Posted on 07/01/2012 11:06:29 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
WHEN America's chief justice John Roberts told a conference on Friday he was fleeing to an "impregnable island fortress" for the summer, he was joking about his holiday in Malta.
But the astonishing outpouring of vitriol against the conservative Supreme Court judge whose surprise support swung the vote to uphold President Barack Obama's healthcare legislation suggests that a bitterly divided America is heading for one of its nastiest elections in modern times.
While leading constitutional scholars praised Roberts's decision for upholding democracy, leaving voters to decide the issue rather than the courts, one of the country's most popular radio hosts said the judge's mind had been unhinged by the powerful drugs that he allegedly takes for epilepsy.
"It's well known that Roberts has suffered from epileptic seizures," said Michael Savage, whose talk-show draws 10m listeners a week. "Neurologists will tell you that medication used for seizure disorders, such as epilepsy, can introduce mental slowing, forgetfulness and other cognitive problems."
. . . Roberts, 57, was reported to have had a seizure that caused him to fall at his summer home in Maine in 2007. He suffered an earlier seizure in 1993 but it is not known whether he takes medication. Supreme Court justices are among the most private of public officials and medical information, routinely released for other officials, is closely held by the court.
Republicans were stunned by what they saw as betrayal by a judge they had regarded as one of their own, appointed to the court by President George W Bush and opposed by the then Senator Obama.
Best remembered for fumbling Obama's oath of office in 2009, Roberts has voted consistently with the conservative bloc on social issues, such as abortion and racial policies.
So widely was he expected to rule that the legislation was unconstitutional, that initially even Obama thought the law had been struck down, not least because two television networks, CNN and Fox News, wrongly reported the decision.
Crowds gathered outside the court for the announcement included belly-dancers, a man dressed as the grim reaper and protesters in doctors' coats. Many carried yellow Tea Party flags of a coiled snake with the slogan "Don't step on me".
There was a gasp when the judgment was handed out on Friday. Roberts had sided with four liberals to uphold Obamacare, as Republicans call the law, by five votes to four.
"Treachery!" thundered Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor. "John Roberts should be ashamed of himself," railed Donald Trump. The conservative talkshow host Glenn Beck launched a line of T-shirts with the word "Coward" beneath an image of Roberts's face. The chief justice's title on Wikipedia was altered to "Chief traitor of the United States".
A poll last week found almost seven out of 10 Americans expect the November elections to be the nastiest to date and warned that the rancorous political environment was producing a "national civility disorder".
Reaction to the healthcare ruling is a case in point. Almost everyone agrees that America's health insurance system is not working. With 50m Americans uninsured and many more underinsured, medical bills are the biggest cause of personal bankruptcy. Unable to afford to visit a doctor, the uninsured end up going to casualty departments for treatment at a high cost to the taxpayer.
Obamacare was designed to extend insurance to at least half of the uninsured and enable young people to stay on their parents' insurance to the age of 26, as well as preventing companies denying coverage to those with a pre-existing condition. At the heart of the law is the so-called individual mandate, which compels all Americans over a certain income to buy insurance or pay a penalty.
Passed by Congress in January 2010 after a titanic struggle, few understood the 2,700-page bill and the president did a poor job selling it to the public. It became a key issue in the 2010 congressional elections, in which Tea Party activists swept the Republicans to victory. The law went to the Supreme Court after 26 states argued the federal government had no right to impose the mandate.
Roberts agreed with his fellow conservatives that Congress lacked the power to force Americans to buy health insurance. But he reasoned that the fine imposed for failing to buy it fell within the power of Congress to levy taxes, thus the mandate was constitutional.
Although Obama had previously insisted it was not a tax, he was clearly delighted to see his administration's greatest legislative achievement given the court's stamp of approval.
The ruling came on top of encouraging new polls for the president. Although he leads his Republican challenger Mitt Romney by 3 per cent nationally, Obama is well ahead in most of the 12 battleground states, according to the latest polls.
Obama now needs to sell his healthcare scheme to a sceptical electorate, with 52 per cent disapproving of the law.
