By Wayne Allyn Root
I’ll admit I wanted to see Obamacare struck down by the Supreme Court. Yet I rooted for this outcome with trepidation. Because the loser of this decision would gain the edge in the election. Why? Simple. Voters are motivated by fear, anger, shock, and outrage.
Just like consumers. Rarely does a consumer ever contact a business owner like me to tell me how great my business or products are. Almost 100% of letters, emails, and calls a business owner receives involve complaints. It’s always been that way. Whether you’re talking about voters, consumers, or citizens exercising their rights.
Have you ever seen citizens mobilizing and showing up at City Hall meetings in force to say they are happy with the Mayor and the City Council? It has never happened. It never will. But if the garbage isn’t picked up fast enough, if the snow isn’t plowed fast enough, if the zoning is changed in a way that hurts property values- WOW, do you have protests and outrage! People who are happy are just not motivated to get off the couch and take action. Only anger works to motivate people to do something…to shout…to make calls…to go door to door…to organize protests…to vote…to contribute. So in politics the edge goes to the angry electorate.
So today’s Supreme Court ruling might seem to be a victory for Obama, but in reality it is the worst possible outcome for him. Conservative voters will now be on the warpath and come out in droves on election day. The party with the anger is the party with the edge.
But far worse is the actual decision and how it makes Obama look. He didn’t win healthcare for the people. He won a giant new tax. Don’t take my word for it. Just ask the Supreme Court. How appropriate. Barack Obama will now go down in the history books as the Great Taxer in Chief. His signature victory was just ruled a tax bill by the Supreme Court, not a health or commerce bill. Americans hate taxes. They throw big taxers out of office. Heck, we fought an entire revolution over tiny taxes on tea! Obama just became “the King of Taxes” with his smashing tax victory. He will go down in history as the greatest taxer ever in the White House for his signature tax victory. Get it? Obama and the word “taxes” are forever tied together. He isn’t Barack Hussein Obama anymore. He is Barack Taxes Obama.
By the way, liberals, big government proponents and the Obama administration (I know, I repeat myself) didn’t win big on Thursday. They lost on the commerce clause aspect of this decision- which means government cannot throw every bit of commerce for the rest of all time under their authority. That’s a loss.
And they lost on the Medicaid expansion- which is a victory for States’ Rights.
All in all, a hollow victory for Barack Taxes Obama. In the long run, I’m betting it’s a victory he’ll wish he lost.
Wayne Allyn Root is a Capitalist Evangelist and serial entrepreneur. He is a former Libertarian vice presidential nominee. He now serves as Chairman of the Libertarian National Campaign Committee. He is the best-selling author of “The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gold & Tax Cuts.” His web site: www.ROOTforAmerica.com
