Quotes of the day
posted at 10:40 pm on July 2, 2012 by Allahpundit
In the wake of Chief Justice John Roberts’ stunning about-face in the Obamacare case, conservatives who follow judicial issues are asking themselves: Did we ever really know Roberts? Did we get him wrong?…
“His ideological opinions he certainly kept to himself,” says one of those former Senate aides. “He was a blank slate because he had represented so many different sides,” says the other.
The public debate over Roberts echoed those private doubts. As Roberts sought confirmation, conservative commentators as varied as Charles Krauthammer and Ann Coulter called him a “tabula rasa.”
That is the kind of sophistry we expect from liberals. The left sees the law as a tool of social justice — so they start with the desired outcome and then come up with legal reasoning to justify it. That is what Roberts did last week. He decided he wanted to uphold Obamacare and rewrote the statute to fit that outcome.
There is informed speculation in conservative legal circles that a close reading of the dissent shows Roberts had intended to strike down Obamacare, but flipped his position at the last minute. We don’t know if he was suddenly convinced by his liberal colleagues, or simply had a failure of nerve. But the challenge for conservatives is clear: We need jurists who not only have a philosophy of judicial restraint, but the intestinal fortitude not to be swayed by pressure from the New York Times, the Georgetown cocktail circuit and the legal academy.
“Bush v. Gore is an example of a decision the left didn’t respect in part because they thought it was political motivated,” said Randy Barnett, a Georgetown University law professor who worked with the National Federation of Independent Business on its case against the law. “What the left says of Bush v. Gore, I think is true of this decision.”…
“He’s an umpire that seemed worried that people from the stands would be hollering at him,” said Chapman University law professor John Eastman.
“If he changed his vote because he was persuaded by the argument in favor of the health care bill, then I think he’s wrong but that’s fine,” Eastman said. “If he changed his vote because people were critical of the court and he was afraid of those criticisms and nevertheless was of the view the bill was constitutional, then yeah, I think he should resign.”
The problem is that Roberts’s interpretation is not fairly, or even remotely, possible. If the law had been written in the Roberts version — as a regressive federal tax on the uninsured — there is no chance it would have passed Congress. More to the point, the law that Roberts describes would have covered a different number of the uninsured. Academic studies indicate that people respond differently to tax penalties than they do the legal mandates. “When the imperative to buy insurance,” notes Yuval Levin, “is instead presented as a choice between two options, more people will likely choose the cheaper option (which, for almost everyone, will be paying the tax rather than buying the coverage).”
Why did Roberts not account for this policy distinction? The most natural interpretation is that he didn’t know anything about it. Which is precisely the point. Roberts is not a health policy expert. His clever reinterpretation of the health law would actually change its outcome. This is not an alternate reading but an alternate universe.
Chief Justice John Roberts, a good man who apparently thought he was doing the right thing, is increasingly taking on the character of a lone figure from classical Greek tragedy. If one collates all the news reports, rumors, and scuttlebutt, and if they are mostly credible, one learns of his tortured switch. It was perhaps prompted by a genuine desire to mitigate the Court’s “partisan” reputation, or to establish Roberts in the long tradition of a Warren or Souter, as a jurist who “evolved” on the Court in a fashion that pleases the influential in Washington and New York—or both. (And indeed, those who were vilifying him before the verdict were the first to heap praise on his judicial statesmanship—at least for now.) The tragedy is that, as the story comes out, the reputation of the Court will sink not rise, as—fairly or not—it appears overly sensitive to public opinion and liable to capitulate to such pressures in mediis rebus.
Roberts, who wanted to cement his reputation as a sober and judicious jurist, through his Hamlet-like deliberations ended up seeming incoherent, tentative, and unsure of himself. And if it’s true that rumors of Roberts reconsidering his vote swirled in Washington prior to the final outcome, and that such perceptions of hesitation prompted renewed venom and pressure — from not just the media, but from those such as Senator Leahy (who had voted to confirm Roberts) on the floors of Congress, and the president himself (who attacked the Court even earlier in his State of the Union address) — then the Court comes off as far more suspect after the opinion than before. Everything Roberts wished to prevent he ensured.
