As news broke that the Supreme Court had upheld Obamacare, reactions were mixed. Democrat House Members rejoiced and Obama did a victory dance, while rank and file conservatives took a step back and shook their heads in disbelief. Then as it soaked in that Chief Justice John Roberts had sided with the liberal justices to accomplish the feat, reactions multiplied.
But as the hours passed, three reactions proved predominant, and conservatives began to coalesce around them. These three came from GOP Governors, the House leadership, and the very Tea Party that James Carville had pronounced dead earlier this week.
The governors, for their part, said they will ignore the Obamacare ruling at least until the November elections have passed. They wisely believe that the decision, and the legislation it upheld, will “drive voters to dump President Obama in favor of Mitt Romney who has vowed to kill” Obamacare.
The House leadership reacted by announcing that they will hold a vote to repeal Obamacare after their July 4 recess. They’ve planned the vote for July 11, knowing that a successful House vote on repeal will create an opportunity to take the Senate in November and give President Romney the repeal he will ask for on day one.
Lastly, the Tea Party made it clear, “The Supreme Court ruled against the American people today… We are putting all politicians on notice that we will not rest until this law is overturned in its entirety.” And anyone who doubts the Tea Party’s tenacity in doing what they say they’ll do need only look at what they did to Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) or the Wisconsin unions earlier this year. (Or you could always look at the significant number of former office holders who got their pink slips in November 2010.)
The bottom line: Conservatives are looking to November to set things straight.