There are those that are saying Chief Justice John Roberts decision was really a duplicitous conservative strategy - defeating the liberal legal commerce clause argument and galvanizing political support in opposition to Obama, but I disagree.
The legal consequences of this decision are certainly still to be writ, but I am optimistic - optimistic that we are seeing some real conservative leadership holding Republicans accountable for their own **public** risks and the beginning of the end of what can only be characterized as 'unhealthy' divisive partisanship.
Perhaps the most important of the reasons for this is the most theoretical and ephemeral. The private sector 'mandate' is, in my opinion, a very effective, and realistic, balance between the private and public sectors. Call it socialism if you like, but that's just the way it is - and always has been, ever since the Romans first started building market roads, and before. Chief Justice Roberts, in his "masterful" reframing of the justification debate from the Commerce Clause to constitutional taxation sets a very strong legal precedent balancing very precisely public and private interests.
Republicans spend a lot of time talking about private rights, but it is a fact that everyone consumes healthcare - and the private 'choice' to avoid paying for it is nothing but yet another excuse to transfer private risk onto the public - along with financial failure and the environmental risk of global warming, to name two. This must stop, and if the Supreme Court can continue this thread of responsibility they may yet make up for the judicial coup d'etat that was the Bush v. Gore decision in 2000.
At this time the thing to watch is the behavior of historically moderate Republicans - will they fall into line with Chief Justice Roberts or will they continue the pattern of irrational destructive behavior that has been their demeanor as of late?
One possible candidate for this healthy moderating is the Republican Attorney General of Washington, now a candidate for Governor. In this video (9:28) McKenna does a good job at explaining the technical legal details of the ruling - itself a good qualification for a governor. For what it is worth, Mr. McKenna is looking himself healthy, and a bit less like the Skeletor (a Washington State thing) of lore.
And certainly we do need some strong 'business' oriented perspective on the public's business - healthcare and also global warming - certainly health care could become an oppressive control technique of the left - though some would say it is so already - for the right. As of now our best hope for this business perspective comes from private individuals who choose values to the left of the political spectrum, but there is no reason that needs to be the exclusive case.
But, unless the Republican Party and it's corporate masters follow the lead of this decision the only result of this bloviating will be the **increase** in profits for the truly duplicitous conservatives and another historical anecdote of the stupid criminal - hopefully stupid criminals that don't kill any of us - or all of us.
