Will John Roberts be remembered in history the same as Benedict Arnold?

[Williams]

When Roberts was nominated, conservative commentators went so far as to say he was a man of courage. That deeply offended me because I knew exactly the type of person who spent their life at a big law firm. That is all John Roberts is.

[Astronaut]

John Roberts is the enemy of free men everywhere. Pure scum.

[boomop1]

It is the alleged speaker weeper’s turn, congress has to approve taxes as this was passed as a fee waving a wand won’t change it.

[rushmom]

yes

[Lmo56]

I wonder what Bush feels like today - like Ike did with Earl Warren?

[C19fan]

To me it is a distinction without a difference. The gov't can say eat your broccoli but we will not mandate it but you pay a tax if you do not eat the gov't dictated amount. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall understood this when in McCullough v. Maryland he stated,

That the power to tax involves the power to destroy

[Williams]

Apparently you are wrong, Roberts was the swing vote on the mandate and could have struck it down.

[Godebert]

"After today, I am dropping out of the political process. Let the RATS have it all for all I care! Every seat. Make Reid or Ploski president for all I care! Why care anymore? Also, the Republican party might as well cease to exist. They are worthless as a political party. Absolutely worthless!"

Not a single objection from the republican party as the Usurper was installed as commander-in-chief. Screw the GOP. They should all be tried for treason.

[Viking2002]

Roberts has guaranteed himself a place in Hell.

"As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their hearts desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

--H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920

[lormand]

Here's a novel idea, never nominate an Ivy League graduate as a Judge....PERIOD!

[longtermmemmory]

this is Dredd Scott for the 21st century.

simply an infamous decision because it codified slavery back into the us law.

obamacare = slavery

[Viking2002]

What is the legal procedure for removing a Supreme Court justice?

"As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their hearts desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

--H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920

[floozy22]

You make good points.

In the coming weeks we'll get many educated, informed opinions on this ruling from legitimate constitutional experts. The dust has to settle.

[Will88]

However, it must be stated that we would have lost on several counts, even if we had Roberts on our side on every count.

It was a 5-4 decision. If Roberts had not voted to uphold the entire thing would have been declared unconstitutional.

[Momto2]

God bless Justices Thomas, Scalia, and Alito. And Kennedy on this one

That makes this even MORE (if possible) distressing -- there were the votes we needed and instead of joining the 4 - Roberts sides with the left! A sad, sad day for our country.

[alloysteel]

Without Roberts’ vote, the count would have been five and four. The little Mall Cop Paul Blart character Elena Kagan SHOULD have recused herself from this vote, which would have then made the final vote 4-4, a hung decision. But siding with the majority, even though so many think that a travesty in and of itself, assured the deadlock would not happen.

Moving on from that, this decision is open to so many different way of dealing with the outcome. Like that of the Dred Scott decision, eventually the result was the 14th Amendment, but not until after a civil war ripped the nation at its seams, and enormous amounts of strife had to be endured.

The mandate is now legally declared to be a tax, and not an exercise of the Commerce Clause. Taxes, the Congress of the United States is prepared to deal with. And since an increase in taxes is a highly unpopular item right now, fighting for the repeal of Obamacare in the name of lowering taxes on everybody, not just the wealthy, as the Democrats are so fond of prating about, has to have a much wider appeal than first thought.

“Preservation of unconstitutional law” is simply the Court’s reluctance to reverse itself - ever. Hark back to the Dredd Scott decision: Theoretically, until the passage of the 14th Amendment, persons of African descent, even though freed from slavery, could not be US citizens, regardless of place of birth. The decision itself was never reversed.

[aruanan]

This is the Dred Scott court deciding for the liberal plantation owners.

[howlinhound]

“I hope the son-of-a-bitch traitor dies of a slow dibilitating disease.”

I seem to recall that, early in his tenure, Roberts had a seizure of some sort that caused him to pass out. Hence, hopefully not but you may get your wish. Let’s hope nothing happens to him while O is still in office.

[dfwgator]

Let’s hope nothing happens to him while O is still in office.

Why? What's the difference?

[KevinB]

That Roberts written opinion clearly says that Congress did not have the power under the Commerce Clause to impose the mandate, and it clearly says this is a TAX!

Isn't that a distinction without a difference? They don't have the power to force you buy broccoli, but they have the power to "tax" (penalize) you if you don't buy broccoli. As long as the tax for not buying broccoli exceeds the cost of buying broccoli, everyone is, in essence, forced to buy broccoli.