In a nutshell Roberts knew that if they repealed healthcare coverage for millions who got coverage..

[LynneSin]

under ACA that it would be a massive hit AGAINST the GOP.

Think about it. The GOP would end up the big losers in the 2012 campaign if millions of people suddenly lost their healthcare coverage and prescription drugs for seniors skyrocketed. Obama was smart to make sure some of the features of his healthcare plan were enabled almost immediately - once these people had healthcare and cheaper prescription drugs it would be alot harder for the Supreme Court/GOP to take it away.

I think Roberts agreed to bit the bullet and let Obamacare stay. Notice how they gave the results of Citizen United first so at least the GOP was appeased on something. Usually Kennedy is the crossover but Roberts took the lead here.

[hlthe2b]

1. i think it might have done irreparable damange against the SCOTUS, which is already perceived

at an all time low.

[SoutherDem]

2. That could be true.

I may have been self preservation.

This will and already is pushing the Republicans to work hard to defeat Obama.

[southernyankeebelle]

3. As far as am concerned they are still not to be trusted. Whatever high opinion I had of the high

court was lost in 2000 when they stold the election for Bush.

[LynneSin]

4. As long as Scalia & Thomas are on the court the reputation will always be low

Two of the biggest losers ever appointed to the Supreme Court

[southernyankeebelle]

20. and Alito

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. My guess is that Roberts was trying to salvage the court's reputation.

They had become so baldly political (thanks in particular to Fat Tony and his silent sidekick) that they were quickly losing public respect. I don't think Roberts wanted to be the CJ who presided over the most nakedly biased and intellectually dishonest Supreme Court in history.

[hifiguy]

15. I think that is a huge part of Roberts' vote.

He is a Chief Justice. Chief Justices are held to a different standard. I saw an interview with him on CSPAN a few months ago and he talked about the need to preserve the legitimacy of the court. He specifically discussed the Dred Scott case as a grievous self-inflicted wound to the Court. He does not want to bask in the same historical stench that surrounds the author of Dred Scott, Chief Justice Roger Taney, who is now remembered for nothing else.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. 'Zackly. If you're the CJ that court has your name on it

so your own reputation is at stake. And if "the Roberts court," or a particular bloc of it, is generally regarded as partisan to the point of absurdity - which is where it's been headed; see, e.g., Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. __, June 25, 2012 (Scalia, J. dissenting), that does not reflect well on Roberts, C.J. I think he decided he'd better rein in the runaway horses. Or asses, to be more accurate.

[Marzupialis]

6. Wait...so the other wing-nut judges did not know that?

How does it work? Is Roberts a GOP lover while the other judges are not?

[HopeHoops]

8. It only took one.

[LynneSin]

9. GOP only needed one person to cross

Roberts is probably having his name slaughtered at sites like the Free Republic. They just needed one to switch to the left and Roberts took the hit so the others won't be smeared.

[Marzupialis]

10. Oh. A conspiracy I see

Interesting speculation.

[LynneSin]

11. The fact that Roberts crossed-over makes me think there is more to meet the eyes

If it was Kennedy I wouldn't have been surprised. Kennedy tends to be a swing vote from time to time.

GOP needs the 'Obamacare Boogeyman' to help them win this election in 2012. And what they don't need is a bunch of pissed of seniors and young voters who suddenly lost their cheap prescriptions/health insurance looking to blame someone for their loss.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. If the ACA went down it was bad for the GOP then if it was upheld it's better for the GOP?

I fear you may be more correct than you know.

[LynneSin]

13. GOP needs their boogieman for the 2012 campaign and that's 'Obamacare'

they now can campaign about how the SCOTUS is biased, a bastion of liberals and that only a GOP president with GOP congress can finally correct the sins of this 'travesty'

[Nuclear Unicorn]

14. And it served them well in 2010.

Too well.

[randome]

12. Republicans lost. Democrats won. Losers always look worse than winners.

It's the politics of perception.

[JNelson6563]

17. I agree.

[Arugula Latte]

18. I heard that Kennedy has become Scalia's little Opus Dei buddy.

He's under Scalia's evil spell more than ever these days.

[LynneSin]

19. true he has been a disappointment recently

in the old days you could count on him from time to time

[tsuki]

21. I tend to think that he was afraid of

Medicare for All.

As a small business person, health insurance is a nightmare. When I was in business, I carried one health policy for the employee at work, one when they drove a truck, one when they were not working and a future retirement policy, the bargain at 1.45%, Medicare. The huge profits would be jeopardized under Medicare for All. The Insurance Industry knows this.

[Honeycombe8]

22. If that had been the view that caused the decision, then the other conservatives would've jumped on

board, and the Dems would not have.