Did Justice Roberts Change His Obamacare Vote At The Eleventh Hour?

Forbes.com ^ | 6/28/2012 | Rick Ungar

[dfwgator]

Why wasn’t Kennedy shown the “Chicago” way? And even if he was, why did he stand firm?

[BlatherNaut]

Tired of Roberts being defended. There was no real threat of invalidating the court. Roberts did that single handedly today. He proved that the court was nothing but an activist nightmare and he needs to be replaced or the court is nothing but destructive.

Agree. The ramifications of his ruling are mind-boggling. Rather than judge the bill on its constitutional merits, he changed "mandate" to "tax" in order to pass it.

Also heard that Roberts takes seizure meds which might potentially affect his cognition. Have seen this firsthand with a relative on anti-seizure meds. If he is non compos mentis (who knows?), he has no business on the Supreme Court.

[catfish1957]

Only needed one vote.

[Aquamarine]

Got any guesses who the unidentified circles are?

[House Atreides]

With Roberts now, my gut is telling me that it’s either a live boy(s) or a dead girl or a woman who made sure she (and/or her confederates) obtained & kept irrefutable proof of an illicit affair. And if not any of these it is some kind of financial or legal impropriety with which he is being threatened/controlled.

[BLOC77]

Your wrong, so wrong. He rewrote the law from the bench, defining the mandate as nothing more then a tax. The administration argued that this was a fine, until the last day of arguments with the supremes. How can a congressly elected fine now be viewed as a tax? It was passed as a fine, how does Roberts justify this? No one will answer me, crickets, crickets.

[borg5575]

Roberts is just another on a long list of court nominees who have betrayed the conservative cause once they got in office. George Bush thought that he would be a reliable conservative. So did I and I supported his nomination. We were both wrong.

If it’s true that his epilepsy medication is clouding his judgement then he needs to resign once Romney takes office.

[mockingbyrd]

I am saying it was a more pure interpretation based on the argument presented to them. Make up your mind, you want an activist court or not. It now can be dealt with where it should be dealt with.. IN CONGRESS.

I see what you're saying and it's valid. But there's a couple of problems, I WANT INSTANT GRATIFICATION and want to know this is gone. And, what happenens if we don't get the Senate? They haven't passed a budget since like 1863? So how's defunding going to work? I get that Robert's might have done the right thing, but it doesn't make us safer necessarily. And what about the Court defining what is and is not a tax? Isn't that the job of Congress alone?

I'm not one to throw Roberts overboard, but I have a sinking feeling that he's fighting the long, slow losing fight. I'm afraid we have this monstrosity around our necks for the long term.

[combat_boots]

Tell them Lan Astaslem: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/09/11/lan-astaslem-i-will-not-surrender/

[jessduntno]

How can a congressly elected fine now be viewed as a tax? It was passed as a fine, how does Roberts justify this? No one will answer me, crickets, crickets.”

I think you answered it yourself. It can’t. And he can’t. This is not the end of the argument, it is the beginning.

[funfan]

Most people are or were against Obamacare a majority
while less than a majority was in favor of it so now more people will think the court is activists and not being legitimate. Once again the minority rules the majority.

The whole thing makes me sick

[hinckley buzzard]

Even if Romney is elected and Obamacare is totally repealed, the judicial precedent stands. The Supreme Court has stated that the government can financially punish anyone for any behavior, or any omission of any behavior, as it deems appropriate. This is the opening of the door to totalitarianism, even if idiot harvard a-holes like Roberts don't see it.

Short-sighted? Try blind.

[newzjunkey]

Of course he's allowed to switch positions before the finale decision.

I think this is tin foil nonsense. Scalia was referring to dissent on the mandate and not trying to tip anyone off to Roberts having switched views midstream.

[hinckley buzzard]

I'm not one to throw Roberts overboard

Why not? A-hole just threw all of us overboard. We'll never know what turned him into a punk, but he makes Lebron's fourth quarter chokes look like Olympic triumphs.

[BLOC77]

please excuse my horrible spelling, I am pretty emotional at this time. Roberts is totally evil, he’s arguing that he is not responsible for what the people vote for, Yikes, Yikes, Holy Crap! it’s called check and balance asshole. Roberts just affirmed that two branches will go unchecked.

[combat_boots]

No effing way Roberts is a Catholic and rules as he has.

---

How many of these have now happened, folks? July 4th is coming up....

“He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.”

[princeofdarkness]

It does no one any good to try to present this shit sandwich of a decision as an exquisite dish of caviar.

[Boogieman]

Bigger picture?

The bigger picture is that now, Congress has the power to tax anything, in any way, with no restrictions at all. Furthermore, the courts now have precedent to impose taxation directly on us, which is a power reserved only to Congress in the Constitution. The bigger picture is that our Republic form of government suffered its coup de grace today.

[mike_9958]

“I wondered if he did it intentionally. To orchestrate Obama adding a new “tax”, but more so, to get the majority of the country fired up.”

my thoughts exactly - risky, but makes sense

[beaversmom]

I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s got the same look of a school administrator that we are aware of that suddenly was let go. Coincidentally, a female administrator was let go the same day.