Tom Noonan

For some time I have thought that the bitter  –  and usually mindless  –  partisanship in this country is our nation’s biggest problem.  With that in mind, I cannot say I am surprised by the reaction of so-called “conservatives” to the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act, as well as their vilification of swing voter Chief Justice John Roberts.  The “individual mandate”  –  the subject of almost all discussion  –  was once a widely-accepted principle by conservatives, and opposed by candidate Barack Obama in 2008.  It was not until Obama attempted to address health care reform on a bipartisan basis and included it in the law since derided as “Obamacare” that it became the flashpoint for “conservative” attacks.