for all practical purposes, at an end.
We feel great gratitude that we have the MAJORITY on The Supreme Court, and must keep it.
Brilliantly crafted Leonard. We may share this, and thank you for ALL of your time. Please continue to share your thoughts with The Kitchen Cabinet.
hmmmmm…interesting perspective, but we think history will judge Roberts…brilliant.
I agree with Debbie. And what about the rest of the thing, such as the microchip implant requirement (mark of the beast?) by next year!! But, it shouldn’t have passed anyway, if Kagan had done the honorable thing and recused herself from the vote!!!! She did help with the development of it and should not have voted on it!
Let’s all remember to vote in November (or the primaries) to throw all the bums out, including the long standing Congressmen whose only accomplishments are a rise through the party organization. Let’s elect people who vote for us, not just their party’s line (regardless of which party that may be).
He was a coward and does not have a backbone I would check is bank account
YEP!
RAH RAH! Make sure you and your entire family are REGISTERED on our homepage and we support you 100%
In reply to Robert Leonard, extremely well said and thought provoking! We can only hope and pray that he was/is thinking along those same lines! Thank you!! 🙂
Get real folks. The Chicago Mob got to this guy.
If you just watch Eric Holder’s behavior and Obama’s mandating and executive ordering you can see that we have a lawless dictatorship in the making.
Wake UP!!!!
Further, all revenue legislation ,( Article ! section 7) shall originate in the HOUSE!! This ruling , calling it a tax, invalidates the entire law.
hoping for the best! perhaps, perhaps!
To Mr. Leonard,
Thank you for expressing your Faith in Justice Roberts, I believe
he thought and Prayed on his decision. I am thankful we have him
on our side, as history will discover.
Many Blessings and Much Happiness to America as we celebrate our Birthday….
Leonard’s take on the Supreme Court decision is interesting, thought provoking and entitled to careful point by point consideration. If Leonard’s thesis is in fact true, maybe there is a silver lining to the cloud hanging over America. We must get out and vote for Romney, no matter how we feel about him. He will be a far better president than the man currently residing in the people’s house.
I do hope Chief Justice Roberts has done just this. I could not believe he would desert us in our greatest hour of need. Time will prove it to all who still disbelieve!!!
Roberts is a traitor and should be remembered throughout history as one.
So when do the Republican Attorney’s general from the state file suit to stop a tax that was created from Senate not the House and is in fact an unconstitutional tax.
I wondered if there was more to this than we all originally guessed…it utterly makes NO sense why a known conservative would vote this way. However by okaying the mandate as a TAX, it becomes an illegal tax, as it didn’t originate in the house of representatives, and by law will face being overturned on this fact alone, even if Obamanation of Desolation is re-elected. And if Romney wins in November, it doesn’t matter whether it is a TAX or COMMERCE, as he will seek to have the whole thing overturned as the WILL OF THE PEOPLE..Remember, we get the leaders we deserve, so lets pray that as a nation we can honestly deserve a decent man as president. I am not mormon; I am a simple born-again Christian, but I do believer that Mr. Romney is a decent man, especially compared to what we elected the last time. If Obama wins again we need to seriously question where we are in our relationship to God, as America is the last “moral and compassionate” country existing, and it appears we are fading fast!!!
Robert,
I certaily hope your assessment is correct. It’s a real stretch to believe this was the Chief Justice’s plan but I hope you are right and I hope the voters live up to the expectations implicit in your scenario.
Tom Stephens
Sorry. Not buying it. Roberts could have upheld the Constitution and thrown out the unconstitutional mandate – guaranteed – rather than waiting and HOPING that the “tax” could be overturned — provided Obama doesn’t win in November, because if he does, it’s moot anyway. Something went wrong. A threat perhaps? We may never know, but legal experts – those who know law – are not suggesting anything like this theory to explain why Roberts did what he did.
Roberts should resign. I would call him more a coward than a man of courage.
Chicago gangland politics. ‘If you vote against this bill, your family will become extinct’. Dictators know how to kill people consequentially, to make it appear to be someone else’s fault, or make it appear to be an accident or natural causes. There is no longer any way to hold them accountable. Just look at Eric “the hit man” Holder! Justice Roberts did the best he could do, while avoiding extermination! Notice how that smile looks like he’s about to cry? Look at his beautiful family. Remember the first thing out of the mouth of every true conservative that was slandered out of the race, “My first concern is for my family”!
TIme will tell us what Roberts intended but one thing I know for sure is Justice Roberts does not want Obama re-elected and neither do I.
Wait, watch and listen! You might change your mind Pat!
no truer words. We must protect the Supreme Court.
