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I know it isn't the popular view at this moment, but I'm starting to think that, in fact, Roberts really snookered the libs into voting for HIS interpretation, which was not the smack-down but was probably much more damaging to liberalism over the long haul. The severe limitation of the commerce clause and the striking down of the Medicare imposition on states ripped the real guts out of Obamacare, while upholding the tax puts it back in the hands of Congress (where it should be) and allows us with reconciliation to eliminate it. Obviously, Obama will veto, and obviously, then, nothing will be funded.

If I understand the structure right, without the Medicare taxes on the states, and without taxes passed by the House, this thing is dead as Ronnie James Dio.

If I understand the structure right, without the Medicare taxes on the states, and without taxes passed by the House, this thing is dead as Ronnie James Dio.

I don't think that's correct, LS.

The dark heart of ObamaCare is that it requires (essentially) that all health insurance in the United States must eventually conform to what the federal government decides it should cover.

In other words, for the vast majority of people, the federal government will make the decision as to whether or not a particular treatment will be allowed to be paid.

If someone comes up with a breakthrough treatment for a particular condition, it is not enough to convince doctors or even insurance companies of it. One will have to go on bended knee to a stupid federal bureaucrat, and convince him or her to allow it to be paid as an accepted treatment.

Naturally these will be political decisions, especially whenever the Left is in charge of the bureaucracy. And of course "pay to play" will be the order of the day as companies that provide medical devices or other treatments will need to curry favor with the politicians in order to ensure that the government will allow insurance policies to pay for that particular treatment.

And because a Soviet-style government bureaucracy is about the least efficient approach possible to allocating health resources, there will be massive waste and fraud and uncontrollable costs will lead to rationing of treatments and attempts at federal control of all lifestyle decisions in the name of managing healthcare costs.

My understanding is that all of that goes ahead even if states decline to accept the additional Medicaid funding to cover people up to 130% of the poverty line.

The severe limitation of the commerce clause and the striking down of the Medicare imposition on states ripped the real guts out of Obamacare, while upholding the tax puts it back in the hands of Congress (where it should be) and allows us with reconciliation to eliminate it.

This is a key thing for the next couple months. The house has already scheduled a vote to repeal, but everyone says Ried will block it from the senate or the Dems won't vote for Cloture to allow it to come to a vote.

I believe that by this now being a tax and therefore being subject to budget reconciliation Ried and the Dems CAN'T block it from comeing to a vote.

So there may be a silver lining in that all the Dems currently in trouble for November may be forced to vote in support of the LARGEST TAX INCREASE IN HISTORY again right before the election.

That leaves two possible outcomes: There loss is all but assured if they vote to uphold the TAX or a couple may choose to vote against it to save themselves.

Sure, any vote before November is symbolic as Obastard will just Veto it, but whether it gets voted down or vetoed the Dem Senators that are in play in November will once more be on record.

That is the sheer genius of it!