Posted on 06/29/2012 5:52:59 AM PDT by shortstop
There’s a reason no one expected this decision.
It’s because it makes no sense.
It’s not a rational view, it’s not consistent with any of the pleadings, it violates about 200 years of Supreme Court procedure.
And it sets the Constitution on its ear.
In a decision penned by the chief justice of the United States, the court has not only legislated, it has levied a tax. In support of an imperial presidency, it has become sovereign itself.
Precedent is abandoned, rule of law is ignored, jurisprudence is bastardized.
Obama wins and liberty loses.
The government is more powerful, the people are less free, and the Constitution is usurped.
Because the Supreme Court very oddly took an unexpected left turn. And to justify it, the chief justice produced a theory of law which had been raised by neither side, which strains credibility, and which unleashes a previously unimagined federal power.
The power to command a purchase, and to impose a punitive tax on those who fail to obey. Such penalties have previously been seen as fines, not taxes, but the chief justice declared them taxes and, with his liberal friends, imposed the biggest one in the history of the world.
Which plays fast and loose with Article 1 Section 7, which says all revenue bills must arise in the House of Representatives.
The people can only be taxed by the initiative of the most democratic portion of government.
Unless John Roberts decides to suspend the rules. In which case he and his liberal friends can do whatever the hell they want to.
Including redefine the concept of judicial review as understood since the days of Marbury v. Madison. In that landmark case from 210 years ago, the power of the federal courts to review the constitutionality of acts of Congress was established.
But after yesterday, that’s passé.
Gone are the days of judicial review, come now are the days of judicial rewrite. Instead of declaring a piece of legislation defective, the Supreme Court now takes to itself the power to correct it.
Why leave that matter to the people’s elected representatives when you have an all-knowing court to attend to it?
The chief justice declared that the individual mandate under the Commerce Clause was not constitutional. But, a tax imposed upon the same lines would be acceptable under the It’s None Of Your Damn Business Clause. So the Supreme Court rewrote the Obamacare law to delete the individual mandate and replace it with a corresponding tax.
Judicial review stops when you declare the individual mandate defective. Judicial rewrite begins when you replace it with something you like better.
Forget all that stuff you learned in elementary school about how a bill becomes a law. Under the Roberts Doctrine, the law is whatever five judgetards say it is. Forget the filibuster and the presidential signature, the chief justice has got it covered.
It’s like a plate umpire in baseball, calling balls and strikes. Only one day the pitcher throws the ball, you swing at it and miss, and a strike is called, and something very unusual happens.
The umpire steps out from behind the plate, stands behind you, moves your feet, fixes your crouch, adjusts your grip, tells you how to swing, and then orders the last pitch to be played over while he, holding your hands, swings and hits.
And scores it a homerun.
That’s what the Roberts Five did yesterday.
They cheated. And they did it to enlarge the power of the central government, to increase the tax burden of the American people, and diminish the freedom of the average citizen. You will pay more, choose less and have lower-quality health care. It’s the trifecta of oppression.
Obamacare is a monstrosity, a direct attack on the fundamental American notion of limited government. But its twin evil is a Supreme Court gone rogue, pulling legal arguments out of thin air to justify its capricious acts.
Yesterday was dangerous not so much for what it did, but for what it allows. It allows generations of future despots to claim newer and more sinister powers. History may well show that the assailant of liberty in this entire transaction was not Barack Obama, but John Roberts.
The fate of Obamacare will be determined, as it should be, by the people, at the ballot box in November. This election will be a referendum on Obamacare and the proper role of government. Those who favor Obamacare and a domineering central government will vote for Obama and the Democrats. Those who favor personal freedom and oppose Obamacare will vote for Romney and the Republicans.
Ultimately, the constitutional accountability of the ballot will determine the future of Obamacare.
But John Roberts and his confederates know no such accountability. The precedent of yesterday – the concept of judicial rewrite – and the notion that tax can be used as a punishment for those who fail to buy a government-mandated product, those judicial misdeeds will cast long shadows.