They can spin it all they want to take the heat off of Roberts. Simpy put, he turned his back on America and his actions were treasonous. Can’t even look at his picture. Sickens me.
To Mr. Leonard,
Thank you very much for your thoughts we can only hope and pray that is what Justice Roberts was thinking. Come November ” We the People”need hand the Democrats a loss that they will not recover from, forever. However, there are too many progressives in both parties, The minimum we need to do is to get a petition started to envoke term limits on ALL goverment officials. IF the founders made a mistake it was not putting that in the Constitution, perhaps they trusted that we would vote them out regularly so as not to cause troubles like the country has experienced for the last 70 or so years. Or maybe they thought men with honor would replace them, since that doesn’t look possible anymore a petition may be the only way for us to go. Time will tell if Justice Roberts might have been giving the citizens one last chance to save this country and if this happens he may be go down in history as the most brillant lawyer since James Madison.
This ruling left a very four taste in the mouth of most Americans, unless they have thier hands in the public pocket it is very hard to swollow. I too feel betrayed by Mr Rpberts, however after reading this, I have had a change of heart and feel that he has handed the conservatives a carrot. I read this to my son and his friends and explained why they must be involved and not fail to vote, we now have a mission, let us not fail.
Your analysis is pure BUNK. Robert’s job is not to make the court appear non-political. His job, along with the rest of the court is to FOLLOW THE LAW.
What Roberts did is to remove ALL limits in the taxing power of the Federal Government.
Here’s what would be legal under Roberts ruling: Say I own a convenience store. A young man walks in and I ask him, “would you like to buy some chewing gum today”? He says, “No thanks.” I then tell him to give me $2.50 which is the tax that the Federal government requires for the non-purchase of a package of chewing gum.
I defy ANY legal scholar, including, B’Ho, to explain one scintilla of difference in my example above and the requirement to pay a tax if one chooses NOT to BUY HEALTH insurance. Same exact SCAN, just a different product used to extort the tax.
Opps …. Same exact SCAM, just a different product used to extort the tax. Sorry!
A very thought provoking piece, indeed. If I weren’t almost sure I knew better, I could almost believe the Chief Justice wrote this himself to better help us understand.
I thought about him calling it a tax, and a light bulb went off!! Maybe this was his way of stpping it.
I surely hope I am right. I really liked the Chief Justice, and was counting on him. Maybe I still can.
as far as I am concerned Roberts is the Benedict Arnold of our time. He could have stopped this bill with a stroke of a pen, but chose to make a mockery of our constitution. You can say all you want that there are some good parts here, I disagree, he decided to start unraveling our constitution and it will never be the same again. He gave 70 % of the American people the finger.I too will call him a traitor like so many others. He disgusts me..We will never again be able to think of our courts as a final refuge. I am very sad for our country right now, it will never recover from this. Please dont mind if I shed a tear for our country, good bye to our freedoms…:(
Mr. Leonard sure echoed my very thoughts a few hours after the decision was announced. At first, I was angry, but in retrospect, I believe Roberts made a very smart chess move. Yes, Mr. President, “Checkmate.” I am certain Roberts is still smarting from the degrading remarks the President made in the State of the Union regarding the Supreme Court. It is up to the voters now and I have faith that the American people are a lot smarter than Obama, Reid and Pelosi believe we are. Time to take back America from these elitist socialists. I finally see a light at the beginning of November.
I had actually already considered the Judges thoughts. To see that someone else is voicing my opinion makes me feel good! I hope and pray this was his strategy ,and if so works, it is brilliant! Otherwise ,Mr. Roberts shame on you and I am sure George W. is embarrassed by his choise, and shame on you.
This is total BS!!! All this talk about how Roberts “revealed” this to be a “tax” is utter nonsense. We all knew it was a tax from the very beginning. (Why else would the bill call for 1600 new IRS agents? Hummm?)
Now everyone is talking about “repealing” this monstrosity. Well, before that can even begin to take place, the Republicans have to win the Presidency, hold on to the House and win the Senate. Even then, can anyone of you tell me the last time any law was “repealed”…especially one that deals with entitlements. You might as well be talking about repealing Social Security or Medicare. IT AIN’T GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!
Face it…Roberts sold us out. He is nothing but just another liberal in conservative clothing!!!
Brilliant move on the part of Justice Roberts, Part of Obama-care contained a vicious cut in benefits for seniors. Am including a brief excerpt from an article by Dick Morris.
