One Of Many Effects Of The Health Care Ruling

The above quote from Rand Paul has been circulating around the internet, and for good reason. That statement shows a laughable ignorance with regards to how the United States government works.

But that's not what stands out to me the most. That nifty graphic was posted on Facebook by an organization that had recently posted these two graphics:

Among others, these two graphics hint at questioning the legitimacy of the Supreme Court's rulings, in the first case by asserting that it has been "bought out" by the infamously rich Koch brothers, and in the second that the then-impending ruling on health care would be illegitimate should Clarence Thomas not recuse himself.

Yet those doubts are completely reversed in the Rand Paul graphic that not only asserts the legitimacy of the court's ruling but take it for granted. In fact, the hilarity of Paul's quote rests on the assumption on the part of the reader that the court's word is lawful and compelling.

However, if the health care ruling had gone the other way, I'm sure we would have seen more graphics like the second two crop up around the internet, and the court's legitimacy in the eyes of the left would shrink. The court's legitimacy is affirmed and reinforced because of the side on which the ruling fell in the eyes of the left.

And only the left, it appears. Some state governments, including Scott Walker's Wisconsin, have already announced that they will not implement the health care law, going against the decision supported by all three branches of the federal government. Since the Supreme Court has no power of enforcement, Wisconsin could get away with it if the federal level executive branch were uninterested or in agreement with Wisconsin. My guess is that there will be a conflict between state and national government if Walker sticks to his words. But the main point is this: the court's power to decide the constitutionality of laws isn't enough for Walker, and while the court is going to enjoy enhanced standing among the left (and center), it will suffer in the eyes of conservatives. Another example would be the bizarre explanations some on the right have been concocting for why Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the liberal majority.

And so goes the turbulent life of the Supreme Court.