The SCOTUS decision in King v Burwell is like this:
On the eve of the Super Bowl, the most respected and experienced analysts declare that not only will the underdog team from the small-market city lose badly, but that their ability and skills are amateurish, their quarterback is ugly, their coach is a lunatic and their team’s owner is filthy degenerate.
How will this affect the team’s performance? Will they hang their heads in shame, agree with the assessment, and inquire about the possibility of forfeiting the game in order to not impose their mediocrity upon the spectators?
Or will they use the disrespect, the insults, and the disdain as fuel for the inner fire, motivating them to righteous anger and stoking their competitive spirit?
In 2012, when the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare under the Federal Government’s authority to implement and enforce taxes, Justice Roberts said the following:
“Members of this Court are vested with the authority to interpret the law; we possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgments. Those decisions are entrusted to our Nation’s elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them. It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.”
At the time it seemed clear what Roberts was saying; Americans had elected a Leftist president and had given him a Leftist congress in order to enact his Leftist agenda. It was not the role of Roberts to stop Obama legislatively. Rather, Americans had to decide that if they desired a change in the ideological direction of the country, it was in their power to do so. Americans responded by electing Republicans to office in increasing numbers in both 2012 and 2014, while still failing to dislodge the Obama regime.
Now, with a 6-3 ruling in King v Burwell, Justice Roberts and the Court have given the Obama regime yet another short-term victory, one which they well and should savor, because the sweetness is fleeting. By contrast, Roberts and the Court have given Republicans an enormous boost to compete in the upcoming 2016 election.
At stake is the contest to determine the successor to the Obama regime with all the attenuating baggage thereof. Rather than being caught in the untenable position of having no plan to replace the failed behemoth and having to answer how they have failed to provide a comprehensive plan acceptable to the majority of the party, Republicans have been liberated to continue attacking Obamacare and working on its repeal.
Candidates can now fundraise off the SCOTUS decision, highlighting the failures of the Obama regime’s signature highlight. Candidates can give speeches on the need to ensure truly conservative justices are appointed to the court, and elect additional members of Congress. The eventual nominee will at some point come up with a plan that upholds the morally valuable idea of universal coverage while ensuring that the plan remains true to free market principles. Thanks to Roberts and the Court, the issue of Obamacare remains on the campaign table.
The American people know they were sold a bill of goods, which is one reason they are so adamantly opposed to Obamacare and want it to be repealed, or at worst, fixed. Through a smoke screen of lies, they were made promise after promise that they would love Obamacare. They were promised they would “save $2500 for each family.” A lie. They were told that if “they like their doctor and their plan they can keep it, period.” Another lie. They were promised that Obamacare would reduce the deficit. Yet one more lie.
Through the implementation of Obamacare, the health coverage plans of millions of Americans have been cancelled numerous times. Their premiums have doubled, tripled, or more; their deductibles sometimes quadrupled. The inescapable fact is that Obamacare hurts middle class Americans, hurts American business and hurts American values.
The Republican nominee who makes this point most effectively and emerges with a plan acceptable to the majority of the party and America will become the next President of the United States.
Thank you, Chief Justice Roberts.
