And remember, ya'll. We're stuck with this amoral cowardly turkey for life.
Which makes electing a fire-breathing conservative Senate imperative, so that the next appointments make Roberts irrelevant. He can play golf, go to cocktail parties, give commencement speeches, but he needs to be put in a position where he never ever influences public life again.
CBS News reports the shameful episode--linked above, excerpted a bit below.
Chief Justice John Roberts initially sided with the Supreme Court's
four conservative justices to strike down the heart of President Obama's
health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act, but later changed his
position and formed an alliance with liberals to uphold the bulk of the
law, according to two sources with specific knowledge of the
deliberations.
Roberts then withstood a month-long, desperate
campaign to bring him back to his original position, the sources said.
Ironically, Justice Anthony Kennedy - believed by many conservatives to
be the justice most likely to defect and vote for the law - led the
effort to try to bring Roberts back to the fold.
"He was relentless," one source said of Kennedy's efforts. "He was very engaged in this."
But
this time, Roberts held firm. And so the conservatives handed him their
own message which, as one justice put it, essentially translated into,
"You're on your own."
The conservatives refused to join any
aspect of his opinion, including sections with which they agreed, such
as his analysis imposing limits on Congress' power under the Commerce
Clause, the sources said.
Instead, the four joined forces and crafted a highly unusual, unsigned
joint dissent. They deliberately ignored Roberts' decision, the sources
said, as if they were no longer even willing to engage with him in
debate.
But, why would he do this, and how did he accomplish the coup? Read on, ya'll. It jes' keeps gittin'
slimier and slimier:
Because Roberts was the most senior justice in the majority to strike
down the mandate, he got to choose which justice would write the
Court's historic decision. He kept it for himself.
(In other words, he hijacked the process, and performed a 'switcher-oonie' on his colleagues. A classic three-card monte.)
Over the next
six weeks, as Roberts began to craft the decision striking down the
mandate, the external pressure began to grow. Roberts almost certainly
was aware of it.
Some of the conservatives, such as Justice Clarence Thomas,
deliberately avoid news articles on the Court when issues are pending
(and avoid some publications altogether, such as The New York Times).
They've explained that they don't want to be influenced by outside
opinion or feel pressure from outlets that are perceived as liberal.
But
Roberts pays attention to media coverage. As Chief Justice, he is
keenly aware of his leadership role on the Court, and he also is
sensitive to how the Court is perceived by the public.
There
were countless news articles in May warning of damage to the Court - and
to Roberts' reputation - if the Court were to strike down the mandate.
Leading politicians, including the President himself, had expressed
confidence the mandate would be upheld.
The Fix Was IN, ya'll. Roberts voted to strike down, then hijacked the process, then revealed his true intentions. This explains why several colleagues will no longer engage him in debate. From this point on, they have to assume when his lips are moving--he's lying.
The Executive Branch is in the hands of lawless hustlers. The Senate is in the hands of Obama's enablers. The House is breathing fire, but can't get much done, and the Supreme Court is about to grind to a standstill. The Chief Justice is a duplicitous, vain hack, and the other Justices know it.
This is a recipe for really, really, really bad trouble. Until grown-ups retake the Senate, and pay freaking attention to the people they appoint to lower courts, we are in for a world of hurt.
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