I'm ecstatic!
And before I get to my calm mature self - I just have to indulge in a little schadenfreude.
Most everyone who made a prediction about the SCOTUS ruling on health care reform was wrong. But those who spent hours talking about about how it was obvious that the decision was clearly going to be bad news for President Obama WERE REALLY WRONG!!!!!!
That doesn't just include the right wingers. It is also true of all the doom-and-gloomers on the left. I'm not going to call them out by name - you know who you are.
I'll admit that I was too cowardly to make an actual prediction. But what I will say in my defense is that I always considered the possibility that the ruling would be good news.
I'm not quite ready to embrace Chief Justice Roberts as my new BFF - but it does my heart SOOO good to see that those we often consider to be our opponents might not be as evil as we sometimes assume.
This is such a good day!!!!! All you naysayers who are so addicted to assuming the worst are just going to have to deal with that.
Well, my shrink thinks (and I agree) that I need to crow more about my good qualities and achievements, so I will say that my prediction was wrong only in the vote tally. I expect everyone to take notes from here on out on my every comment.
ReplyDeleteI was wrong about Kennedy, and this interests me. He wrote the dissent, which would have invalidated the entire law. That to me is a WTF moment, because striking down the whole thing is going way over the line. Scalia yes, but Kennedy?
I don't actually follow the Court that closely, and I don't really know much more about the man than I've read lately about his swing-voteness. I am trying to figure out why he would swing completely to the partisan right.
My initial theory I'll base on something I just read about Nixon's anti-Black racism. My god, some of the things he said on the tapes--it's astonishing, literally astonishing the thorough contempt and unreconstructed racism with which Nixon approached Black people.
I guess it was a reminder to me that we get an impression from the press (and maybe our own hopes) that people who rise that high in the system somehow raise themselves out of its muck, but that's not at all how it happens. They are as likely to bring its muck up with them to their high perch. Maybe it piques Kennedy too much that we have, in his understanding, such an uppity President.
Obviously this is all speculative but I'm trying to form some story to fit the facts as I see them.
On Wikipedia:
Delete"Kennedy has joined with Court majorities in decisions favoring states' rights and invalidating federal and state affirmative action programs."
The stench grows stronger.
I've never been able to get a read on Kennedy.
DeleteSince one of the things I've watched pretty closely at SCOTUS is their rulings about our justice system - specifically as it relates to juveniles - Kennedy has always been quite the champion. He is an enigma to me.
And now Roberts enters that space of unpredictability too.
Well, it's like the well-off white liberals in San Fran: we're glad for the gay rights legislation, but we'll fight you over what you're doing to working-class people of color in the Bayview. I'll take an occasional ally any day over a permanent adversary.
DeleteGood for Roberts, seriously.
The thing the right doesn't seem to get is that you are dealing with people when you deal with politics. Every one of them has their humanity tucked in there somewhere, and you can't simply propagandize it away. The Kochs (and my local prick, Doug Manchester) can't ultimately buy off people's humanity because it's not for sale, no matter how much some people may try to monetize it.
My Dharma teacher was once giving a talk and it meandered into "owning" pets. He said, "you can't 'own' a cat! It's a cat!" Same applies to people, ultimately.
Actually, you're wrong and right.
ReplyDeleteAll who said the mandate couldn't be regulated via the commerce clause were right.
However...
they were also wrong that it wasn't constitutional, because congress has the constitutional right to levy taxes and it is a tax.
A tax with little to no fines, penalties or possible imprisonment for NOT paying any taxes as a result of the A.C.A. That's how the GOP wanted it and that's how the POTUS go it signed into law.
ReplyDeleteIt makes you wonder who is the Real Justice Roberts, Hugh?
ReplyDeleteI am just in awe. . .
I'm doin' a little happy dance alla Snoopy right now. Congratulations to President Obama.
ReplyDeleteLOL Good write up, SP. Love the pic. May I borrow it?
ReplyDeleteThanks! Ametia
May I borrow it?
ReplyDeleteOf course you can.
I got it from Andrew Sullivan ;-)