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I don’t deny any of that – what I care about most is what happens in the real world, which is where normal people’s heads are.
If my neighbor and I are in the same tax bracket with the same income, and he ends up paying less in taxes than I do because of all of his write-offs, I paid more in taxes effectively than he because I didn’t bother getting off my butt to go for the write-offs i.e. I got taxed more because of my inactivity.
That’s not rationally debatable – Congress, with its “legislative grace”, is allowed to play God regarding taxation, and to be anxious about some ‘vast new power’ Roberts’ granted Congress reminds me of the fearmongering that was done over VATs during the Republican debates, as though the basic power to create such taxes doesn’t already exist!
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 2:36 AM
Is that you, Anderson?…
Gohawgs on July 3, 2012 at 2:39 AM
Heh…
OmahaConservative on July 3, 2012 at 2:39 AM
INC on July 3, 2012 at 12:45 AM
Yes.
mickytx on July 3, 2012 at 2:46 AM
Great song!
Here’s another: Dear Doctor
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 2:47 AM
I gotta’ wrap it up and hit the hay. Thanks for the music…
OmahaConservative on July 3, 2012 at 2:49 AM
Saw that coming about 20 seconds, after clicking, “Send.”
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
TitularHead on July 3, 2012 at 2:51 AM
To anyone who has health issues w/alcohol, one of my favorite anti-alcohol songs (lyrics on the page!): First of the Last Calls
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 2:52 AM
G’night OC. Listen for the roll of the dice…
novaculus on July 3, 2012 at 2:53 AM
We all have our D’ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh moments…
Gohawgs on July 3, 2012 at 2:58 AM
Did you say roll of the dice?..:)
Dire Straits on July 3, 2012 at 2:59 AM
Good one Dire. I need to hit the sheets…
OmahaConservative on July 3, 2012 at 3:02 AM
Tumblin’ Dice
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 3:03 AM
I picked this from the wall of the last song..This is a classic..imho!..:)
Dire Straits on July 3, 2012 at 3:04 AM
Brother Boz Scaggs rules!..:)
Dire Straits on July 3, 2012 at 3:13 AM
Although My main band disagrees with the trumpet!!..:)
Dire Straits on July 3, 2012 at 3:18 AM
Zatoichi, the blind swordsman, was a wandering masseuse and gambler. He could tell by the sound if the dice fell odd or even.
novaculus on July 3, 2012 at 3:20 AM
I will have to check that out!..:)
Dire Straits on July 3, 2012 at 3:24 AM
I do understand why people are concerned w/Roberts’ decision’s affect on taxation from the angles lawyers, like you, deal with, it’s just that I am not much worried about its effects in the future.
You may believe I’m underreacting, but to me, directly or indirectly, a tax is a tax, which we suffer from too many of already – another one, ‘Roberts’ new tax!!!, doesn’t excite me in the least, because I believe Leftists could creatively achieve it in some other way if they wanted.
What I consider most important is that people see them wherever they’re coming from, and whether inadvertently or by design, Roberts’ decision helps us overall this way imo.
Let’s all help each other not despair over the ruling! :)
‘nite, beautiful! :)
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 3:33 AM
There was a series of movies and a TV series starring Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi, an iaido master who uses a cane sword and an inverse grip. Some of them are quite good. OC posted a link to a clip from a 2003 version starring Takeshi Kitano the other night that I hadn’t seen before.
novaculus on July 3, 2012 at 3:35 AM
Hello!..Is there anybody out there??..:)
Dire Straits on July 3, 2012 at 3:36 AM
There are some nutty people on this site.
