CNN’s Toobin on O’Care Ruling: ‘The Admin.’s Position Was Very Strong Here’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:

TAPPER: "Jeffrey toobin, let me brings you back in here. Are you surprised by the ruling today?" 
TOOBIN: "Not really. I mean, this was a long shot I thought from the very beginning. I mean, this is an interpretation of the law, of these four words, that not a single member of Congress said they thought was the correct interpretation. All through the very long and torturous debate over the affordable care act, it was assumed by everyone that the subsidies would be available in the state exchanges and in the federal exchanges. It was only years -- many months later when a group of conservative lawyers pored over the statute and found these four words that this case and this issue even arose. However, this court is usually so politicized, and there was one D.C. Circuit court that ruled against the administration, so, you know, you couldn't be super confident, but it seemed to me from the very beginning that the administration's position was very strong here. This was a highly technical, legalistic reading by the plaintiffs in the case, and, you know, there is part of John Roberts that you could sense in the oral argument who was saying to his fellow conservatives, look, if you want to overturn this law, go do it by winning some elections. Win the presidency. Win Congress. And then you overturn the law. Don't pass the buck to me. Don't tell me to be the bad guy to take 6.5 million people off insurance. You want to do it, go win elections, and now coming into 2016 we'll see if Republicans can do just that."