Government

See How Twitter Reacted to SCOTUS Ruling on Obamacare’s Individual Mandate

With bated breath and fingers poised over their tweet button, news outlets were ready to broadcast the historic decision by the Supreme Court issued this morning on the micro-blogging site Twitter.

(Related: Supreme Court upholds individual mandate)

Within the first few seconds and minutes of the high court’s announcement to uphold the constitutionally controversial “individual mandate” as part of President Barack Obama’s healthcare bill, a slew of tweets were issued, communicating mixed messages. Victory was being shouted on both sides.

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Some news outlets initially stated the decision was ruled unconstitutional, including CNN, Fox News and allegedly Diane Rehm from NPR, which may have added to the confusion on Twitter.

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

(Screenshot via Poynter)

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

(Screenshot: C.W. Anderson via Poynter)

CNN’s Chief Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin has come out to explain why the network initially reported the mandate was ruled unconstitutional, something it has been getting grief for ever since. The Associated Press staff was even requested by their own colleague to “stop taunting” CNN. Mediaite notes Toobin explaining that Chief Justice John Robers while reading the Supreme Court’s decision first explained why a mandate to force citizens to purchase health insurance was unconstitutional. Then, Toobin said, “he turned.” Toobin goes on say that Roberts then launched into his explanation of how the mandate could be upheld as a tax. CNN issued this official statement:

In his opinion, Chief Justice Roberts initially said that the individual mandate was not a valid exercise of Congressional power under the Commerce Clause. CNN reported that fact, but then wrongly reported that therefore the court struck down the mandate as unconstitutional. However, that was not the whole of the Court’s ruling. CNN regrets that it didn’t wait to report out the full and complete opinion regarding the mandate. We made a correction within a few minutes and apologize for the error.

Watch Toobin’s clip:

Some politicians also jumped the gun though too, as pointed out by the National Journal (via Drudge Report). The Blaze retrieved some of these now deleted tweets from a site we reported on a couple weeks ago called Politwoops, which archives the deleted tweets of politicians:

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

After a few moments of the Twittersphere wondering what the actual news was, it became clear which side the Supreme Court fell on. Here are the tweets issued by the SCOTUS blog:

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

News outlets were taking to the micro-blogging site the most at first, followed by political figures and the general public.

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Tweets by the Executive Director of the Democratic National Convention.

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a TaxTwitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

The president did not weigh in right away on Twitter, but his account, which is managed by his staff, did eventually post a few statements:

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Twitter did not crash at any point during the morning or early afternoon, although it was slow at times.

Twitter Reacts to Supreme Court Upholding Individual Mandate in Health Care Bill as a Tax

Analytics as to how much traffic was weighing in on Twitter will be provided soon. If the news of Beyonce being pregnant last year, topped Twitter charts, it could be interesting (and telling) to see how today’s mandate ruling compares.

Mitt Romney has not yet tweeted about the decision.

This story has been updated to include more information. 

Comments (52)

1 2
  • Alan
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:53pm

    We got screwed.

    Report Post »  
  • blazingaway
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:49pm

    The rich will get richer
    The poor will remain poor
    The middle class will become poorer
    And, the quality, quantity, efficiency of healthcare will decline

    Report Post » blazingaway  
    • @leftfighter
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 3:04pm

      Please! The “rich get richer while the poor get poorer” meme has been well and thoroughly debunked.

      Even if true, God bless them. At least someone will be prospering. I just wish it were all of us. Lord knows, it won’t be.

      Report Post » @leftfighter  
  • tomeagle55
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:48pm

    man, this ruling really opened the flood gates.

    Report Post »  
  • kfogs1957
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:16pm

    This Country has gone ov er the top insane. You can’t change the Constitution, what are the Justices thinking they are? November can’t come soon enough.

    Report Post »  
    • Cemoto78
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:33pm

      If this doesn’t want to make you run to the ballot box then nothing will. A sane person should now ask themselves, what will the force me to do next by taxation. Our freedoms and liberty are in a full frontal progressive attack. Obamacare’s individual mandate was NEVER put out there as a tax. The Democrats/ progressives lied to America.

      Report Post » Cemoto78  
  • THX-1138
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:13pm

    Revolution, Bitch3s!

    Report Post » THX-1138  
  • EP46
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:01pm

    Had obama lost…he would just have promised FREE health care if he is re-elected to buy votes.

    Now, every single LEGAL American who wants to save our country must join together to get rid of this Dictator and his EVIL. Are we going to sit back and let one little man destroy this great Republic ? His dogs of war are now unleashed….no telling what he will ‘mandate’ between now and January. We MUST be willing to save our nation.

    Report Post »  
  • DamocleAurelius
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:01pm

    The court can rule what it wants. I will not comply with this unjust (and unconstitutional, I don’t care what a bunch of activist judges say) law.

    I will not comply.

