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Alan Dershowitz: Chief Justice Roberts Voted For Obamacare To Get 'Street Cred' (Video)
Business Insider ^ | 11/21/2012 | Abby Rogers

Posted on 11/21/2012 7:28:29 AM PST by SeekAndFind

Even though Obamacare was decided months ago, pundits are still dissecting the court's actions.

CNN's top legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and famed lawyer and author Alan Dershowitz sat down on Friday at New York's 92nd Street Y to debate why Chief Justice John Roberts used his deciding vote to pass President Barack Obama's controversial health care law.

And, according to Dershowitz, Roberts did it just so he could side with Republicans from now on without getting called out for being too conservative.

"Roberts is very political," Dershowitz said in the interview, posted by Above The Law. "And what he did by writing the decision the way he did is No. 1, he gave himself a lot of street cred or court cred which will allow him to render very conservative decisions for a long period of time without being regarded as the 5-to-4 guy who always votes Republican."

Plus, by writing the majority opinion the way he did, Roberts was able to "stick it in some ways to Obama by calling it a tax," Dershowitz said.

Watch the full interview, courtesy of ATL:

CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alandershowitz; johnroberts; obamacare; robertscourt; ruling; supremecourt
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1 posted on 11/21/2012 7:28:39 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Regardless of the reasoning, Roberts murdered the Constitution when he voted against the Supreme Law of the Land on that day. My children and grandchildren will suffer because of his treason, and I will never forgive him.


2 posted on 11/21/2012 7:31:05 AM PST by Pollster1 (Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. - Ronald Reagan)
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To: SeekAndFind

I think this is hogwash.

I personally think that Roberts was threatened by someone promising to open up the adoption files and paperwork for his kids, and Roberts did not want that to happen. Based on what they all wrote, he changed his mind quite suddenly and without fully communicating that to his peers.


3 posted on 11/21/2012 7:32:43 AM PST by DBrow
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To: SeekAndFind

Well, Roberts - it’s time now then.

Deport the swine kenyan.


4 posted on 11/21/2012 7:34:03 AM PST by Hardraade (http://junipersec.wordpress.com (I will fear no muslim))
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To: SeekAndFind

“And, according to Dershowitz, Roberts did it just so he could side with Republicans from now on without getting called out for being too conservative.”

So he intends to side with Republicans from now on after abandoning them in what is arguably one of the most pivotal cases in U.S. history?


5 posted on 11/21/2012 7:34:36 AM PST by BlatherNaut
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To: Pollster1

We should be so lucky. Roberts was rolled by somebody or we were rolled by Roberts.

We’ll see if Dershowicz is right. Obama has only four years left. Roberts has about twenty-five.


6 posted on 11/21/2012 7:36:41 AM PST by cotton1706
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To: SeekAndFind

...street creed with who?...70% want it gone, who’s he going to hang with, the crips and bloods?


7 posted on 11/21/2012 7:37:04 AM PST by Doogle ((USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
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To: SeekAndFind

That ruling was pure cowardice. The man is yellow, plain and simple.


8 posted on 11/21/2012 7:37:24 AM PST by microgood
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To: DBrow

“I personally think that Roberts was threatened by someone promising to open up the adoption files and paperwork for his kids, and Roberts did not want that to happen.”

Or blackmailed about something else in his background (i.e. the real story behind the Martha’s Vineyard photo).


9 posted on 11/21/2012 7:38:27 AM PST by BlatherNaut
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To: DBrow

I personally think Roberts was threatened, too. In fact, he was publicly threatened. The Democrats have learned how to defeat our election system, through bribes and intimidation.


10 posted on 11/21/2012 7:43:22 AM PST by The_Media_never_lie (Actually, they lie when it suits them! The crooked MS media must be defeated any way it can be done!)
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To: BlatherNaut

What photo?............


11 posted on 11/21/2012 7:43:29 AM PST by Red Badger (Lincoln freed the slaves. Obama just got them ALL back......................)
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To: DBrow

I personally think Roberts was threatened, too. In fact, he was publicly threatened. The Democrats have learned how to defeat our election system, through bribes and intimidation.


