Krauthammer: Overturning ObamaCare Could Energize Left Like Roe v. Wade Energized Right

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer on Friday said the Supreme Court striking down ObamaCare could energize the Left in this nation in much the same way 1973's Roe v. Wade decision galvanized the Right.

Such was said on PBS's Inside Washington (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

As the discussion predictably moved to this week's Supreme Court oral arguments regarding ObamaCare, Krauthammer said, "I think the way it works is in the short run it will be a devastating defeat for the president, because his singular achievement will be shown by the Court to be unconstitutional. He’s supposed to be a constitutional expert, that’s not very good."

"People will say," he continued, “'You’ve spent a year and a half on that, you ignored everything else.'”

"But I think in the longer run, which would mean after this year, after this election, it could have an effect of galvanizing liberals, who would say, 'We worked for 100 years to achieve this, we passed it legally through the House and the Senate and the presidency, a rogue court struck it down.' It could have an effect on the Left that Roe v. Wade, in striking down all the abortion laws, had in radicalizing and energizing the conservative Right, the religious Right."

The question is whether or not today's Left is as emotionally tied to ObamaCare as the Right in the '70s were anti-abortion laws.

Polls don't seem to suggest that's the case.

Another thing to consider is the far-left viewed ObamaCare as a watered substitute for the universal healthcare they so desperately crave.

As such, it is equally likely such partisans will view this defeat - if it happens at all - as opening a door to an even broader piece of legislation.

Stay tuned.