John the Libertarian on July 3, 2012 at 3:38 AM
Another AM radio great from the mid 70′s (best xylophone solo ever! lol):
Moonlight Feels Right
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 3:41 AM
You are correct!..:)
Dire Straits on July 3, 2012 at 3:42 AM
WHO you talkin’ about, Willis?…
Gohawgs on July 3, 2012 at 3:42 AM
Scaggs is a great talent but he got on the wrong side of me when he tried to steal Fenton Robinson’s song. Still a great version of it, though>
novaculus on July 3, 2012 at 3:43 AM
The ones who don’t believe that Roberts was sent on a mission from Hell to deliver the 0bamaCare ruling, you mean? :)
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 3:43 AM
Who told you?
novaculus on July 3, 2012 at 3:44 AM
Vey good one!!..I have played this many times before but this lady can play!..:)
Dire Straits on July 3, 2012 at 3:46 AM
Duane & Boz:
Loan Me a Dime
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 3:47 AM
LOL I didn’t see that before I posted my link! :)
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 3:50 AM
Nice tune!..:)
Dire Straits on July 3, 2012 at 3:51 AM
Great minds think alike.
novaculus on July 3, 2012 at 3:54 AM
Ok, I’ll try to make up for my plagarism with this (great band!):
Mary Had A Little Lamb + My Time After Awhile
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 3:57 AM
Well, 3AM Central, time for me to sign out.
One more Doctor song.
novaculus on July 3, 2012 at 4:03 AM
Brilliant!
novaculus on July 3, 2012 at 4:05 AM
A few weeks ago I saw that you like some Detroit rock – it doesn’t get much better than this!
Down On The Street
Bonus: Loose
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 4:05 AM
I myself am shocked by how many of you liberal Romney supporters fester this site.
We’ll leave it to you liberals to support your liberals, thankyouverymuch!
Sorry, but the persons supporting Romney who is in turn refusing to fight against his beloved 0bamacare doesn’t get to call themselves a republican. You are merely a RINO today.
Conservatives to Mitt: Quit Now If You Won’t Fight Obamatax!
Where will the conservatives and RonBots go when they have no one else to vote for?
Conservative Gary Johnson 2012: He isn’t Rom0bama
DannoJyd on July 3, 2012 at 4:26 AM
I was referring to the “floater” in the bowl. That guy is nuts.
John the Libertarian on July 3, 2012 at 4:26 AM
Peek above your post and you will another one!..:)
Dire Straits on July 3, 2012 at 4:34 AM
lol yep.
He, HondaV65, and ddrintn deserve their own special room at HA I think. :)
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 4:37 AM
They’re all over the place!
John the Libertarian on July 3, 2012 at 4:38 AM
Sad, but apparently true.His opinion does not make sense from any other perspective.
At least when you read Roe, the opinions specifically state they do not want to make a judicial decision about when life begins, which is probably appropriate as this may not be a justiciable question.
Here, one person basically created a hypothetical version of the ACA in order to avoid overturning the signature legislation of the first black president of the United States. It almost would have been better if they had refused to decide the case as it was a political question.
talkingpoints on July 3, 2012 at 4:45 AM
Trust me friend!!..They are few!..:)
Dire Straits on July 3, 2012 at 4:55 AM
She’s good!
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 4:58 AM
Not for much longer thanks to the Romney camp showing their liberal colors AGAIN and ignoring the demands of real Republicans, but you must know that already if you actually bother to read the topics here. :o))
From Breibart.com:
BTW, TOLD YA SO!!!
DannoJyd on July 3, 2012 at 5:24 AM
How does what Roberts did even conform to the constitution? He rewrote the law that Congress presented to him by changing the definition of words to meanings different than the ones the lawmakers wrote and intended according to their claims in order to permit the law to stand. That’s not a judge’s roll. He allowed the admin to get away with arguing that the mandate both was and was not a tax according to what suited their purpose on a given day. Then he agreed with him and both counts. Why? Who even cares? If he was trying to garner some sort of “good opinion” for “his court”, or whatever, his actions did completely the opposite for half to more of the US population. He took us over the cliff into complete socialism in a felled swoop.
limmo on July 3, 2012 at 5:37 AM
Why are the Obama-supporting Romney bashers always a bunch of boring, repetitive, unoriginal imbeciles? Aren’t any of them capable of offering something worthwhile? At least the Romney-bashing Obama supporter SteveAngel is more entertaining with his occasional references to Mitt’s supposed service to Satan. Obama-supporting fake tea partier DannyJyd sounds exactly like the kind of knee-jerk, simple-minded mouth breather caricature that liberals like to mock. I’m actually kind of embarrassed that people like him post here. These people try to take any little supposedly bad news for Romney, and then cheerfully declare how Obama is going to win. There’s never any depth to anything they say. It’s just calling Romney a socialist, liberal, communist, etc. over and over. None of it is ever honest and none of it ever has any depth. Sadly for them, Romney is going to win this thing, and they won’t be able to have their little “I told you so” spamming celebrations in the comment section. I wouldn’t be too sad if they slink away for good after Obama’s loss.