    Report Post »  
  • sickntiredofliberals
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:57pm

    Once again, O lies ! They said this could go as a TAX and he said it would not be a TAX. Surprise !! As some have said ‘we are awake’, we need to stay awake, and pray we have an election. There are “stories” that O has a plan to shut down the country by Fed. Marshall Law. How true this “leak” was or not I have no way of knowing; however I would not put anything past this admin..

    Report Post »  
  • patmcel
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:55pm

    Based on this being a tax, the gov can now tax me for something I don’t buy. I.E. when I buy a TV, I get taxed on it. Now inorder to be fair to people who don’t have a 55″ TV I have to pay a tax for not buying one as well.

    Report Post »  
  • Alvin691
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:34pm

    Did the majority just “legislate from the bench”?

    Report Post »  
  • GilbertAcct
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:34pm

    The “Romney is our Savior” people are living in a false reality. He will change little or nothing if he gets in. He is, and always has been, a proponent of big government. You who are outraged at this new “tax” that Obama has stuck us with, while crying for the election of the only other person in America who imposed this exact same tax on American citizens… you ought to step back and look at reality (and be ashamed of yourselves).

    Anyone who actually wants change in America will support neither Barack or Romney. Don’t vote, write someone else in, protest, boycott, register under a different party, etc. The democrats and republicans are of the same insestual breed.

    Report Post »  
    • marine249
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:50pm

      me thinks you are off your meds
      or just plain NUTS>

      Report Post »  
    • MittensKittens
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:02pm

      GILBERTACCT you better hope Romney doesn’t sit on his a$$ and do nothing…f*ing moron! Unless you don’t live in the same USA I do. Because if you do, you should just as disturbed as the rest of us.

      Report Post » MittensKittens  
    • GilbertAcct
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:02pm

      Marine… Do you have any actual thoughts on the matter? Any cogent argument in defense of Romney instituting this exact same tax on the citizens of MA, and claiming never to have raised taxes?

      I’ll try not to judge you based on your juvenile comment. I actually would enjoy seeing your thoughts on this.

      Report Post »  
    • GilbertAcct
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:12pm

      Mittens… Disturbed? Yes I’m disturbed. Surprised? No. Confused as to why the Romney fans think he now has the golden opportunity to nail Obama on increasing taxes? Yes. They call Obama a liar now because he said he wouldn’t raise taxes on the middle class. What of Romney lying about never having raised taxes in MA? He IS the precedent! He put this exact same tax on the people of MA. He is therefore just as much of a liar as Obama.

      By the way, your profanity suggests that you lack intelligence. I would avoid using it if you want to be taken seriously.

      Report Post »  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:46pm

      GilbertAcct
      Nobody thinks Romney is a savior (at least I don’t), I didn’t even vote for him. I hate like hell that he’s the only thing standing between us and four more years of Obama. I don’t see any other realistic option but to support him. Emphasis on realistic.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • BonnieC3
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 2:01pm

      GILBERTACCT: By your thinking, we should give up and re-elect Obama in “protest”? because that is exactly what would happen if your advise were followed. At this point there are only two choices: Obama or Romney and any vote not for Romney IS a vote for Obama. If Obama is re-elected, his already radical change machine would really kick into high gear and we lose this country to the Progressives, Socialists, Communists & Marxists. Romney, while yes is a big government guy, has stated his goals of reducing government spending and repealing Obama Care. Perhaps he learned from his mistakes in Massachusetts. I will give him the chance, because another 4 years of Obama equals the end of this country.

      Report Post »  
    • GilbertAcct
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 2:22pm

      First of all, a vote for anyone but Romney is not a vote for Obama. A vote for Obama is a vote for Obama. The Republicans are not entitled to my vote.

      Secondly, yes, Romney is the least bad of the candidates. He would be better than Obama. These are not the only two choices, however. For those of us who see little to no difference between the two parties that have taken over this country, there are other choices. The pattern of pragmatically voting for the least bad candidate is why we are in this mess. Nothing will change by doing the same thing we have always done. To think otherwise is, as is famously said, the definition of insanity. We will be forced to choose between increasingly evil people until the choice is between Hitler and Stalin. “Hitler is better,” you’ll claim, “at least he’s not a socialist.”

      You argue, “but there is no time to change the underlying problem (the “system”), we have to pick the lesser of two evils NOW! Otherwise the world will end under the greater of two evils!” This argument reverberates every four years, as it always has… by both Repubs and Dems, depending on who owns the WH. Both parties have one platform… more power, bigger government, and less freedom for citizens. The only difference is the rhetoric. The only viable option that I can see is to reject both.

      Report Post »  
    • bravjim
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 2:57pm

      He is right. This sets up a major expansion of federal government overrreach, exactly as Obama hoped it would. It might cost him the election in November, but with the expanded power that this gives the federal government, even a loss in the election it still gives the progressives a major victory. Today, the Supreme court just stripped the American people of their freedom from the long overreach of the federal government. They can now do whatever they want as long as they can pass it through congress, and the president signs it. Today will go down as the day that liberty died in America. Go ahead and bring the troops home. There is no freedom for them to defend any longer.

