memeorandum: The Roberts Rules — The Chief Justice rewrites ObamaCare in order to save it. (Wall Street Journal)

1:20 PM ET, June 29, 2012

Top Items:

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Real Winners — So the Supreme Court — defying many expectations — upheld the Affordable Care Act, a k a Obamacare. There will, no doubt, be many headlines declaring this a big victory for President Obama, which it is. But the real winners are ordinary Americans — people like you.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh, alicublog, Prairie Weather, Esquire and Brad DeLong

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

Romney raises $4.3M after health ruling — Mitt Romney's presidential campaign has raised $4.3 million since the Supreme Court ruled President Obama's healthcare law is constitutional. — Romney started raising funds immediately after the decision, and in a message to supporters Friday morning …

Discussion: CNN, Michelle Malkin, The Moderate Voice, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Right Wing News, The Lonely Conservative and Red Alert Politics

Charles Krauthammer / National Review:

Why Roberts Did It — It's the judiciary's Nixon-to-China: Chief Justice John Roberts joins the liberal wing of the Supreme Court and upholds the constitutionality of Obamacare. How? By pulling off one of the great constitutional finesses of all time. He managed to uphold …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Moderate Voice, CNSNews, Bookworm Room, Riehl World View, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast and Power Line

Todd Gregory / Media Matters for America:

Drudge Smears Justice Roberts Over His Seizures — In response to the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of health care reform, the Drudge Report is smearing Chief Justice John Roberts over the possibility that he might use epilepsy medication and suggesting that it affected his judgment.

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Firedoglake, Wonkette and ThinkProgress

Wall Street Journal:

The Roberts Rules — The Chief Justice rewrites ObamaCare in order to save it. — Thursday was destined to be an historic day for American liberty, and it was, though the new precedent is grim. The remarkable decision upholding the Affordable Care Act is shot through with confusion …

Discussion: Hit & Run, AEIdeas, National Review, PoliPundit.com and SCOTUSblog

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Conservatives' consolation prize — Conservatives won a substantial victory Thursday. The physics of American politics — actions provoking reactions — continues to move the crucial debate, about the nature of the American regime, toward conservatism. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has served this cause.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Wire, Hot Air, Power Line, Questions and Observations, American Thinker, The Daily Caller and Booman Tribune

Jonah Goldberg / National Review:

Roberts's Ruling Took Guts — Why not just cut open a goat and be done with it? — In ancient Rome, a special kind of priest called a haruspex would “read” the entrails of sheep to divine the will of the gods, the health of the growing season, or whatever else was weighing on the minds of men.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Bloomberg and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Dustin Weaver / The Hill:

High court gives GOP new weapon on taxes — Republicans have seized on the Supreme Court's decision that the health insurance mandate is a tax, believing it will help them argue a second term for President Obama would be devastating for the economy. — Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney employed …

Discussion: Politico and CNN

David Bernstein / The Volokh Conspiracy:

More Hints that Roberts Switched his Vote — Reader Stuart Buck provides more detail as to why the dissent reads like a majority opinion (see also Deborah Pearlstein at Balkanization): — 1. The dissent has a whole section on severability that is completely beside the point except …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Firedoglake, Althouse, Outside the Beltway, emptywheel, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, The Atlantic Wire, Washington Examiner, Scared Monkeys, The New Republic, REPUBLICAN REDEFINED, ginandtacos.com, The Reality-Based Community, Brad DeLong, SCOTUSblog, Balkinization and Legal Theory Blog

ThinkProgress:

Conservatives Claim Roberts Upheld Obamacare Because Of ‘Cognitive Problems’ Due To Epilepsy Medication — Chief Justice John Roberts — a George W. Bush appointee — surprised many conservatives when he wrote the majority opinion upholding Obamacare's individual mandate …

Discussion: Business Insider

Byron Tau / Politico:

Obama campaign: It's a penalty, not a tax — A top surrogate for President Obama insisted Friday that the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act was not a tax — despite the fact that the Supreme Court narrowly preserved the law on those grounds. — “Don't believe the hype …

Discussion: Reuters

Paul Campos / Salon:
Did John Roberts switch his vote?

Discussion: Fox News, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Crooks and Liars, The Raw Story, Politico, Slate, INSTAPUTZ, The Maddow Blog and The Moderate Voice

Scott Lemieux / American Prospect:
Sometimes A Loss Is Just A Loss — Given the very strong likelihood …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, A plain blog about politics, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post and Slate

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
The political genius of John Roberts

Steven Hayward / Power Line:
The Aftermath, Continued — Add strange bedfellows George …

Discussion: Hot Air, JustOneMinute and Balkinization

Randy Barnett / The Daily Beast:
Is The Supreme Court's Health-Care Ruling a Turning Point in Constitutional Law?