12 posted on 11/21/2012 7:43:29 AM PST by The_Media_never_lie (Actually, they lie when it suits them! The crooked MS media must be defeated any way it can be done!)
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To: SeekAndFind

“Street cred” takes priority over the Constitution.


13 posted on 11/21/2012 7:44:33 AM PST by windsorknot
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To: microgood

The man is a disgrace.


14 posted on 11/21/2012 7:45:25 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (In the game of life, there are no betting limits)
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To: DBrow
I too feel he was either threatened with something, or bribed with something. With his position as Chief Justice, don't you think he could stop ANY “opening” of his children's adoption papers? Something happened, and we may never know. Obama’s slimy tentacles can reach very high (Petraeus is one example), but it's hard to imagine them reaching as high as the Chief Justice, but who knows?
15 posted on 11/21/2012 7:45:34 AM PST by Humal
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To: DBrow
I too feel he was either threatened with something, or bribed with something. With his position as Chief Justice, don't you think he could stop ANY “opening” of his children's adoption papers? Something happened, and we may never know. Obama’s slimy tentacles can reach very high (Petraeus is one example), but it's hard to imagine them reaching as high as the Chief Justice, but who knows?
16 posted on 11/21/2012 7:45:42 AM PST by Humal
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To: DBrow

I think this is hogwash.

“I personally think that Roberts was threatened by someone promising to open up the adoption files and paperwork for his kids, and Roberts did not want that to happen. Based on what they all wrote, he changed his mind quite suddenly and without fully communicating that to his peers.”

I agree with you completely. This is the way Obama operates.


17 posted on 11/21/2012 7:46:32 AM PST by depenzz
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To: SeekAndFind
My take is that Roberts over-thought the issue, and got "cute" with his ruling. He's given something to both sides, though for the Obama administration, the results are much more tangible--the law Obama signed was "upheld" by the USSC, and that's all they care about. They'll leave it for historians and pundits to debate what the practical meaning of the ruling is--it DOES NOT MATTER to him.

As for the Republicans and other conservatives, the grounds on which Roberts ruled seems to paint a way forward, but it's a very tenuous one. I'm not a legal scholar, but the PPACA was upheld...I'm not sure there are "qualifiers" on the justifications for upholding a law. It's either Constitutional, or it isn't.

Roberts gave Republicans the political talking point that they could call the implementation a "tax," but the window for using that talking point has passed. The November elections came and went, and most Obama supporters didn't care that PPACA was a tax. Most supporters are thrilled, because they don't see it as skin off their backs.

The only real limitation in the ruling was the Medicare expansion within individual states. What will that limitation bring with respect to the overall implementation of the law? My understanding is that it will create a much more rocky road, which could cause a political situation with voters who think come January 1, 2014, healthcare is going to start magically appearing on every street corner. Will the media show angry throngs of people outside doctor's offices? Will we see horror stories of people dying in ERs? Will will see stories of elderly patients with tears in their eyes, as they're turned away for treatment, or placed on long waiting lists?

18 posted on 11/21/2012 7:47:08 AM PST by Lou L (Health "insurance" is NOT the same as health "care")
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To: SeekAndFind
“And what he did by writing the decision the way he did is No. 1, he gave himself a lot of street cred”

“Street cred” is originally a term used by criminals meaning they have powerful friends or a willingness to use violence so people won't mess with them. The term has been adopted by liberals to mean popular with leftist media, leftist elites etc.

The idea that the constitutionality of a law should be decided by “street cred” rather than an intelligent reading of the constitution is so destructive to our Republic that words can not describe it.

The important thing to understand is that Dershowitz as well as the other liberals in the media and academia are not even pretending that Roberts’ decision on Obamacare has anything to do with the facts or the law in this case.

The conclusion by everyone is that Roberts’ ignored the constitution and his oath to uphold the constitution. Dershowitz is just speculating on the reason for this decision. He is probably wrong. But the overall point is the constitution no longer matters. Whether you call it “street cred”, political expedience or out and out fear something is very wrong with the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare.

19 posted on 11/21/2012 7:48:00 AM PST by detective
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To: SeekAndFind

Can Supreme Court justices be impeached? If Dershowitz is right, then Roberts doesn’t belong on the court.


20 posted on 11/21/2012 7:48:19 AM PST by Mr. Know It All
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