This Obamacare decision is a fascinating read. It feels like a forced march for Justice Roberts. He clearly doesn’t agree with Obamacare, and he goes to great lengths to shield himself from the fallout from his decision to uphold it. He reminds us that the court’s role is limited, and his passive-aggressive comments about Congress and the people–I’d call them condescending if they weren’t so amusing. My favorite quote so far:
“Members of this court are vested with the authority to interpret the law; we possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgments. Those decisions are entrusted to our nation’s elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them. It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.”
In other words, you made your bed, now sleep in it.
That a Republican appointee was able cast his politics aside and simply do his job–determine whether Obamacare passed constitutional muster–is remarkable. It shouldn’t be, but it is.
I applaud Justice Roberts not for upholding Obamacare, but for staying true to the oath he took before he assumed his duties as a Supreme Court Justice to “administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and [to] faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon [him].”
Thank you, your honor.