Discussion: Power Line, PJ Media and Hot Air

RealClearPolitics Video Log:
Michael Savage: Roberts Epilepsy Medication Affects His Cognition

Discussion: Mediaite and The Raw Story

Sean Trende / Real Clear Politics:
The Chief Justice's Gambit

Discussion: Overlawyered

Michael Hastings / BuzzFeed:
CNN News Staffers Revolt Over Blown Coverage

Avik Roy / The Apothecary:
Why The Supreme Court Decision on Obamacare May Dramatically Increase the Deficit

Discussion: Off the Charts Blog, Washington Post, SCOTUSblog, National Review, The Incidental Economist, Mother Jones, Hit & Run, The Atlantic Online and The Daily Dish

Walter Russell Mead / Via Meadia:
Biggest Winner in Healthcare Decision: The Founders

Discussion: protein wisdom

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Romney ad features Hillary Clinton: ‘Shame on you, Barack Obama’ — Mitt Romney's campaign has quietly begun airing a TV ad in Ohio that uses an old clip of Hillary Clinton to blast President Barack Obama. — The ad pulls footage of the 2008 primary campaign, when Clinton …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos, BuzzFeed, Mediaite, GOP 12 and Shakesville

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:

Altmire says he had ‘no other choice’ but to vote for Holder contempt — Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), one of the 17 Democrats who voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, said he had “no other choice” but to sanction Holder for withholding documents related to the Fast and Furious investigation.

Discussion: Politico

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org blogs:
Nancy Pelosi Botches Brian Terry's Name While Addressing Congress on Holder Contempt Charges

Discussion: Red Alert Politics, Scared Monkeys, Washington Times, Right Wing News, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller and The Lonely Conservative

John Twarog / Red Alert Politics:
On day of contempt vote Eric Holder skips town, heads to Disney World

Discussion: americanthinker.com, RedState, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Yahoo! News, The Hill, Michelle Malkin, CBS News, The PJ Tatler and National Review

New York Times:
Fast and Furious Contempt Citation for Holder

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Washington Post and Outside the Beltway

Byron Tau / Politico:

Obama campaign: We've outraised Romney — In the wake of Mitt Romney's 24-hour fundraising blitz, President Obama's Chicago-based reelection campaign is claiming that they've actually raised more. — “We've outraised the Romney campaign in that time period but that's not the point …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Jammie Wearing Fools

CNN:
Fund-raising flurry after Supreme Court ruling

Discussion: Indecision Forever, The Week, ThinkProgress and The Reaction

Ryan Lizza / News Desk:

Why Romney Won't Repeal Obamacare — Mitt Romney, speaking just before noon today, declared that on his first day in office, “I will act to repeal Obamacare.” I think he chose his words carefully. As President, he may indeed “act” to repeal it on Day One, but I don't believe he will actually be able to overturn the law.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, The Daily Caller, The New Republic, The Week, The Daily Beast, The Monkey Cage, Washington Times, ThinkProgress, Conservatives4Palin, GOP 12, American Power, Balloon Juice, New York Magazine, Slate, American Prospect and tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:

The Filibuster Won't Save ObamaCare From President Romney … - Saletan: How Fast Can Republicans Read? The Conflicting Evidence. — Magic Mike Is Soderbergh's Most Fun Movie Since Ocean's Eleven — Why Did Roberts Do It? To Save the Supreme Court.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Associated Press, The Hill, The Maddow Blog, Mother Jones, The Reaction and The Daily Beast

Frank Newport / Gallup:
Americans Don't Often Name Healthcare as Top U.S. Problem

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools, Politico and National Review

Americans for Tax Reform RSS:

Full List of Obamacare Tax Hikes — Obamacare law contains 20 new or higher taxes on American families and small businesses — Taxpayers are reminded that the President's healthcare law is one of the largest tax increases in American history. — Obamacare contains 20 new or higher taxes on American families and small businesses.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Lonely Conservative, Questions and Observations, Wizbang and nation.foxnews.com

Ian Traynor / Guardian:

Eurozone bank bailout deal throws lifeline to Spain and Italy — Italy and Spain stunned Germany by blocking progress until they obtained softer bailout rules in 14 hours of bad-tempered talks — European leaders have pulled back from the brink of disastrous failure in their attempts to rescue the euro …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, Business Insider and Associated Press