At this point, anyone who isn’t for Romney (the one person who can and will repeal Obamacare) is for reelecting Obama. It’s that simple.
Also, this whole business about the supposed need to call Obamacare a “tax” totally distracts from discussion about real substantive problems with the law. Demanding that the mandate be called a tax is agreeing with Roberts, who found it constitutional. Joel Pollack over at Breitbart is a joke, and I have no idea why anyone would be too influenced by anything he says. Ever since I saw Pollack (along with the equally unimpressive Ben Shapiro) bomb on CNN when trying to explain why the “bombshell” Obama Harvard video was a big story, I knew the guy was a waste of time.
bluegill on July 3, 2012 at 6:22 AM
you have any info on when this fehnstrom fellow is going to give another interview. i love the guy. etch-a-scketch, obamacare not a tax.
btw it “bombshell” video is a big deal. it proves the timeline. irrefutable proof. the msm and mitt supporters have forgotten that cause its all about the economy.
but i digress. WHEN IS FEHNSTROM back on? LOL LOL LOL
renalin on July 3, 2012 at 6:28 AM
spoken by someone who doesn’t pay taxes. for those of us who do, its a BFD.
renalin on July 3, 2012 at 6:30 AM
If Roberts was trying to preserve “the integrity” of the court, why did he adopt the left’s definition of integrity rather than the right’s? There is no integrity in his decision. None.
limmo on July 3, 2012 at 6:32 AM
In this case, it wasn’t public opinion. He was afraid of Obama. He was afraid of a Marxist thug who hollered at him from the thrown he’s building for himself out of toy blocks. Roberts sold out families, children, moms, dads, veterans, the elderly and weak and the sick all so worthless men and women in the American press could say nice things about him and the bad man in the WH wouldn’t point his finger and look mean.
7 months left to change direction. It really is up to the people and to a merciful God. Judges can be impeached. This is where Newt Gingrich is right… the judges are working for the people and need to be held accountable. We are not slaves at the mercy of our masters.
JellyToast on July 3, 2012 at 6:35 AM
me likey
Good Morning!
another day of dissecting robert’s thoughts….from the cheap seats, the dude looks like he didn’t want to rock the boat but he did anyway…
cmsinaz on July 3, 2012 at 6:47 AM
Good morning. I’m utterly discouraged and disgusted. But watching this made me feel better:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/c8C7i9kdEf8?showinfo=0&rel=0
Naturally Curly on July 3, 2012 at 6:53 AM
thank you NC….awesome
cmsinaz on July 3, 2012 at 7:04 AM
dan senor on moaning joe…now on romneys team. he looks right at home, among (fellow) libs.
renalin on July 3, 2012 at 7:07 AM
him against the rest of the group, he’s doing well…
cmsinaz on July 3, 2012 at 7:08 AM
they are humoring him. throwing him softball questions. did you see halperins face when senor talking about having “weed myopia” ? it was as if he was looking at an idiot.
renalin on July 3, 2012 at 7:16 AM
eugene robinson-climate change exists you right wing nuts!
cmsinaz on July 3, 2012 at 7:16 AM
You’re welcome! The guys in the band are Navy Vets. They released the video on Flag Day, but it certainly is appropriate for the Fourth of July!
Naturally Curly on July 3, 2012 at 7:17 AM
lol, i’ll give you that…
cmsinaz on July 3, 2012 at 7:17 AM
indeed…everyday!
cmsinaz on July 3, 2012 at 7:18 AM
good morning all
ted c on July 3, 2012 at 7:59 AM
This is NOT the man I watched get confirmed, with great pride.
Very very sad
mmcnamer1 on July 3, 2012 at 8:21 AM
It’s not the same thing at all.