It was a decision no one saw coming.
Because it is illogical, unprecedented and un-American.
But it is the law of the land.
Thanks to John Roberts.
The dweeb who would be king.
I read on another blog that the conservative justices wrote their opinion as the Majority. If true, Roberts must have changed his opinion at the last minute.
Guys... really. The tax thing was not made up by Roberts. He didn’t invent it. The government’s lawyers argued that the mandate could be seen as a tax. It was allowed to stand on that basis.
I hate this decision too. The law should have been thrown out. No doubt about it. However, we’re stuck with it. Going on a tear like this isn’t helping.
The decision yesterday did have some positives. The government went in arguing for a huge increase in federal power. They didn’t get it. Instead, the Supremes allowed them to have their fall back position. It’s not a huge reach into our lives. It’s just a huge new tax increase. Same old same old.
Now, let’s put on our big boy pants and go fight this thing on that basis. Obama is now responsible for the largest tax increase in human history. And he wants to screw up our whole heath care system by socializing it. We’ve got a huge job ahead of us. LET’S ROLL!!!!
I think someone managed to slip some magical mushrooms into his food chain sometime in the last few weeks.
Hey, the Russians do it all the time! And its a more plausible explanation than all the others.
Me too! Roberts expanded the power to tax and government will do what they want through taxes instead of the Commerce Clause. It would have been right to limit the Commerce Clause AND not uphold Obamacare.
Some say it was due to drugs.
Although I do not know what else they can do it must pain them to know they now are there only to lend legitimacy to what has become a farce.
This was the same guy who voted to uphold the 2nd amendment on a number of cases. It boggles the mind, this decision.
I think he became ‘belt-wayed’. The parties with the liberal washington in crowd. The brain washed spouse. And the promise of peace at home(whip cracking sound).
I hate DC
Fair enough. Put on the big boy pants but I want revenge for all the unnecessary pain, confusion and anguish these bastards are putting the country through... someday, maybe but I have my doubts the opportunity will come.
No, I don’t have pure noble thoughts. We don’t have to turn the other cheek perpetually.
So should we go on a “tear” or not?
We (collectively, our entire country) put ourselves through that when we allowed people like Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi to rise to positions of power where they could pass these programs. We not only have to defeat them, we have to make sure that this never happens again.
I want to restate - I don’t like the decision that was handed down yesterday. I think it was wrong. But today’s reality is that it’s there in our face. We have to deal with it. Let’s deal with it.
Those are sure nice adopted kids you got there, Judge Roberts. I'd sure hate to see anything happen to them.
you are in denial. Its ok - we all are in shock
Or possibly threats?
It was reported that Kennedy was visibly angry, as if in shock. This makes no sense to me if this decision was made weeks ago.
Speak for yourself. I am over the shock and anxious to get started defeating Obama. Lamenting yesterday’s decision and crying about Roberts isn’t helping anything. At least, it’s not helping anything on our side of the aisle.
In reality, the odds of us actually getting this thing repealed are not very good. We need to make a maximum effort.
Did you vote for any of them? I sure as hell didn’t.
You make it sound so simple. We are almost outnumbered. I don’t control you nor you me or anyone else.
Just how to do you propose that we not only defeat them but make sure this never happens again.
My position is not grounded in futility but what reality are you planning to use to accomplish the task?
Black Marxism + White Guilt = Obamacare
John Roberts, you're a Dick Head...
You do need one.
That kind of comment has no place in intelligent discussion.
As for his ruling it a tax....
Judges routinely make the determination as to whether evidence, claims, etc., presented to their court are accurate or whether they are some sort of misrepresentation so his ruling that it is a tax is in effect a polite way of telling us and obummer that his claim that it is not a tax is a lie.
His ruling puts the congress in the driver's seat as they determine our tax burden.
So we do have the power to end, restrict or revise the obummer health law if we have the backbone.
If we do not, we deserve the results.
Good article.