While the ruling gives the Obama campaign a short-term boost, it may also have rallied conservatives and boosted the Tea Party. "Thank you, SCOTUS [Supreme Court]," tweeted Palin. "This Obamacare ruling fires up the troops as America's eyes are opened!"
Republicans argue that not only will the law bankrupt many small businesses and raise taxes, but they also see it as an unacceptable growth of federal power. "This is an end to liberty," said Susan Clark, a hairdresser from Santa Monica who had travelled to the court carrying a replica Liberty Bell.
John Boehner, the Speaker of Congress, announced Republicans would vote on July 11 to repeal the law - a hollow promise as they lack a majority in the Senate. Romney has pledged that if elected president he would repeal the legislation on his first day in office - but he has proposed no alternative.
It is not an easy issue for him. Obama has repeatedly said his legislation was modelled on the healthcare reform Romney introduced in 2006 while governor of Massachusetts. The Obama campaign has dug up footage from as recently as 2009 in which Romney expressed support for the mandate, saying it would help lower costs and encourage personal responsibility.
The ruling has ensured that money is pouring into Romney's coffers. Within an hour of the announcement, the Republicans launched a website - PeoplevObamacare.com - calling for donations. Within a day it had raised dollars 4.6m.
This is worrying for Obama, who is already being outspent by Romney. Last week pro-Romney groups spent dollars 12m on advertising to Obama's dollars 8m.
Democrats are being inundated by begging emails from "Michelle" and "Barack" saying "We're being outspent!"
They have even called on supporters about to get married to ask for donations in lieu of gifts, helpfully offering a wedding registry on the campaign website.
“the nastiest to date”
Exactly what the media wants as it’s good for their business. They’ll be telling us over and over how nasty it is.
‘few understood the 2,700-page bill’....This is a lie. NO one understood the bill and ALL that was in it. But, MILLIONS understood what this bill meant for America and that was oppression for ‘We the People”.
To be accurate you must be more specific.They'll be telling us over and over just how nasty Romney's campaign is.And yes,their reports will be liberally sprinkled with the word....wait for it....
“While leading constitutional scholars praised Roberts’s decision for upholding democracy, leaving voters to decide the issue rather than the courts,”
No that is the problem! Democracy means a majority gets to screw the rights of the minority. We have a constitution to protect the minority but that will no longer be the case.
I don’t know, my retired sister and friends with no insurance believes this is there salvation—Free Medical care. They will vote for Obama just because of this bill. They are fools—noting is really free.
It won’t be just the 0bama-n0n-care, it’s the economy, the jobs, the lies!
People do have eyes and ears now.
They must be stupid like all Obama votes.
I think it will be 50:50 on voting day: a non issue.
I played golf with a hospital board commissioner who is a retired physician, this morning. He was telling me just a few of the problems the health care act is going to cause and he explained that they still have no was of knowing the extent of what's hidden in the bill.
The one thing he said is that low income working Americans have no idea what is about to hit them, or how must it's gonna cost them. They are delusional if they think everything just became free.
Contributions to the Obama campaign in lieu of wedding presents. These people are truly disgusting and venal.
How could it be a non-issue? People are seriously against Obamatax and afraid of the consequences of it.
I guess Roberts is checking out a couple of account numbers.....
Does not recognize the Gadsden flag or report on it correctly.
Does not understand that the Senators will be forced to identify themselves as supporters of the bill by the "hollow" House vote.
Bet they are all drinking oil cans of Foster's while they type this stuff in the outback.
Got the "vitriol" part right, though.
“sister and friends with no insurance believes this is their salvation—Free Medical care”
Hopefully there won’t be too many people that are above the current “free medical care” level but are having trouble getting adequate insurance.
Romney needs to explain convincingly how the high taxation required for Obamacare takes money out of people’s pockets that they could use for insurance premiums. Also high taxation on businesses increases the odds that Mr. or Mrs. “undecided” might lose their job.
My hopes are high for the next election because of the results of the previous election (conservative wins). Also,it appears that Obama’s campaign fundraising is not going well. That’s an ominous sign.
If any issue polls at roughly 50:50 it is a non-issue. They cancel each other out.
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