Judge Napolitano on Justice John Roberts's Decision: I Don’t Think He Made the Constitutional Decision

Chief Justice Roberts made a controversial decision yesterday, upholding the Affordable Care Act (specifically the individual mandate) as Constitutional. Roberts also ruled that ObamaCare is a tax and therefore falls under the authority of the Congress. Is this the right decision under that line of thinking?

Judge Andrew Napolitano weighed in on this decision on today’s Fox and Friends. He said, “I don’t think he made the right decision. I don’t think he made the sensible decision. I don’t think he made the Constitutional decision because, basically, what he said was the Congress can’t force you to do anything, but it can tax you if you don’t do it.”

Napolitano said that President Obama, the Democrats and the statute itself said this wasn’t a tax, but explained, “The first time any assertion was made that this was a tax, was yesterday.”

He pointed out that he thinks this is a gift for Mitt Romney because viewing this as a tax makes it even less popular than it already is and it defies Obama’s original statements saying this wasn’t a tax.

“Can I tell you who’s the victor here? Governor Chris Christie because he said the legislature of the state of New Jersey ‘I’m not going to write this, I’m not going to enact this health care exchange until the Supreme Court rules,” Napolitano said.

“The one good thing the Supreme Court did yesterday is, the feds can’t force the states to establish these state insurance exchanges.”