What the hell just happened?!! Justice Roberts sides with left-leaning justices on ACA

Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2012 by Doug Marquardt

Well, color me shocked. MSNBC is reporting that the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) today in a landmark decision that’s sure to leave the radical right wanting blood. Chief Justice Roberts, a Bush appointee, actually did the right thing and resisted pressure from the right to rule in the expected 5-4, conservative-leaning split that we’re all accustomed to (bad grammar). There will be a lot of billionaires v-e-r-y unhappy and budgeting for their next move. Justices Scalia and Thomas must be livid. All that plotting and scheming for nothing!

This is a great victory for Obama. The radical right counted on winning this to give them the momentum going into November but, sadly (snark), it wasn’t meant to be. Personally, I’d like to see changes made to the bill. Specifically, the ACA prevents discrimination against those of us with pre-existing conditions but it did not require any caps on high-risk pool premiums. That still leaves many of us without coverage because of insanely high premiums that are, in my opinion, designed to keep people out of the pool. That’s the one negative in the SCOTUS ruling that the right will claim as a victory; SCOTUS removed the requirement for states to provide Medicaid to low-income individuals. So now the insurance companies who were against the ACA publicly but privately were licking their chops will need to find a way to change the legislation. I expect to see House Republicans pass a bill on that within days (if not hours).

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Myers/100000887119161 Bruce Myers

    This will invigorate Republicans like myself, not a “radical” Republican, just someone that doesn’t like the government trying to run (ruin) my life. If Congress can dictate individual choices and behavior, that might have previously been unconstitutional as outside the scope of the Commerce Clause, merely by labeling a penalty a tax, then we are all screwed. Two hundred years of fighting for liberty lost. We may as well have succumb to the will of King George. This is the Dred Scott decision of the 20th Century, wherein we have all lost our freedom. So be careful what you cheer for, because with this logic, Republican Congresses as well as Democratic Congresses, have the power dictate the details of our lives. With regard to rights previously reserved to the people, the Tenth Amendment has lost the last of its decay ridden teeth.

    • Ken

      Bruce: Congress has been regulating choices and behavior with taxation for centurys. If you are single you pay more taxes than married filing joint. If you are a renter you pay more taxes than homeowners. Until the libertarians finally manage to win elective office and install a straight up flat tax then the taxes you pay are entirely dependent upon your life choices and behaviors. You pay taxes if you drink, smoke or drive a car.
      If you truly are not a radical Republican, Bruce, perhaps you should step back and stop drinking the koolaid the right wing media and your party leaders are feeding you. Because it was the same right wing intelligencia and party leaders who came up with the idea of the mandate in the first place. Everyone who writes on this blog would far prefer to have single payer, and the President and Congress went far to the right on the individual mandate to try to make this palatable for folks like yourself. That was our mistake, but at least recognize what led us here instead of going into histrionics about slavery and what not.

  • http://allthingsdemocrat.com/ Doug Marquardt

    All right-wing nonsense. Obviously, your man Roberts disagreed with that same nonsense that came from Scalia and Thomas, as well. And what about your candidate, the architect of ACA? We watched Romney twist himself into pretzels to explain why its perfectly fine for Massachusetts but not for the rest of us. You repubs had nothing to say about losing freedoms when Bush and Cheney ran roughshod over the constitution. You have no core values. You simply look at anything Obama supports and do the opposite. If John Boehner and Mitch McConnell decided today that it was a good ruling by scotus, you and your ilk would flip-flop as fast as a Romney. That’s the difference between Dems and repubs; our candidates and elected officials are as diverse as the party and don’t often agree because we have core values; your guys must memorize and follow the bullet points or get teabagged in the primaries. Take your example from Chief Justice Roberts and move on to the next attack. This victory has energized our party and we have the momentum!

  • http://allthingsdemocrat.com/ Doug Marquardt

    If only his word meant something …

    Rush Limbaugh on the ACA:

    Responding to a caller who asked him where he would go for health care if Congress enacts reform, Limbaugh replied, “I don’t know. I’ll just tell you this, if this passes and it’s five years from now and all that stuff gets implemented — I am leaving the country. I’ll go to Costa Rica.”

    The ACA will cover Costa Rican immigrants in this country. But that’s where the right’s logic breaks down and hatred of immigrants begins; they’re ok with foreigners, as long as they’re servants in another country serving drinks and cleaning rooms.