How one files their tax return on an activity which they are subject to taxation on is not the same as whether or not the person is subject to taxation to begin with.
The “inactivity” in not taking the deductions when filing the tax is not the same as being subject to filing the tax in the first place because of an inactivity.
Not buying health insurance is not an error or oversight or laziness or a poor decision (depending on that individual person’s circumstances.) In this country it is up to the individual to decide what course of action in relation to certain things is best for him financially. His choice is up to him to decide what is the best choice for him.
Not taking deductions in filing a return is always the wrong choice. He is still free in this country to make a mistake, but it is not on the same level as choosing what is the best course of action for him with health care coverage and being taxed because he made a decision the government didn’t want him to make.
The government’s choice could be the wrong thing for that person to do.
Not taking the deductions to lower a tax is always the wrong thing to do.
Lowering a tax that is already established on an activity is not the same as being subject to a new and unique tax in the first place on an inactivity.
Elisa on July 3, 2012 at 8:24 AM
Do you not understand what “in effect” means?
You are indulging yourself in a semantical game I am not interested in playing. It’s like listening to 0bamessiah argue with Stephanopoulos about the meaning of “tax” all over again – sorry, been there, done that! :)
If you can’t understand how our government uses a convoluted tax code to tax/penalize/reward activity/non-activity near-infinitely, I say that you are hopelessly offtrack…
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 8:49 AM
Because, that’s how the right has been taught to compromise.
Fallon on July 3, 2012 at 9:02 AM
I eagerly await not having to see this chump’s smiling face in photos. He is a complete failure if Rush Limbaugh is factual. Somebody that made a radical reversal in his own beliefs and his own understanding of the law because rags like Rolling Stone or jokes like MSNBC were saying bad things about him. The Communists will still hate his guts because he has been branded, and their closed brains can’t handle redirection.
So now we have a total remake of the role of president and the supreme court has failed to the degree of Roe vs Wade. When does the good news start?
Hening on July 3, 2012 at 9:03 AM
Yes waking up to the stench of rotting fish always is.
Bmore on July 3, 2012 at 10:31 AM
Maybe Roberts will have another seizure and join Ted Kennedy in hell.
jqc1970 on July 3, 2012 at 10:48 AM
Maybe it will happen to you, too…
Bizarro No. 1 on July 3, 2012 at 11:25 AM
Roberts confirms what most patriotic Americans have been complaining about for several decades now…American Politicians and Judicial System has been either ignoring or intentionally obfuscating America’s Constitutional Republic.
aposematic on July 3, 2012 at 11:38 AM
From The WaPo …
Yep. Roberts was a stealth nominee who waited to screw over Arizona and America.
Congrats, GW … You screwed us over like Daddy did with Souter.
~(Ä)~
Karl Magnus on July 3, 2012 at 12:19 PM
Butch of crybaby whiners. Buck up!
Bmore on July 3, 2012 at 12:44 PM
Such a disappointment. With all of these pictures of Roberts for the past few days, I should be in heaven right now. I always thought he was so handsome and smart. Now the sight of him fills me with grief…
Conservative Independent on July 3, 2012 at 1:01 PM
You just caused me to consider this; what if Mittens pisses off enough republicans AGAIN to cause them to either stay home, OR [something I'll never ever do] VOTE FOR 0BAMA? You’ve certainly made that claim enough to give people the idea here.
After all, no one knows about the third party candidates, and if they AGAIN feel that the GOP and/or Romney has stuck It to them…
I’ve wasted enough time trying to get people like YOU to volunteer in order to get Willard elected. Go right ahead and watch your world go to the devil. If you don’t want to help yourself I’ll stop as well.
You asked for it. Enjoy it.
DannoJyd on July 4, 2012 at 4:11 AM
Roberts justification for his decision: “It’s not up to the Supreme Court to overrule congress even when they act unconstitutionally. The voters can do so if they do not agree with congress’ actions.”
Sounds like the man thinks he’s been having to work too hard so he just redefines his job to eliminate the parts that cause him the most grief.
Nomas on July 5, 2012 at 10:20 AM
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