A Norquist Snub- Chief Justice Roberts Collateral Damage

Anti-tax hawk Grover Norquist must be melting at the mention of Chief Justice John Roberts' name.


Right Wing Republicans bristled and boiled at the Roberts ruling about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) being Constitutional, with the mandate for Americans to buy health insurance beginning in 2014 deemed legal as a penalty under the US tax code. 


But, I wish I'd been a computer chip in the wall when Norquist heard the news, aka, the true news, after Fox got the initial facts wrong. (NYDailyNews.com called the error a "rush to judgement".).http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/television/oops-cnn-fox-blow-health-care-ruling-coverage-article-1.1103882

Norquist politically blackballs politicians who dare whisper the tax word.  He even goes so far as to have his anti-tax disciples take an oath to never increase taxes, regardless of how they're veiled or camouflaged in public policy.  Somehow, fees don't fall under his self described tax codes. Therefore, ordinary people, like those who need licenses for work or can't afford increases in tolls to drive, must pick up these costs in our budgets. Norquist ignores fees or penalties in his self righteous definition of taxes. In the ACA, the Norquist tax zealots missed the chance to label the penalty mandate a "tax".  Chief Justice Roberts ruling surely caught them by surprise.


Regardless of how history judges the Chief Justice John Roberts' ACA ruling, it's my assumption the justices would find Norquist's "anti-tax oath" as Unconstitutional, if anybody took time to have it adjudicated.


Indeed, perhaps Roberts was snubbing Norquist by ruling the health insurance mandate is a "tax".


Of course, I'm merely projecting collateral damage to Norquist in the Roberts's "tax" ruling.  Nevertheless, it's a judical snub against the Norquist tax hawk, who has never been elected to do anything, yet weilds undue influence just because he can afford to lobby to promote his own egotism.


I agree with the Roberts ruling about the health insurance mandate being a penalty under the US tax code. This penalty has been paid by those of us who already have health insurance.  Now, like Governor Romney said when he passed this same Romneycare mandate in Massachusetts, the freeloaders will have to pay their own health care costs or else they'll be penalized with a tax, rather than have the costs sifted to the rest of us.


To summarize, the Romneycare mandate was a tax when the law passed in Massachusetts. Yes, the penalty for not having health insurance beginning in 2014 will now fall under the US tax code. Finally, Grover Norquist just received a bucket of water thrown at him by Chief Justice John Roberts. 


 "Look, he's melting!"