We all saw how the media reacted yesterday. Overnight, Chief Justice John Roberts went from a pariah to, literally in the eyes of the media, one of the great justices in the history of the Court. We also saw how the media suddenly found the dreaded 5-4 Supreme Court decision perfectly acceptable. Do not make the mistake of thinking that what you witnessed yesterday was some sort of bias or double standard. It wasn’t. It was a payoff to a tactic the media’s been using for years to co-opt narcissistic Republicans desperate for affirmation.
Explaining what happened yesterday is going to require the laying of some pipe, so please bear with me.
A number of conservatives whom I respect and admire and who are admittedly smarter than I am (low bar) have found a way to defend Chief Justice John Roberts’ decision to side with the liberal wing of the Court and uphold ObamaCare. They wonder if Roberts wasn’t playing some four-level game of chess that managed to both limit the Commerce Clause and, by outing the mandate for what it really is – a massive tax increase and redistribution of wealth – ensure Barack Obama’s defeat in November.
Granted, with the largest tax increase in history now on the November ballot, if the Romney people play it right, Obama losing his job might very well be the result. But what Roberts really did was to abuse his power in a way that sets two precedents all freedom-loving people should find literally terrifying.
First, he told Congress that it may now tax us for standing still, for doing absolutely nothing. We can now be taxed simply for being born. Second, Roberts rewrote the ObamaCare legislation from the bench — literally. He turned what Congress described in its law as a mandate into a tax as a way around the Commerce Clause. The Supreme Court is all about tradition and precedent. To save ObamaCare, Roberts rewrote it, and you can bet that we will now see this kind of appalling behavior again.
Moreover, no one, not even among the jubilant left, is able to cite a legal defense for Roberts’ decision. The best they can summon is that Roberts was motivated by his desire to protect the integrity of the Court, that he didn’t want another high-profile 5-4 decision along ideological lines. Well, nowhere in the Constitution does is say that the opinion of the editorial writers at the New York Times and Washington Post trumps the Constitution and individual liberty.
Yesterday, Chief Justice John Roberts sold out the Constitution, his ideology, his word, his country, and his sacred duty.
And today he is the Kathleen Parker of 2012.
For those of you who might not remember, Kathleen Parker is the “conservative” columnist who in 2008 sold her soul to the mainstream media. Even though our vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, had infinitely more political and executive experience than the other side’s presidential nominee, Barack Obama, in the heat of the election, Parker still wrote a column stating Palin should step down as the nominee.
Suddenly, a columnist few of us knew became an overnight “star.” This was the kind of death blow the corrupt media had been waiting for — a conservative traitor, a National Review writer, no less — who reaffirmed their narrative and, for her treachery and to ensure the other narcissists among us see how such things pay off, the Devil rewarded Kathleen Parker with instant fame and riches. Across the media landscape, she was heralded as brave and brilliant. Soon she would be handed a Pulitzer and her own primetime CNN program.
Like Jim Jeffords, David Frum, Joe Scarborough, Meghan McCain, and now John Roberts, Parker gave in to the media’s siren song, which goes a little something like this:
They’re wrong about us. We don’t hate you, we don’t hate conservatives. No one’s asking you to stop being conservative. We would never ask that. All we’re asking for is this one thing. And it’s only a little thing, a small thing, a baby step. What harm can it do — this small thing? Who can it hurt? And look at what you get in return. We’ll love you. We’ll adore. We’ll give you affection, acceptance, and stamp your courage into the history books. It’s warm here and there are cookies and before you decide, I want you to sit back, close your eyes, and just imagine what it’s going to feel like to see your name heralded all across the media, academia and beyond…if you’ll just do this one little thing.
Of course, that “one little thing” is always everything, isn’t it? Jeffords tipped the balance in the Senate and overnight Roberts evaporated the most potent criticism of Obama, his incompetence. To this day, Scarborough, Frum, Meggie Mac, and Parker continue to reaffirm the most damaging media-created narratives about conservatives: Palin is dumb, Fox News is extreme, Republicans have sold out to the extreme Right, and of course racism, homophobia, and blah blah blah.
Over the last few months, Obama’s Media Palace Guards weren’t bullying or beating up on Justice Roberts. What they were doing was offering him a deal that he grabbed with both hands. And what you saw and will continue to see is the media fulfilling its end of the deal.
And somewhere out there is another narcissist among us watching how a such “small” betrayal can pay off in such a big way, and swaying back and forth to the sound of the siren’s song.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC.