Conservatives Attack, Rescue Obamacare
Yes, Roberts acknowledged, some of the language in the law was flawed by "inartful drafting." Yet, like a doctor following the bioethical motto, "First, do no harm," Roberts showed no eagerness to add to the confusion.
Sure, the right sounded furious. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican presidential hopeful who once in 2005 called Roberts "one of the best constitutional minds in the country," now denounced Roberts' majority as "robed Houdinis" who "transmogrified" Obama's health care law to save it.
But privately many on the right had good reason to feel relieved. Republicans can still raise money and rally the Grand Old Party's base to "repeal and replace" Obamacare without having to come up with a more appealing replacement.
As much as Republicans -- including presidential hopefuls Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana -- have offered proposals to replace Obamacare, none has attracted a consensus of support among fellow Republicans in Congress.
Of course, Republicans could have stuck with a smart, market-driven proposal that came out of the conservative Heritage Foundation in the early 1990s. Mitt Romney as governor of Massachusetts pushed it to enactment in his state. His fellow Republicans loved it until President Obama offered it to the nation. If you want congressional Republicans to hate something, just attach the president's name to it.
Yet Obamacare, flaws and all, is still slowly but steadily gaining public support since its rocky launch. Three days before the Supreme Court's decision, a new CBS News/ New York Times poll found 47 percent of Americans now approve of the law. Although short of a majority, that's the highest approval for the health care law that the Times and CBS have found.
While Republicans argue about what health care system we might have, the one we have has a chance to gain its footing and continue to do good for millions of newly insured Americans, even as it tries to do better.
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(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@tribune.com.)
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