More On The Roberts Fiasco At SCOTUS from CBS--Holy Cow What A Mess...

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.

Fred Thompson Shares Words Of Wisdom On The ObamaCare SCOTUS Decision

OS is a Fred Thompson fan, has been since the late 1970's when Fred unraveled and took down Ray Blanton's criminal enterprise masquerading as the governorship of Tennessee. Ray was, shall we say, making a bit of money on the side by selling liquor store licenses and criminal pardons, and made the mistake of attempting to ruin the life of one lady serving on the Parole Board. She had a conscience, objected to what she saw happening, and Ray tried to bury her. Fred took her case, took Ray and his machine apart. Ray ended up in the Federal pokey, Fred ended up with an accidental acting career and a term as US Senator.  The Democrats, Tennessee's homegrown version of an organized crime syndicate, have never forgiven Fred.

He also was a crucial figure in the Watergate tragedy, as minority counsel to Howard Baker on the Senate committee that uncovered Nixon's complicity and criminal behavior. Fred served his country and the rule of law first and foremost. Another reason the Dems will never forgive him...

Ironically, he was hired by the GW Bush administration in 2005 to help shepherd John Robert's nomination to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. All through those hearings, Fred was at the side of the future Chief Justice.

It has to be an uncomfortable day or two for Fred this week, not because he did anything wrong, but in that his efforts were expended on someone who turned out to be so amoral.

These things happen. Don't ask OS he knows.

Fred ran for President in 2008, and OS does wish he had prevailed, but alas. Fred remains active as a speaker, actor and advocate. In that capacity, he release a brief audio message which does help clarify the issues that face us, and reminds us of what Roberts' about face did not include.

You can find the link here.  It's worth a listen.

As always, thanks Fred.

Kicking The Can Down The Road: The Roberts Court Ducks And Runs. Now It's Up To The Voters

A great deal of gloating on one side, and gnashing of teeth on the other over the SCOTUS decision on ObamaCare. OS hasn't had time to read it through, and as of tonight, doesn't have the heart.

Brad DeLong, a liberal blogger, is tracking the story that Roberts changed his vote at the very last minute, after the opinion that was assumed to be the majority (striking the law down) had been sent to the printer. 

Which lead OS to conclude that The Fix Was In. Back-door conversations between Obama's people and Roberts likely were underway long ago. With what did they threaten him? What was he promised?

In any case, he is young enough, and will live to be old enough, to see the horrible damage his decision to abandon the Constitution will create. It won't be punishment enough, but it will be a good beginning.

OS thinks, in the end, that Roberts decided to get along to go along. Let the voters and Congress sort it out, kick the can down the road. I live in an untouchable bubble anyway, so none of this affects me.
I'm a non-interventionist, after all. Congress cooked up this turkey, let Congress fix the problem.

So, it's up to us. If this terrible thing is to be repealed, it will require that every state legislature and both houses of Congress is occupied by fire-breathing and freedom-loving men and women who intend to restore the Constitution.

And it will require a Senate that will only appoint a federal bench that upholds the Constitution, from the top down.

It's a long shot, but it's the only one we've got.