What I Read in the Wall Street Journal about ObamaCare

You want to call it ObamaCare – That’s OK because I do care.

President Obama, Atlanta Fund Raiser, March 26, 2012

All I know is just what I read in the papers.

Will Rogers (1879-1935)

June 30, 2012 -  The Wall Street Journal is a conservative business paper with the nation’s largest newspaper circulation.

The Friday June 28 and Saturday June 29 editions contain 17  articles on the Supreme Court decision.

I shall quote from them now.

1.Court Backs Obama on Health Care– “ The ruling means that the law’s reordering will move forward mostly  as planned, with implications affecting every hospital, doctor,  health insurer, and drug maker in the nation.”

2. Roberts Straddles Ideological Divide -  “The ruling is both a political and constitutional landmark. It is a measure of validation for President Obama’s political achievement .and cast a new light on Chief Justice Roberts, who had been frequently attacked as Republican partisan but managed to defy that view while reinforcing some long standing  conservative principles.

3. Unwanted ‘Tax’ is Savior for Law -   “He never wanted to think of it as a tax.  But the measure survived because the high court ruled the enforcement tool at its core as a tax. The court’s act may prove grist for Republicans for  the election-year argument that Mr. Obama is a classic tax-and-spend liberal.

4.  Obama’s Big Legal Victory Sets Stage for More Battles – “President Obama won a monumental legal victory,  But the fight for public opinion – and votes in November, showed signs of growing more heated.”

5.  For Health Sector: Forward March – “The Supreme Court decision largely upholding the health-care laws lifts the uncertainty over the health-care industry and puts companies back on course to prepare for the law’s implementation over the next two years.”

6. Medicaid Decisions Loom for States - The Supreme Court’s decision to let states opt oot of  the health overhaul’s Medicaid expansion without  losing current funding lifts a budget mandate from states but could mean fewer Americans gain insurance coverage under the law.”

7. For Millions, Coverage Begins in 2014 – “Most consumers can expect to keep seeing increases in premiums because the underlying cost of health care is expected to rise.”

8. The Obamacare Election – “By upholding sweeping  federal power, the Supreme Court has raised the November stakes – and given Romney an opening.”

9. The Roberts Rule – “The Chief Justice rewrites ObamaCare to Save It.”

10.  It’s Up to the Voters Now – “The last change to stop Obamacare is in November.”

11. ObamaCare the Power to Tax -  “Judicial tax-writing is particularly troubling, see. e.g, Stamp Act of 1765.”

12.  The Wrong Remedy for Health-Care- “The Affordable Care Act will exacerbate the problem of our current health-care system. Fortunately, market reforms are still possible.”

13. Triumph and Tragedy for the Law.  “The Supreme Court decision is a triumph and tragedy for our constitutional system.”  Upholding Obamacare’s mandate as a kind of ‘tax,’ the court itself engaged in a quintessential activity – redrafting the law’s unambiguous text."

14. Obama Has a Good Day –Republican backers of Mitt Romney have been feeling pretty confident, and understandably.  Their challenge now is to make the most of the moment.  They will have the help of their base, which is, at the moment, angry as hornets, loaded for bear, and fully awake.”

15. Chief Justice Roberts and his Apologists – “Some conservatives see a sliver lining  in the Obamacare Ruling.  But it’s exactly the big-govenmetn disaster it appears to be”

16.  ObamaCare:  Upheld and Doomed – “Regardless of the Supreme Court, fiscal reality will prevail. The lsat thing we needed , in a country staggering  under deficits and debt and an unaffordable entitlement structure, was a new Rube Goldberg entitlement.”

17. The Tax Duck  - “The duck test – if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quakes like a duck, it probably is a duck."

Stephanopolous, ABC News, September 2009 -  “Your critics say the mandate is a tax increase."

Obama-  "I absolutely reject that notion."

Meanwhile over at the New York Times, they are uncorking  the champaign  bottles.  Don’t’ leave them open too long.  They may turn to vinegar.

Tweet: WSJ says Supreme Court’s ObamaCare decision  is BFD (Big F------  Deal”) and SNAFU (Situation Normal All F---ed Up) but fixable in November