Mandate Upheld; Right-Wing Hysteria Ensues

When reading a story about the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the individual mandate aspect of the Affordable Care Act today, I was lucky enough to see this quote from the always-irrelevant Sarah Palin: “Freedom dies.”

That’s correct, to the right wing, freedom has died today. We took a baby step toward a modern healthcare system, the Supreme Court narrowly supported it, and freedom is now dead. We’re all enslaved, apparently. We’re not free. Who knew we’d wake up today and find out that we’re no longer free? Geez, that sucks.

I couldn’t resist the opportunity to click over to Fox News to watch the hyperbole machine at full speed, and I got a few gems. For example, according to one guest, “A fraud has been perpetrated on the American citizenry,” and “the Court aided and abetted that fraud.” It didn’t change much from there. Swing vote John Roberts is the devil, yada yada. A couple of former Bush administration officials actually supplied voices of reason, but they clearly weren’t taken very seriously.

Perhaps my favorite theme on Fox News this afternoon has been that, since the Court declared the mandate legal as a tax — even though President Obama and other Democrats rejected that premise in the past — Obama is in deep trouble for lying on two accounts: by saying that the mandate is not a tax, and by saying he wouldn’t raise taxes on the middle class.

See, Fox News is trying to create a George H.W. Bush-like “Read my lips” situation here. “He said it wasn’t a tax but then he argued that it was before the Court. Liar!” Members of the middle class clearly have every intention of eschewing health insurance, and therefore, they’re the ones who will be hit with this horrendous, unfair tax. As a result of this fraudulence, Obama is now more vulnerable against Mitt Romney in November.

The thing is, only in the “right-wing bubble,” as Bill Maher calls it, will people view it that way (because they’re being told to view it that way, and they often refuse to think for themselves). Those who like the law don’t care what the mandate is called in legal terms; those who dislike the law will continue to do so. I doubt anyone will say, “I was going to vote for Obama, but now that the Court calls the individual mandate a tax as opposed to part of the commerce clause, it’s Romney all the way!”

What’s more, the individual mandate was a Republican idea in the 1990s. And the mandate merely became part of the Affordable Care Act because that was the only chance the bill had to get through the Senate with obstructionist Republicans adamantly opposed to the public option (let alone a single-payer system).

These are today’s Republicans vis-à-vis President Obama. They obstruct the healthcare overhaul until it’s watered down to their 20-year-old idea. Then they claim that idea is unconstitutional, and when proven wrong, they seek a technicality they can use to label Obama a liar. You’ve got to think the president took at least a few minutes to enjoy this decision today, if for no other reason because of the hysteria it caused among his critics. I know I did.