Making sense of John Roberts, or not
Briefing: New York Times via newseum
9:15 am Jun. 29, 2012
John Podhoretz is scratching his head trying to figure out what Chief Justice John Roberts was thinking when he ruled on the Affordable Care Act.
The Post editorial page focuses, somewhat optimistically, on the politics of it: Democrats are now in the position of having to defend a tax hike in an election year. (This assumes that the take-away from the decision by ordinary voters is "John Roberts deems individual mandate a tax" rather than, say, "Supreme Court upholds Obamacare".)
The Times sees longer-term political ramifications: Romney's hard-to-follow argument, that a mandate was right for his state but not his country, was refuted. But Congress will have a harder time using the commerce clause to pass sweeping legislation.
So a decision upholding a national version of a plan Romney passed as governor further complicates things for him as a presidential candidate, as he's "left fumbling for a cogent response." But long-term, the reasoning behind the ruling could lead to significant gains for small-government conservatives.
In Other News:
Today is Anna Gutstafson's last day at the Queens Chronicle Queens Tribune. She's heading to P.A. and will write for Philadelphia Weekly.
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Events
Andrew Cuomo is in New York and has no public schedule.
9:30 a.m. The Council's subcommittee on zoning and franchising meets to discuss N.Y.U.'s expansion plans, at the City Council chambers in City Hall. [Legistar]
10 a.m. Anthony Weiner discusses the health care ruling on the "Brian Lehrer Show". [WNYC]
Obamacare
It's a tax, technically. [New York Post]
"Roberts’ grotesque offense against elementary logic is so bald-faced, I’m almost tempted to believe he left it there on purpose, either out of perversity or as a not-so-hidden message that he had ulterior motives for upholding the constitutionality of ObamaCare." [John Podhoretz]
States that refuse to comply can't be expelled from the Medicaid program. [Jess Bravin and Louise Radnofsky]
NY-13
Official results from "33-zero-vote districts" have yet to be found. A more reliable method of counting votes would have been required if the State Senate hadn't blocked the relevant legislation earlier this session. [Daily News]
Rep. Charlie Rangel's 1,000-vote lead could disappear even if two thirds of the missing votes are ultimately disqualified. [Juan Gonzalez]
"After Rangel Victory, Uncounted Votes Prompt Questions" [Thomas Kaplan and Eric Newcomer]
NY-05
Greg Meeks trounced his competitors, including former Councilman Allan Jennings. [AnnMarie Costella]
City Hall
Bloomberg criticized the judge who freed a 14-year-old found with a gun because of concerns over an improper stop-and-frisk. [David Seifman, Erik Kriss and Dan Mangan]
The city doesn't have to provide more handicapped-accessible cabs, according to federal appeals court that overturned a lower court's earlier decision. [Ted Mann]
In a lengthy story about the fight to control Ground Zero, the 9/11 memorial and 9/11 anniversary ceremony, Governor Andrew Cuomo's spokesman noted, "There are no more big anniversary ceremonies going forward, and the mayor is going to be gone." [Jennifer Maloney, Ted Mann, and Michael Howard Saul]
A lawyer who obtained documents from the Brooklyn D.A.'s office said there's little evidence D.A. Charles Hynes tried extraditing Avrohom Mondrowitz to New York from Israel to face charges of child molestation. [Ray Rivera]
City Council
In the end, the Council altered "about one half of 1% of the budget plan the mayor presented in May." [Howard Michael Saul]
Bloomberg's veto of the Living Wage legislation was overridden. [Sally Goldenberg]
City Councilwoman Margaret Chin wants "significant changes" to the proposed N.Y.U. expansion plan. [Laura Kusisto]
The Police
A survey of 1,962 recently retired officers found widespread underreporting of crime statistics. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the survey results were biased and the methodology was flawed. [Wendy Ruderman]
The ticket-fixing scandal may expand and include "several local and federal police agencies." [Pervaiz Shallwani]
From Capital
Was John Roberts' decision the "Waterloo" that the architect of Obamacare (and Romneycare) once spoke of? [Josh Benson]
Roberts seemed to be laying the groundwork for an ideological shift on government regulation. [Ben Jacobs]
Chuck Schumer praised the court's ruling without getting into the Commcerce Clause implications. [Reid Pillifant]
Bloomberg won a victory on taxis. [Dana Rubinstein]
A Spanish-language outlet is already looking ahead to the Linares-Espaillat fight. [Azi Paybarah]
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