Yesterday the Supreme Court declined to fast track the Virginia challenge to the Affordable Care Act, which has Greta Van Susteren in a tizzy over those lazy Supreme Court justices who dare to take their three-month break while the health of America teeters in the balance.
Ken Cuccinelli was happy to oblige her, jumping right in with his assessment that states will spend "millions before taxpayers even see a band-aid or any health care", due to the cost of setting up exchanges in advance of implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
If their estimate is correct and June 2012 would be the earliest a Supreme Court decision would be made on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, that throws it right into the middle of the 2012 general election, which could really be a political neutron bomb. If the Supreme Court decision were a 5-4 ruling it unconstitutional, for example, it could play right into the hands of conservatives who will then begin touting their market-based reforms, a la Ken Cuccinelli at the end of this clip.
Maybe I'm just being cynical here, but I don't see the decision to delay it as particularly good news. It feels just as political as a decision to fast-track it would have been, delaying the outcome until we're right in the thick of the 2012 general election.
