The Supremes Rule on Health

I have to admit that I was very surprised yesterday when the Supreme Court ruled yesterday to uphold the Affordable Health Care Axt, commonly known as Obamacare. I think the general consensus was that the Conservative majority on the court would rule to invalidate the mandate at the least, and perhaps tows out the complete law.

As we know now they did not. Proving that truth is stranger than fiction Anthony Kennedy, who had been presumed to be the swing vote on the issue, voted with the minority to invalidate the whole law. The shocker was that Chief Justice Roberts, presumed a true Conservative,voted with the liberals to uphold the law.

Roeberts added more mystery, and some big television blunders by siding with the conservatives that tbe mandate could not be upheld based on the commerce clause of the Constitution but that it could be upheld as a tax that Congress did have the power to legislate.

The reactions have been swift and all too predictable. Republicans now are running with the talking point that Obama has passed the biggest tax increase in history and that further he did not reveal it asva tax when enacting it so he was deceptive. This is silly. We all know that Obama did not consider it a tax, Republicans did not either or they surely would have used it as a point against, and neither side argued the tax angle before the court. In short Roberts created this argument. Some legal scholars argue he did so as he did not want to overturn the bill in full, he had been prepared to toss the mandate but when he saw the whole bill ready to be tossed he stepped back from the brink and came up with the tax argument. Roberts did not want to give Congress more leeway with the Commerce clause but frankly was concerned with his legacy being sealed in such a divisive case with perhaps another twenty years or more on the court.

Some Republicans have called Roberts a traitor, some have said he was just wrong. Mike Pence compared the day to 9/11, can you imagine, and some of my wife's acquaintances said on Facebook " that this was an awful day for the country." I understand being angry at the Court, living through the travesty of Bush v Gore one can never think of the court as anything but a political body, but our Republican friends have had their way with the Court so long that they simply do not how to react with losing a case. One expects their vindictiveness to continue.

Governor Romney who built the prototype for Obamacare vows he will repeal it. The only fun prospect of his victory will be his learning that it takes 60 votes to pass something through the Senate when a Republican is President. The fact is Obama needs to win. We cannot be changing healthcare laws by administration over the next 12 years. An Obama victory would assure it to become law and get ingrained. In 2016 Republicans can bring a candidate like Jeb Bush out who will move the party forward on issues like immigration or, if they repudiate Bush, they can drive their party off a cliff and on to the destiny of the Whigs.

This law is not perfect, it makes the insurance companies richer. Watch the crocodile tears that the insurance companies shed. Tons of healthy new customers and with the preexisting clauses an excuse to raise rates. I would have almost preferred it to be tossed and energize the base and someday get single payer. Perhaps that will come.

Still a victory for Obama is good news considering the alternative. And Roberts just made court watching much more interesting.