Dick Morris:
“One of the most cynical, dirty, reprehensible political moves was made by Barack Obama just a few days ago. When he passed Obamacare, he included $500 Bn of cuts in Medicare. Jammed it through … But the cut would come three weeks before Election day. So Obama has passed an $8.3 Bn appropriation to extend that program for 4 or 5 weeks to get it passed Election day so the notices don’t go out until after the Senior Citizens have voted and then they’ll be cut. Isn’t that unbelievably cynical? — A friend told me to be happy, he is giving me a free insurance policy. Hahahaha. Free???
Jean Deldin said: “We will never again be able to think of our courts as a final refuge.” Tell that to the 50+ million babies who’ve been legally killed since 1973. I’ve seen the Supreme Court as anything BUT a “final refuge” for nearly 40 years. If judges are willing to rob the most innocent and defenseless among us of the right to simply go on living, what on earth would make a person think the Court will defend any other rights?
Anyone know how much a one way ticketis from Washington State to Australia? Better yet, I buy Hussain Kenya Obama a one way ticket back home to Kenya and protect US ALL!
I, too, hope that Mr. Leonard (and others who are saying the same) is correct. Obamacare is going to hurt poor people who can’t buy insurance in the first place – the upper middle class and rich don’t care about that little “penalty”! How are poor going to pay those taxes? I have to continue to believe that this country will come out of Obamanation stronger and better than before because we now know what Socialism is all about and we don’t want any of it!!
Well said and written, Mr Leonard. And it is not Roberts who has “unraveled ” our constitution…but Mr. Obama!
I support Robert Leonard and his theory on Justice Roberts’ leap of faith in the people of this country.
The reason we have the “it’s a tax” ruling as it was one of the arguments the Government made to say the Act was not Unconstitutional. They did it that way to get the law to pass muster even if the mandate was struck down. However, our Democratic friends are now going to have to explain to the voters this tax and how exactly it works. Nancy couldn’t be bothered to read the bill because she had to pass it just to know what’s was in it. Now she will have some explaining to do.
We will of course see more spin than a tilt a whirl upgraded by Tim Taylor from the media this year, so watch out as the thing explodes and sends shrapnel everywhere. If Romney plays this right and just mentions the ruling and specifically the part about the tax, he can use it against Obama effectively.
This ruling is just the start of the real battle that’s about to begin. Get some pop corn and get ready for a very wild ride.
Tom…don’t believe he set OUT for this path….but worked what was there. S
Mr. Leonard, I liked your comment/essay and tweeted the link to it to my followers. However, I would like to think that no Justice, particularly a Chief Justice, would be so calculatingly political; I’d like to think the Justices give their honest opinions about Constitutionality, and Constitutionality alone. So I’ve been trying to rationalize Roberts’ logic in my own mind.
Consider what are called “sin taxes” — taxes on liquor, cigarettes, etc. Their purpose is twofold: first, to discourage indulgence in those substances/behaviors; and second, to help compensate society for the increased costs it must bear as a consequence of those behaviors, such as drunk-driving accidents, lost productivity, increased lung cancer and other diseases, etc.
Refusal to carry health insurance is a behavior, like alcohol and tobacco consumption, that many in society would like to discourage; and those who aren’t insured do inflict certain additional costs on society at large, such as increased burdens on hospital emergency rooms. So a tax could be levied on that behavior — choosing to not have insurance — just as taxes are levied on the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes.
I’m not saying I AGREE with this reasoning — I’m just trying to come to terms with Roberts’ decision. Otherwise, I’m left with the disturbing suspicion that Roberts caved because death threats were made against his family members — for I do believe the communists behind Obama are capable of any evil.
Kathy: most likely…Chief Justice Roberts played the cards he was desktop, tried to lead his Court, looked for the better good, and pointed the way. We think he stepped away from being political and demonstrated enormous character.
Your point of view is well-taken. But this mess was not of Roberts making, and we also should support his conclusion that the Courts should stay out of the way of the People. We are in this circumstance because an overwhelming majority voted in a lot of the wrong people.
Roberts put the burden to MAKE law back in the lap of the People where it belongs. Sonja
The decision of the Supreme Court literally made me sick. Something very disturbing about the side that Roberts has taken. OK, maybe it will be a tax, but so what? Obama gets away with every evil move he makes . I hope and pray that this article is true but I do not see it as fact. I am 54 yrs old and I remember 40 yrs ago while attending church , a speaker talking to our youth class spoke of what is happening now. How did this Man of God know this 40 yrs ago? I never thought this would happen in my lifetime.
Roberts could have taken other steps with his decision. I am tired of games being played by ALL of our government officials. As a child I would watch the news and would see all the bad things that was happening in other countries and sometimes would become very upset. My Dad would always tell me not to worry because we lived in America and we had a Constitution that protected us from many of the evils of the world. That is no longer true. Obama HAS won and America will never be the same. What has happened to Common Sense? Who do we trust? I am really sad !
