Posted on 07/07/2012 4:13:46 PM PDT by Kaslin
Time magazine demonstrated in its last issue that it was so overwhelmingly thrilled with John Roberts upholding ObamaCare that it put Roberts on the cover with the title “Roberts Rules,” touting his “landmark decision.” Inside, the magazine gave the ruling 15-plus pages of coverage.
By contrast, the Congress voting to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for failing to deliver documents on the “Fast & Furious” program drew two dismissive paragraphs – one less paragraph than Time editor Richard Stengel took to boost Roberts as a chip off the old block of “John Marshall, the greatest of all Chief Justices” in an Editor’s Note:
John Marshall, the greatest of all Chief Justices, famously wrote that it is the job of the high court “to say what the law is.” It is not, he implied, the province of the court to say whether a law is wise or sound or good for the people; it is simply to rule on whether or not it is constitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts was channeling his groundbreaking predecessor when he wrote his landmark opinion on the Affordable Care Act....The court’s decision is so important that we moved up our publishing schedule to create this special issue in order to get it to you as soon as possible.
The top quote on the “Briefing” quotes page was Roberts declaring “It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.” In another context or case, Time would probably find this sentiment loathsome and lacking compassion, but not this time.
David Von Drehle’s cover story began:
You don’t have to love classical music to be amazed that Beethoven wrote his Ninth Symphony while deaf or be a fan of the old New York Giants to marvel at Willie Mays’ catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.For legal buffs, the virtuoso performance of Chief Justice John Roberts in deciding the biggest case of his career was just that sort of jaw dropper, no matter how they might feel about Obamacare.
Not since King Solomon offered to split the baby has a judge engineered a slicker solution to a bitterly divisive dispute.
But wait, Von Drehle’s writing got even sillier:
The fact that Roberts had to squirm like Houdini to reach middle ground (in the second part of his ruling, he held that the mandate to buy insurance is not a tax, but by the third section he announced that it is) only enhanced the bravura of the feat. As the saying goes, it’s one thing to dance like Fred Astaire, but Ginger Rogers did it backwards in high heels. Philosophical purity is easy — the blogosphere is lousy with it — while pragmatic solutions to difficult problems are as rare these days as virgins on Jersey Shore.As such, the Chief Justice’s ruling confounded a political world primed for Armageddon: the spectacle of five Republican appointees striking down the signature achievement of a Democratic President in the midst of a tough re-election campaign. After a party-line vote by the court to decide the disputed 2000 election for George W. Bush over Al Gore, and another in the controversial Citizens United campaign-spending case, the Washington atmosphere reeked of gasoline, and the Obamacare case looked like a match ready to fall.
Von Drehle made no attempt to blame the Left for pouring the rhetorical gasoline and getting out the match box. He touted Roberts for taking “compromise” off the dirty-word list; “What Roberts managed to do with Obamacare vindicated the virtue of compromise in an era of Occupiers, Tea Partyers and litmus-testing special interests.”
Meanwhile, the Holder contretemps drew two paragraphs under the headline “Misplaced Contempt?” Eric Dodds conceded the contempt vote was “historic,” and then declared it was off base:
The vote came a day after Fortune published findings of a six-month investigation concluding that – contrary to popular belief – agents did not intentionally allow guns to walk. Instead, Fortune said, agents’ efforts to make arrests were “hamstrung by prosecutors and weak laws.” The findings suggest that a key premise of the investigation by the GOP-controlled Oversight Committee is off base. Despite the contempt charge, it appears unlikely Holder will be prosecuted.
Chris Matthews is going to get this copy for the centerfold.
Time magazine should save their blue dress.
Anderson Cooper too.
Exactly why Roberts did what he did - media adoration.
He's receiving his reward from men alright, but he's sacrificed his soul ( and this country) to get it.
What were on the other 4 pages?
No kidding. Time is about as thick as the average Costco advert, but with less content.
So, mathematically, 1 page of favorable press coverage = 2 pieces of silver?
Kind of like giving the kid in the corner with the dunce cap a gold star.
As long as he is OUR stupid I suppose.
they were left blank
So aside from Roberts, I wonder who is going to buy one of these at the news stand or grocery store checkout?
Well he got what he wanted!
“By contrast, the Congress voting to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for failing to deliver documents on the “Fast & Furious” program drew two dismissive paragraphs –”
Wow. They actually mentioned it? I`m shocked. No sarc/
The example cited is not the only example of Roberts “Squirming like Houdini”. The entire decision is simply nonsense. It is totally inconsistent both with itself and what the authors of the bill had said.
Robert's decision is not a "compromise" or a "bravura feat". It is an abandonment of logic, legal principles and even common sense. Roberts originally had decided the health care law was unconstitutional. Late in the process, for no perceptible reason he changed his position and supported the law.
No one can refute that John Roberts is very intelligent. He is far too intelligent to believe “squirming like Houdini” and simply making stupid, illogical and contradictory statements constitutes a sound legal analysis.
Whatever the reason for Robert's decision, the dishonest praise by the MSM proves something is very wrong.
Good grief.
You know what REALLY worries me ... where does the Roberts Court go from here? I see him sliding much more toward Kennedy on Social issues, i.e. liberal. I also see the Court, shifting, somewhat, to the Left.
The Health Care ruling is the least of our problems.
John Roberts
Just when I thought there wasn’t a single square inch of my back without a knife in it.
Just when I thought there wasn’t a single square inch of my back without a knife in it.
LOL. I’m laughing with you, not at you. Believe me, I share your pain.
He has his reward.
Oddly enough, this would probably be defeatable, with a little Freeping. If he gets back from Malta, and undergoes what Al Gore underwent (”Get out of Dick Cheney’s house!” only more like “Traitor! Coward! Spineless! Liberal!”), I’d bet he would think twice before pulling that little stunt again. Those who crave adulation are even more sensitive to personal criticism.
I’ll bet the subtle image of being surrounded by hostile individuals taunting him would affect him more than we could understand. And it would prevent him from thinking such a move as he pulled would be worth it in the future.
The alternative is to let the Liberals reward this little prick’s cowardice with ego stroking, and begin to train him, which will be a huge problem in the future if we don’t counter it with a sharp correction.
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