The tax thing was not made up by Roberts. He didn’t invent it. The government’s lawyers argued that the mandate could be seen as a tax. It was allowed to stand on that basis.
_____________________________________________________________
Wrong. Please read the dissents before spreading this idiocy.
Never before has the SC held that a penalty is a tax.
One wonders if Roberts wasn’t blackmailed. After all, the president has the CIA, FBI, NSA, IRS, etc. at his beck and call.
Wow. I really suggest that you do a quick look back at the history of this nation. If we had your attitude, we would have never got it off the ground. The colonials would have been standing around complaining and crying about how unfair it was that the Brits were taxing us and pushing us around. We’re so outnumbered and they got nice uniforms and better guns than we do.
How am I making it sound simple? It’s going to be a huge job. Fighting for ideology... fighting for freedom.... always is! Want something concrete to do to start off? Donate to Romney. Right now. Even if it’s a little bit.
How do we keep it from ever happening again? I seem to remember a quote.... Something about the price of liberty is.... constant vigilance....
Actually, I think that defeating Obama is going to be pretty straightfoward. He’s already lost it, in my opinion. He was faltering before this. Now, he’s got real problems. The harder job is going to be making sure that Obamacare gets repealed once Romney wins. (Oh yeah. Winning the Senate’s going to be really tough. That has to happen as well.) It is going to be really hard. But I’m motivated like never before. I’ve got six kids. I don’t want my grandchildren to have to live under Obamacare.
Post of the day. Well said!
I think someone managed to slip some magical mushrooms into his food chain sometime in the last few weeks.
Hey, the Russians do it all the time! And its a more plausible explanation than all the others.
It’s going to take more than tossing a few folks out of office. We will need to push back very hard and limit the governments power to tax. The Supreme Court has given the signal they will justify almost any action the government takes as long as they use their unlimited power to tax to achieve it.
We’ve been teetering on the edge for decades hoping the next law or decision of the Supreme court does not bury us. It hasn’t mattered who is sitting in the White House or who was seated in the the Senate or House.
The only way to police them is to limit their power over us. They will not willingly give it up.
Agree with you completely!!!!
I’ve looked and I don’t see a cogent plan to accomplish this lofty mission other than your suggestion to fund Romney... I have.
The pubbies can’t even articulate a clear, easy to understand motivation that will appeal to the masses. Where has the pubbie leadership been since, oh I don’t know, as recently as the travesty of Arizona and what the white hut did to them just last week?..... I hear somewhere between noting and only a whimper.
Romney’s statement yesterday came close as any but he is not clear on why this is a bad idea. He does not say why the masses should want him to repeal or block oblabla care. Did you hear it? I did’t. All I heard was that he will fight to repeal. To the masses all that means is he will undo the wonderful thing their messiah has done for them even though they don’t know what that means.
Are you part of the pubbie party leadership? I’m not. I’ve got a vote that can be cancelled by jose or travon. I call my congress creep and get form letters.
As for oblabla faltering, don’t count your chickens. Nobody can out promise him. He says what the sheeple want to hear and they want to believe him.
I don't think we are outnumbered. I think a lot of rats are just as pissed off as we are. This is a tax on the middle class which is the majority of us. The poor who get this for free will of course give a crap less, but the rest of us will vote Obama out by a large majority. Only an idiot would think health care costs will not go through the roof as a result of this; they'll vote their pocketbooks for sure.
If I remember correctly, this abomination started in the senate. If that is true, then this tax is unconstitutional because all tax bills have to originate in the house, I believe that someone actually has to pay the tax before a suit can be initiated, because this gives them “standing”,
Ok. Well, you’re entitled to your view. Hope you decide to get into the fight.
Well said! I’m with you!!!
How many of the rat voters know this? I know that very few who I talk to know a thing about it.
Nobody has been able to clearly articulate the consequences of the health care monstrosity. Just one example is a 3.8% excise tax on capital gains. That is your house and anything else you may make a gain on.
Paul Ryan says there are 28 taxes in the bill in addition to the freedom robbing features of the bill. Why doesn’t he enumerate the taxes?
