January 16, 2014

ObamaCare’s Unsung Hero

Republicans stood in a long line to excoriate Chief Justice John Roberts for voting to uphold Obamacare in 2012, while Democrats praised him. Today, both parties should thank him for being a “Profile in Courage.”

Looking back over the past 18 months, the chief justice handed Republicans both a big defeat and an even larger gift. Had Roberts voted with his four fellow conservatives to declare Obamacare unconstitutional, he would have handed Democrats a political sledgehammer to crush Republicans as being callous and unsympathetic to the poor and to condemn the Supreme Court for judicial activism. Of course, Republicans argue that had Roberts voted with his fellow conservatives, he would have spared America the acrimony and agony of today’s grueling and disruptive debate, but that misses the point.

Voting with the conservatives and against the liberals would have been the easy way out for Roberts. But, by voting with the liberals he denied Democrats the political issue in 2012 and, as it turns out, gave Republicans the defining issue of 2014. Whether by design or by default, Roberts’ vote gave Democrats a victory in the short term, but a real possibility of defeat in the long run.

Democrats now find themselves behind the political “8 ball,” trying to defend the unraveling of the president’s signature policy. Roberts’ counter-intuitive vote set the stage for a healthy and lengthy national debate about the size and scope of government and about how politicians should approach making major policy changes. In short, he took the long view of history from which several vital lessons emerge.

First, despite the vicious vendettas in this debate, it showcases democracy at work, engaging Americans at all levels of society, both for and against Obamacare. Had Roberts voted to declare Obamacare unconstitutional, he would have denied Americans this opportunity to debate such great Constitutional issues as the power of government versus the power of the people and the power of the national government versus the powers of the states.

Second, at a time when popular trust in government has precipitously declined, this debate has given the public a sense of empowerment that they can make a difference in the courtroom and at the ballot box. A bill that passed overwhelmingly in both houses of Congress now finds itself with its back to the wall as Republicans gather momentum for the 2014 Congressional races and many court cases challenge the constitutionality of Obamacare. Democrats, in the driver’s seat two years ago when Roberts ruled in favor of Obamacare, now face the possibility of losing control of the Senate and of ceding to Republicans an overwhelming majority in the House.

Third, this debate reveals that presidents and political parties should seek bipartisan support for major policy changes. Without Roberts’ vote we would not have seen the negative results of a major policy change supported by members of only one party in the Congress. All other major policy changes in American history, including those emanating from the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt through George W. Bush, came about with bipartisan votes in the Congress. As the old adage goes, “He who does not learn from history is condemned to repeat it.” President Obama and the Democratic Party have paid a high price for failing to learn this universal lesson from history.

Fourth, presidents must work closely with Congress in developing the details of their legislative proposals. President Obama followed a “fill-in-the-blank” approach, letting the Democratic leadership define the details of what became an unduly long and convoluted bill, which lacked coherence and cohesion. Simplicity, the hallmark of America’s major policy changes, stands in direct contrast to Obamacare. As former Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “We have to pass the bill before we know what’s in it.”

Finally, Roberts’ vote magnifies the importance of one vote, especially when on that vote may hang the prestige and independence of the Supreme Court. His vote enabled the Court to speak authoritatively without injuring its stature.

Neither Republicans nor Democrats praise the Chief Justice now: Republicans because they have never forgiven him for failing to lock arms with fellow conservatives on the Supreme Court, and Democrats because they have a more important task, overcoming the Obamacare debacle. Regardless, history has begun to shine a favorable light on Chief Justice Roberts.

And so it is that Chief Justice John Roberts is the unsung hero of Obamacare.

Dr. Charles W. Dunn is author and editor of 21 books on American politics, chairman emeritus of the U.S. J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, and a founder of, and contributing scholar to, The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.