Thursday, June 28, 2012

Affordable Heath Care and Along Came a Spider

Those howls you hear right now are coming from every conservative hack in the nation. The Supreme Court, with the unexpected help of Chief Justice John Roberts, has just upheld the validity of the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Republicans everywhere are gnawing madly at their tails as if they are squirrels who just had them run over by a large truck. It was not the decision they wanted, or expected from a court that has largely been defined by political, rather than judicial philosophies.

In writing for the majority Roberts said that the Affordable Care Act was a "valid exercise of congress's power to tax."

Roberts, along with justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagen formed the majority. Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas and Alito dissented.

As I type liberals everywhere are dancing in the street and talking about what a great victory it is for the president of the United States. And, I suppose it might be right now. However if you look at things a little closer you might catch a glimpse of a spider hiding in the corner.

Roberts also wrote these word about the decision. (The court and justices) "possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgements. 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."

Is it just me, or was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court delivering an obtuse pep talk to not only Mitt Romney, but those who support him? He certainly just handed Romney a galvanizing issue that he can glom onto. It is one far more concrete than vague promises of speeding up an economic recovery that is already underway without his help. It certainly lets him off the foreign policy hook where he has all the experience  and nuance of a Sarah Palin.

Strengthening that dark little suspicion is the part of the decision that allows states to opt out of the program without fear of losing any federal medicaid funding. In other words the law is on the books in Washington, but in places like Oklahoma it won't mean squat to the average person. The legislature is sure to refuse to participate and now they can do it free of penalty, thanks to John Roberts.

I suppose we should take the victories that are handed to us and revel in them for a while. We can also have a great laugh at the expense of all those fools on twitter. MSNBC is reporting the social media was flooded with hyper angry tweets, many of which stated the authors were going to move to Canada now that the court has approved public funded medical care. Good luck with that relocation folks. Just for your information, Canada has had public funded medical care for years now. In fact, it exists just about every place else you go on this blue ball. We're the only industrialized nation left arguing about the issue.

So it is a win for Obama and in a way it is a win for Romney. He is all ready on the tube screeching about, "Obamacare". Mitt's only problem will be the questions about him supporting almost exactly the same type of program up in Massachusetts. Those will be uncomfortable moments for him, but I'm sure he will muddle through after being thoroughly coached in the arts of denial and deception.

Look for millions to pour into pro Romney super pacs from every mover and shaker in the medical and pharmaceutical industry. Mr. Obama and the Supreme Court have hit a raw nerve. After all, it can't be a free country unless there are people dying of curable diseases all over the place. Providing medical care for some indigent is so unamerican, not to mention it isn't nearly as glamorous, or fun as building bombs and dropping them on someone.

We all have our priorities I suppose. Mitt Romney just found his.

November can't get here quick enough.

6-28-12



 

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