I know full well working people can’t afford any new taxes. When they are interviewed they say it would cripple them.
Yes, there is a way to not be outnumbered but the people have to have an easy to understand motivation to swing their vote. Right now, they think they have a savior who is saving them and will give them what they need when they need it. That is hard to beat if you believe it.
There are no positives.
Calling a thumb a finger does not make it a finger.
The individual mandate was ALWAYS a tax.
Saying it was not a tax did not make it any less of a tax.
Roberts merely illuminated the obvious.
The November election is now about one thing, and one thing only; the repeal of Obamacare.
Obamacare begat the Tea Party, and the Tea Party begat the GOP landslide of 2010.
The same exact dynamics are in play for the 2012 election, and the result is going to be the same.
Justice Roberts did us a great favor.
You are living in an alternate universe, you just can't face the fact that Roberts just blanked us all in the rear.
That about sums it up.
You mean:
Elena Kagan did us a great favor.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg did us a great favor.
The Wise Latina did us a great favor.
Stephen Breyer did us a great favor.
Call it a penalty or a tax, what is the difference? Under the 2nd amendment we are entitled to own guns but try getting one without filling out all the necessary paperwork or fees and we can go to jail or be heavily fined. Same with auto insurance. What is the difference in real terms? The government has been screwing us since day 1; this is just one more example.
If nothing else this decision has woken me up big time. For the first time the SC told us that it is we the people who are responsible for the laws in this country. We have the power of the vote! Now it's time to get off our asses and get good people to represent us.
The only downside is we have no control over other congressional districts and the Pelosi's of the world will continue to keep their seats but I'm sure that even in San Francisco there are a lot of middle class people who will not like the much higher premiums we will have to pay for health insurance caused by this bill.
I am encouraged however. We should all feel empowered by this decision. It is not the court's job to protect us against corrupt politicians.
The mandate is *not* a tax. It is unlike any current tax in existence. Not even Roberts could say what *kind* of tax it was, nor give an example of any other tax like it.
The mandate is no more a tax than a speeding ticket is a tax. The mandate does not function as a tax; its function is purely punitive, not revenue-generating.
The mandate is simply that, a mandate in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution, and it should have been struck down as such.
You are incorrect here EPU.
Please read the dissent. Never before has the SC deemed a penalty a tax. Never.
And you're somebody who thinks that adding 1 + 1 and getting the right answer means knowing how to do differential equations is silly.
You do need one.
That kind of comment has no place in intelligent discussion.
-----------------
So, we lost freedom of speech along with some of our other liberties yesterday, as well.
The fix was in when Roberts failed to acknowledge Kagin’s COI, given her actions working for Obama. In his administration, before she worked for him on the court.
(Hindsight, 20/20, etc)
If you took a minute to read the dissent you would understand the difference between a tax and a penalty and why it’s so important.
I’m all for fighting on regardless.
Pretending Roberts didn’t just vastly expand government power and removed most of our freedom does NOT HELP the fight.
It makes it seem like no big deal.
You're right, we have a great battle ahead of us; letters to the editor, supporting the right candidates, passing out flyers, etc....
In time I think we will see the wisdom of Roberts. Another good thing this decision settled is the preservation of the 10th Amendment. The feds can't push the states around!
Actually we have an amendment which is in effect now which should have put a stop to this BS, and that is the 16th.
You stand with Roberts, Kagan and the Wise Latina...I'll stand with Scalia, Thomas and Alito.
Personally, i think he was blackmailed. His contorted logic, and utter disregard for such a fundamental change in our nations blueprint, leads me to suspect he was blackmailed. Suspect he was told he could get the same treatment as Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich,,,or Jim McGreevey, the New Jersey governor with a secret. Hillary would have had access to those FBI files from when Roberts worked in the first Bush administration.
I don't see it that way. I believe Roberts gained concessions from the 4 liberal justices and really put the screws to Obama. Go to redstate.com and read what Erick wrote....just might change your mind.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.