This KitchenCabinet article is stupid. If the KitchenCabinet women are truly trying to save America, this is not heir finest hour. The article wastes 10-11 paragraphs overanalyzing and seeking an explanation for “why did Roberts do what he did?”. A really simple question that could have been answered in a sentence or two. i.e., Roberts stood on his head to find in favor of obamacare because that is what his New World Order puppeteers told him to do. Roberts is a tool in the New World Order toolbox used for undermining the US Constitution and bartering away US sovereignty. As chief justice, Roberts has known for years of Obama’s ineligibility to even occupy the oval office. He (Roberts) failed to fulfill his oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States by vetting candidate Obama in 2008…because he was ordered to by his puppeteers. Instead he has been running interferance for Obama the past 4 years on the birth certificate issue by preventing any of the filings and cases challenging Obama eligibility to be heard.
Robert Leonard’s essay response is excellent and a heartfelt encouragement! (a must read)
There is a lot of fantasy by those who think Roberts did the country a favor here. The political consequences remain to be seen and I certainly hope 2012 becomes another 2010 landslide. Regrettably it will now take billions of dollars and millions of votes to correct what Roberts most certainly should have killed with his one vote. The Constitution does not give the Court the power to rewrite statutes, and Roberts and the liberals have therefore done violence to it. This case will be remembered 50 years from now along with some of the travesties of the New Deal era and Roberts as having apparently been mau-maued into thinking his sophistic contrivance somehow made his court “legitimate.” Don’t be fooled: The damage Roberts and the other liberals have done to individual liberty by upholding this massive expansion of federal power is immeasurable. The joint dissent got it exactly right.
The SCOTUS has one job. ONE! Uphold the Constitution! Nothing more and nothing less. I don’t care how strategically crafty Roberts MAY have been. If any justice has ANY motivation other than their one job, IT IS WRONG.
Practically speaking does anyone trust Congress to follow through with a repeal after the election if President Obama is defeated? I can hope but how many empty rhetoric filled promises have we heard; even NOW?!
It is my belief that Roberts has some what of a crush on obama and must be pleased that he will now get the pat on the backs when he goes to cocktail parties in Washington thrown by the elites! I think he WAS influenced and intimidated by Obamas threats as to what would happen if the court was thought of as being partisan. I read that when asked by AP how he felt about the countries reaction he joked with them about getting out of town! Real funny Roberts. You are shameful! I still don’t understand how the court can help rewrite a bill to suit them and think it is Constitutional which has never happend before!
I think once again the American people are screwed!
I agree and respect Justice Roberts for his Constitutionalist views, however upon reflection, wouldn’t it have been better and less costly for the nation as a whole if he had noted then and there that the implementation of a new tax was not up to the Senate chamber and dismissed the entire thing NOW as un-Constitutional? Why did he deem it a “tax” and not carry through with the axe?
I agree with Robert Leonard. I have also read a lot of your comments on this article. What i am hearing is that you really resent the “Nanny State” but you are really angry that “Daddy:” didn’t stand up and fight this battle for you. It’s about time for all you complainers to get off your sofas and participate in the fight to restore our country. It’s so easy to sit at your computers and give your expert opinions, but what are you doing physically to solve the problems. Working at the polls, making sure people vote, rallying supporters? Probably not. Who are you relying on to do it for you? Someone you can vilify if they let you down, like the Chief Justice?
Robert Leonard, after the shock wore off and I did some deep thinking, I also came to the same conclusions that you so brilliantly stated. This was an act of genius. Obama had his legislation upheld, but at a far greater cost than he could ever have imagined.
Here is what is hidden in the obama healthcare bill that a lot of people weren’t aware of and is probably the worst part of it all! http://www.capitalismisfreedom.com/16/post/2012/06/hidden-obamacare-secret-rfid-chip-implants-mandatory.html
I still think somebody had some dirt on Roberts…. It went like this, “Change your vote or this will be your last vote before ___________ comes out.” My scenario propably makes as much sense as any other I’ve read.
I meant “probably” not “propably — that’s what I get for typing on 4 hours sleep….
Sorry, but this writer is just wrong. Roberts betrayed the constitution and America. Why? We may never know.
We the people fought this abomination the only way we could – we busted up the Pelosi-machine in Nov 2010. We needed Roberts to do his job and just rule on the law in front of him. Instead he rewrote in order to save it, ignoring the constitution in favor of legal concepts like stare decisis.
I’m not a farm girl, but I know BS when I see it and this ruling is full of it – pressed down and overflowing.
The court should have thrown the whole thing out and declared that the legislation was effectively a new tax. There is no silver lining.