Well, we should know in about 25 minutes …
Hoopsi-doodle; I’m getting the news that the individual mandate is upheld. Details to come …
SCOTUSblog has a live blog that is confirming the individual mandate has been upheld. Also I’m hearing that Roberts voted with the majority opinion. A number of commenters said predicted this outcome over the past few hours.
Blood-curdling howl to rise from the Right in 5 … 4… 3… 2… 1…
Update: Yeah, the mandate was upheld 5-4, with Roberts in the majority. I’m assuming that means Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Kennedy wanted to nix it.
Update: The skunk in the rose garden is that the majority ruling is that the mandate does violate the commerce clause, which is something that could spell trouble for progressivism. But the mandate is upheld under the taxing power. Go figure.
Update: From SCOTUSblog,
In Plain English: The Affordable Care Act, including its individual mandate that virtually all Americans buy health insurance, is constitutional. There were not five votes to uphold it on the ground that Congress could use its power to regulate commerce between the states to require everyone to buy health insurance. However, five Justices agreed that the penalty that someone must pay if he refuses to buy insurance is a kind of tax that Congress can impose using its taxing power. That is all that matters. Because the mandate survives, the Court did not need to decide what other parts of the statute were constitutional, except for a provision that required states to comply with new eligibility requirements for Medicaid or risk losing their funding. On that question, the Court held that the provision is constitutional as long as states would only lose new funds if they didn’t comply with the new requirements, rather than all of their funding.
The dissents are still being read.
Update: Not a lot of reaction from right-wing blogs yet. I guess they are waiting to receive their talking points from Rush and Hannity.
Mandate redefined as a tax? That’s what it seems like 10:13 EST
The law STANDS!
And the mandate, too – not as part of the Congresses “Commerce Clause,” but as Congresses ability to TAX!!!
Roberts was the 5th vote, and wrote the decision.
Let’s see what what develops throughout the day – I can’t believe Roberts won’t throw a few landmines in there.
But, who knows?
Karl Rove on FOX right now. Looking like a fat, pale, ghost – ok, even MORE so than usual. He looks like someone forced him to gargle with razor blades and battery acid.
What goes well with Shadenfreude? Red or white wine?
Never mind – VODKA!!!
I’m now realizing that I’ve read a lot of noodling about what the Dems would do if they overturned the law, but none on what the right-wing will do if they uphold it, as it appears they have. Republicans have spent years saying the law is an oppressive, unconstitutional plot of massive proportions, and now the most conservative court ever has upheld it? Wow. What will they do?
(Interesting. I just heard the decision seems based on the taxing power, which means they’ve still left the door open for unraveling the New Deal and everything else based on the commerce clause. They rejected the commerce clause argument for upholding the mandate.)
“Karl Rove on FOX right now. Looking like a fat, pale, ghost ”
Yes watching FAUX now is so fun, to see the desperation of sadness on the faces, fuck off fox. It was so funny at first they said it had been overturned before they read the whole thing, typical republicant, next they will say the decision was too long? Again fuck off FAUX hahahahahahahaha.
I think this is a political decision, which does not surprise me with the SC we have. As long as it creates a functional health care system, even within the messy money-suck sttucture we already have, it will be an improvement. Roberts had to go with it to preserve some semblance of independence.
Now we will see how the R’s react. I wish them the good grace to accept the decision of their very own Chief Justice.
Has Glenn Beck’s head exploded yet? 🙂
Three of “The Four Fascists,” Kennedy, AND Roberts, all said the mandate as commerce was NOT constitutional.
Roberts was the ONLY one on either side (as far as I can tell now), and in the majority who wanted the mandate to be a tax, and not as part of commerce – and the 4 more rational Centrist Justices, all wanted it to be part of commerce, but conceded to make sure the ACA was approved.
This, of course does NOT bode well in future decisions if Mitt wins, and has a R Congress.
After they repeal ACA, they can try to dismantle all of the social programs that are part of the “Commerce Clause”
More short term – politically, now the R’s can scream about a NEW TAX by Obama and the D’s, and approved by an activist SC.
This will be spun as a win for Conservatism shortly.
FOX and talk radio just need some time to figure out how to do it.
And if that fails – they can scream and wail, and tear at their hair and garments, and shriek about Socialism and Fascism.
“Has Glenn Beck’s head exploded yet?”
If not, I hope he straps an a “suicide hat”.
I just turned switched to FOX, OMG, they’re going crazy.
I expect Shep Smith to hand out cyanide capsules any second now.
What a country!!!
Curiously, CNN had the wrong banner up for about 5 minutes 😉
They were saying it was struck down.
Here, for your reading pleasure, is the EPIC FECKIN’ IDJIOTIC Rand Paul’s take on this:
“Just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be ‘constitutional’ does not make it so. The whole thing remains unconstitutional. While the court may have erroneously come to the conclusion that the law is allowable, it certainly does nothing to make this mandate or government takeover of our health care right,” Sen. Paul said.
Methinks, young Senator Aqua Buddha, even after almost 2 years in office, doesn’t understand how The Constitution works.
One might think someone on his staff might, no?
WHAT A DOPE! WHAT A MAROON!!!
I suppose it’s time to start crying about how many pages long the court’s opinion is.
I’m SO glad I tuned to FOX, they’re advertising the “Sunsetter” retractable awning.
I totally need one! Until this second, my life was worthless. Thanks Fau Snews!!
This decision may be trickier than people think.
There are taxes, and then there are taxes.
And, as I’ve just recently heard, the SC has some limits on what it can do with laws where the tax has yet to be collected.
And, by NOT allowing “The Commerce Clause,” Roberts is NO stooge, and may very well NOT be a good guy who saw the light.
There are MANY social safety net programs based ON “The Commerce Clause” – like SS, Medicare, Medicaid, S-CHIP, etc.
See any problems there in future decisions regarding SS and the other programs?
I’m not any Constitutional expert by any means.
But Roberts is.
And, while we’re all cheering, I can’t help wondering if he hasn’t opened-up a huge, new, can of worms.
I can’t help it.
I used to be an optimist – but the last 30+ years have whipped that out of it.
Ummmm, JCC from the other day…suck it!
Perhaps now you righties will crawl back under your rock and stop trying to play lawyer. You folks on the right wouldn’t know constitutional if it bit you on the ass.Next time you want to scream”unconstitutional” maybe you should base your hissy fits on facts vs what you might think because you were spoon fed.
Let me give you a little tip for life. There is what you think, there is what you know, and then there is what you can prove(facts) – the first two don’t count. Any questions?
Here’s a sample of the Republican reaction……
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjK9SsOx1WY&feature=fvwrel
FOX is spinning so fast and hard, I think there might be a Black Hole soon in the middle of Manhattan.
And they’re fixating on ACA being a tax.
Yes, you feckin’ idjits, it is a tax.
ON THOSE WHO CAN PAY, AND DON’T.
Remember that favorite phrase of yours? “Personal responsibility? Well, this is an example of that.
And no, the IRS cannot do much to those to do.
This is different from income tax.
Feckin’ dipsh*ts!!!