48. Thank you Justice Roberts!

48.  Thank you Justice Roberts!

 

When the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare came down, the country was dumb-struck.  The political analysts and constitutional lawyers were in a tizzy trying to decide what it meant and how to think about it.  Many defended his decision as a brilliant long-term strategy; most declared it an indefensible case of judicial activism.  Here’s what I think:  If Roberts had ruled the Individual Mandate unconstitutional and agreed that the entire Obamacare law be struck down, I am convinced that Americans would have gone back to sleep, politically speaking.  If he had ruled the Individual Mandate constitutional under the Commerce Clause, we’d have lost untold freedom as Americans and most would never have understood what happened.  But Americans DO know what a TAX is!  And they now understand that they can’t rely on the Supreme Court to save them from Obamacare anymore.   I have a series of YouTube videos on the internet explaining Obamacare.  The number of people watching those videos quadrupled in the 2 months after the Supreme Court decision.  I used to give talks to groups of 20-30 folks, now the groups are 100 or more.  Americans are getting involved in the political process like never before!   If Justice Roberts hadn’t ruled the way he did, I don’t think any of this would be happening.

 

One of Justice Roberts’ decisions was applauded by all who oppose Obamacare:  he ruled that the federal government couldn’t force states to expand Medicaid enrollment.  As of last August, only 11 states had decided to expand Medicaid as required by Obamacare.  Other states are hesitating, or refusing to expand due to the millions or even billions of dollars it will costs their taxpaying residents.  If states refuse to expand their Medicaid roles, Obamacare will not work, and millions more Americans will be unable to afford the Obamacare insurance policies, and be left without insurance.

 

Of course, we are now left with that pesky “tax” ruling that says Congress can force us to buy things we don’t want, merely by taxing us until we comply.  The way I see it, if we can get Republicans in control of Congress and the Presidency, one of the first laws they should pass can say that Congress CANNOT use its taxing powers to force Americans to buy anything.  That’s why we have 3 branches of government folks!  And in the future, let’s be more careful about who we put into office.   Justice Roberts said that too—and he was right!

(Note: This commentary is by Dr. Jill Vecchio.)