Obama’s approval rating has dropped to its lowest point, Congress has fallen to an all-time low of only a 9 percent approval, but the Supreme Court might be close to outdoing them both. If you thought Bush v. Gore was bad, wait until the Supreme Court decides on the constitutionality of “Obamacare” at the end of its current term, which should be late June of next year.
The Supreme Court decided this week to put aside five and a half hours for oral argument ““ about five times the normal length of a hearing. Inevitably, it will once again be clear that politics can’t be divorced from decision-making in the Supreme Court.
The Court is likely to once again split roughly along party lines and I greatly doubt its claim to impartiality. What makes the case suspect is the fact that Justice Elena Kagan served as solicitor general in the Obama administration when the first legal challenges to the law were brought at the trial court level. She will likely be pushed to recuse herself from hearing the case.
To make matters worse, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas were featured guests at a dinner event partially hosted by the very law firm that will argue the case before the Court. That’s likely one vote lost, in favor of Obamacare, and two sealed against it. The partisan nature of the Court cannot be denied.
Moreover, the decision will come at a time when the presidential election is heating up. If the Court rules against the constitutionality of Obamacare, that would have some effect on election results. But whether or not this case influences election results, the faith in the Supreme Court as an unbiased judge will be questioned and accusations of “legislating from the bench” will be raised. But maybe this needs to happen ““ it’s been too long since The Nine stood before the 300 million.
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