When Icons Crumble

To many Conservatives, me among them, Chief Justice John Roberts was an icon:  somebody widely and uncritically admired, someone principled in upholding the law and the Constitution.  So it’s sad to see him deciding between constitutional principle and institutional principle.  Because, make no mistake about it, Roberts’ decision on ObamaCare was designed to burnish the standing of the Supreme Court.

The Left has been very busy warning Roberts that striking down ObamaCare would put into question the Supreme Court’s role as an a-political institution.  Roberts brief in his decision on this case showed that he took that to heart.  So he joined the Liberals on the Court  - ironically, whose vote was never in doubt because of their politics - and issued an opinion designed to show two contradictory things.  First, to show that he could rise above ideology by saying ObamaCare passes constitutional muster, while simultaneously rejecting the primary argument for its constitutionality, the Commerce clause. 

What he demonstrated instead was that he was a man who cared more for his reputation than for the Constitution.  I’m sure he believed that he was giving the Right the words they wanted to hear by rejecting a boundless Commerce clause.  But the people who are concerned about an all-powerful State care very little whether the club being used to beat them into submission is the Commerce clause of the power to tax.   

Conservatives, like George Will, who believe that Roberts’ decision represents a victory, are mistaken.  And Roberts, who hoped to sustain the stature of the Supreme Court has done the opposite removing the last vestige of faith held by Conservatives that a slim majority of the court stood between the people and unlimited government.  The Roberts Court is now a results oriented court and you can’t get any more political than that. 

Rush Limbaugh said it well yesterday when he said that it’s now up to us.  The court is no longer there to protect the people from the government.