Whiplash

I feel like I've suffered a severe case of whiplash this morning.  The first CNN news alert that popped up on my iPad informed me the individual mandate of the healthcare law had been struck down by the Supreme Court.  Imagine my surprise when a few minutes later a correction was issued stating the the court had upheld all of the health care law.  Now that is a case of whiplash if I ever saw it!

These are the events that make the workings of government so fascinating to me.  Notice I said the workings of government, not politics.  I've read quite a bit about the Supremes and find the history of the court to be an interesting read.

The court is made up of nine justices. The four liberal justices are Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. The five conservative justices are Scalia, Alito, Thomas, Kennedy, and Chief Justice Roberts.

For the law to pass a conservative justice had to vote with the liberals.  If it passed I expected Justice Kennedy would be the swing vote.  Since Justice O'Conner's retirement he has been tagged with the swing voter title.  I was major surprised to learn Chief Justice Roberts cast the deciding vote.

Regardless of your opinion of the decision life will go on, this country is not doomed, nor going to hell in a handbasket.  As soon as this decision moves out of the media cycle we will return to life as it was before the decision.  We've had many important decisions by the Supreme Court, some we liked, some we didn't, but we continue to be a great country and I'm thankful to be a part of it.