If Republicans are smart (sorry for starting this blog with such a weak hypothesis), they will realize that the Supreme Court just gave them a “mulligan” on two potentially damaging issues of the 2016 campaign.
Several have already demonstrated they are not. But I wonder how many of the others understand the gift they have been handed.
-Regarding ObamaCare: yes, it is an unworkable monstrosity. Yes, it should be replaced. And, yes, it remains unpopular with the public.
But, like it or not millions and millions of people now have ObamaCare, and if that decision had gone the other way, would have left them either with nothing, or with policies that would have gone up hugely in premiums….as Republicans cheered.
By ruling in favor of ObamaCare (however asinine the ruling was), Republicans can now decry the increases in ObamaCare premiums which will now come, blame them on the Democrats who foisted ObamaCare on us, and a Republican presidential nominee will be able to propose significant changes that would take this dog and turn it into something more reasonable and more workable.
That is the difference between a losing issue and a winning issue. Thank you SCOTUS.
-Regarding the same-sex marriage ruling, Republicans – even Republican candidates who are against legal same-sex marriages (which, to my knowledge, is all of them), can profess their opposition to the ruling, state their belief that it should have remained a state-by-state issue, and and then point out that, since rightly or wrongly the Supreme Court has made its decision, this no longer is an issue of presidential politics.
If this is done, millions and millions of voters who will not vote Republican because of the party\’s intransigence on same-sex marriage will have a rationale to reconsider their decisions, while voters who oppose same-sex marriage can agree philosophically that it is wrong, but will likely vote Republican anyway, because, in the absence of a viable third-party candidate who promises he/she will find a way to overturn the Supreme Court (which is ridiculous), where else are they going to go?
That is the difference between being on the wrong side of a disastrous issue which puts Republicans in opposition to most of the country, and being able to take the issue off the table. Thank you again SCOTUS.
Republican candidates may feel that, morally and philosophically, this was a disastrous week. But are they smart enough to realize that, politically, it was a great one?
Congratulations to the ones – if any – who do.
