GOPers Rush To Join Lawsuit
Health care legislation will be signed into law today, but the legal challenges are just beginning. A total of 13 states are expected to file a lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of the bill.
The AGs in those states -- all GOPers -- have long opposed the legislation. Last fall, a dozen AGs wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi questioning the constitutionality of the bill, and now that it's passed they will take their challenge to court.
Public polls show the health care bill is still unpopular among voters, and therefore a benefit to the GOP. And several of the AGs who will join the lawsuit are themselves seeking higher office this year.
MI's Mike Cox (R), FL's Bill McCollum (R), PA's Tom Corbett (R) and SC's Henry McMaster (R) are all running for open GOV seats. WA's Rob McKenna (R), TX's Greg Abbott (R), UT's Mark Shurtleff (R) and CO's John Suthers (R) are widely seen as future candidates for other offices.
AGs in VA, NE, AL, ND and SD have also joined the suit. AK AG Dan Sullivan, who serves at the pleasure of Gov. Sean Parnell (R), and IN AG Greg Zoeller are reviewing the legislation. So is OK AG Drew Edmondson (D), the lone Dem to sign on to the letter to Pelosi and a candidate for his state's open GOV seat.
Meanwhile, potential WH contenders have moved to encourage their top lawyers to join the suit. MS Gov. Haley Barbour (R) threatened to file his own suit if the state AG didn't file one. LA Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) have asked their Dem AGs to join the suit.
Keeping health care reform at the fore could prove a political winner for the GOP. A new poll conducted for CBS News shows just 37% of Americans and 30% of independent voters favor health care legislation, while 48% -- and 54% of independents -- are opposed. A majority of voters believe the government is too involved in health care, and that the bill will not help control the cost of premiums.
The lawsuit is just one prong in opponents' fight to defeat health care reform. Already, ID and VA have passed bills in the state legislature aimed at exempting their states from the legislation; AZ legislators have placed a constitutional amendment on the ballot, and CO activists are gathering signatures for their own ballot measure.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 36 states have introduced measures to limit the federal bill in some way. 29 of those states have begun exploring putting a constitutional amendment on this fall's ballot, while 13 states are pursuing changes to state law. Several states are taking both avenues.
Opponents of the health care reform legislation have not been entirely successful. Bills in NM, WY, SD, MS, IN and NH legislatures have already failed, while a constitutional resolution perished in GA, according to NCSL.
Mark Shurtleff (UT AG) isn't just "seen as a future candidate," he's running against Sen. Bennett (R-UT) in the GOP primary.
I was under the impression Shurtleff dropped his primary challenge to Bennett?
Ive only got 4 months left to go, before our little baby boy arrives. When will my nesting instincts kick in.