Right Change: After the Storm: the Aftermath of the SCOTUS Decision

Since the Supreme Court announced their decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act as constitutional on Thursday, it is impossible to escape Obamacare. It is all every headline, every news station and every blogger wants to talk about. There is a lot of trash talking, a lot of cheering and a lot of flurry about the healthcare discussion scene, but there are a few main points that will prove important beyond the immediate aftermath of the SCOTUS decision:

Republicans are preparing for battle: This decision that few conservatives wanted and even fewer expected has acted as a galvanizing and unifying force for the party. Mitt Romney raised $4.6 millionin the 24 hours following the decision. A recent poll shows that 53% of Americans said they were more likely to vote for their member of Congress if he were running on a platform calling for repeal. Republicans know what it will take to get rid of this thing: the trifecta, a Republican President, House and Senate. There are already ads like this one pushing for this. This could be the push wavering voters, non-Romneyites or apathetic moderates need to take to the polls.

People are not pleased with Chief Justice Roberts: This conservative Justice’s decision shocked a lot of people upon its revelation. Shock turned quickly to frustration and then even more quickly to rage when it was reported that Roberts originally voted with the court’s four other Republican justices, then switched his vote and sided with the court’s Democratic appointees to uphold the law. Some republicans are calling for his head on a platter, or at the very least his resignation, while liberals are stepping up to defend him. This political face-off is a unique one to keep tabs on.

Is it a tax…or not?:The Supreme Court says that the individual mandate is a tax, and it certainly appears that they are right. In which case, Obama’s brain-child bill has successfully hiked taxes on everyone, including the middle class. Obama and the democrats pitched the Affordable Care Act as a penalty—not a tax—as adamantly as possible.

Even after the Supreme Court declared their decision, the left continued to insist that they disagreed; the individual mandate was not a tax. A comment by Romney spokesperson Amanda Henneberg says the following:

"The Supreme Court left President Obama with two choices: the federal individual mandate in Obamacare is either a constitutional tax or an unconstitutional penalty. Governor Romney thinks it is an unconstitutional penalty. What is President Obama’s position: is his federal mandate unconstitutional or is it a tax?"

Although Nancy Pelosi seems to think there is a third option on the table, a ta—penalty, we’re confused enough by just the two. Is the mandate a tax, or a penalty, and what are the repercussions for each of those conclusions? Keep this in mind in the months ahead.

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