      Report Post »  
    • JMJuhasz
      Posted on June 29, 2012 at 1:23am

      Yeah thats right, split the vote so we end up with 4 more years of this moron. Or better yet, he will never leave office and just declare himself king!

      Report Post » JMJuhasz  
  • sbs21078
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:27pm

    Next is the Carbon Tax!

    Report Post »  
    • loriann12
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:53pm

      This should be Obama’s downfall. Didn‘t he proclaim that this WASN’T a tax, because he wasn‘t going to raise anyone’s taxes?

      Report Post »  
  • stone2016
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:26pm

    Justice Roberts should now come forward and explain what is NOT constititional. His argument seems to be, “As long as the penalty is monetary, it’s a tax and therefore constitutional?” Is there ANYTHING unconstitutional?

    “We aren’t forcing you to attend min. 1 hour church service and pay a preapproved tithe to preapproved churches, we just tax you if you don’t.”
    “We aren’t forcing you to give free positive advertising to approved companies, we just tax you if you don’t.”
    “We don’t force you to purchase and possess min. 3 assault rifles, we just tax you if you don’t.”

    Aren’t all these now constitutional? You have the right to not do any of these things, you just get taxed. Totally constitutional now.

    Report Post »  
    • loriann12
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:57pm

      Next they‘ll say you can’t go to church, if you do you pay a tax. You have to get an abortion, if you don’t you will be taxed. You HAVE to go to public school, if you homeschool, you’ll be taxed (above the school tax you pay anyway).

      Report Post »  
    • D-Fence
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:52pm

      I hate when Obama says “God Bless you, and God Bless America”. He wishes neither. I want everyone to own a gun and if not they will be taxed.

      Report Post » D-Fence  
  • LarryofArabia
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:24pm

    A gun for every window.

    Report Post »  
  • marine249
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:21pm

    I think the SCOTUS just handed the Repubs
    And Romney the WH in 2012 if they play
    there cards right

    Report Post »  
  • jvlag3
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:19pm

    To all you Obama supporters … in his latest campaign ad he said he wasn’t going to raise taxes on the Middle Class…guess what he just did with Obama Care….

    Report Post »  
  • Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:16pm

    Secession. We fought a war with King George over the Intolerable Acts. Look around, the Intolerable Acts seem like nothing compared to where we are now. Peaceful secession is the only card left on the table. Now, if the left won’t allow it…then strike the word peaceful.

    Report Post » Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve  
    • JoeinKansas
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 1:25pm

      I’ve been thinking the same thing, I wonder how many other people thinking this as well?

      Report Post » JoeinKansas  
    • saranda
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 6:41pm

      Please be true to your word. Go. Please. Enough of your phoney libertarian view. You are selfish and self consumed and America will be better off without you. You can leave with what you have delivered, nothing.

      Report Post »  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:16pm

    Wow, another SOUTER, nominated by another BUSH…..

    Report Post »  
  • Landon410
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:15pm

    YES WE CAN! give you the largest tax increase in history!
    FORWARD to more taxes and lies!

    Report Post »  
  • TheOtherWhiteGuy
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:12pm

    I’m DISGUSTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    This is a bunch of ***** from a bunch of ****heads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    This is not my government.

    Report Post » TheOtherWhiteGuy  
  • SamIamTwo
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:11pm

    sheesh…it was coming out in real time subject to reading the next paragraph…bloody internet is simply too fast.

    Report Post » SamIamTwo  
  • bobbie22
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:10pm

    We did it in 2010, as novices. We have now have experience. “REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER”

    Obama’s talk with ABC’s George S use his words against him, this is the largest tax increase
    Obama: Mandate is Not a Tax
    http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/09/obama-mandate-is-not-a-tax/

    Report Post » bobbie22  
    • bravjim
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 3:01pm

      Doesn’t matter if we did it in November, Obamacare stands. Even if we can elect Romney, and fill every seat in the house and senate, this massive power grab of the federal government has now been ruled constitutional. The only way to take back our freedom is through the amendment process. Today is the day that the Supreme Court killed freedom in this country.

      Report Post »  
  • Force2bewreckin
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:04pm

    the confusion is called a psyop. It is done on purpose to confuse and defuse the public.

    Report Post »  
  • EqualJustice
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:03pm

    The first part called a MANDATE was unconstitutional BUT as a HUGE TAX, it’s ok. That is screwed up. Plus, states can sort of OPT out without “penalty.” What the heck is that all about. TOTALLY SCREWED UP, just like Obamacare.

    Report Post » EqualJustice  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:00pm

    So now via social media we can see the dissolution of the Republic happening in real time.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Uncurable wound
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:42pm

      Let loose the dogs of war!

      Report Post »  
    • Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
      Posted on June 28, 2012 at 12:42pm

      So be it. The Republic is an idea…not a place. The Republic exists in the hearts and minds of patriots. It’s time to carve off a place of our own and leave this tyranny.

      Report Post » Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve  
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