Thus far, attorneys general in 14 states are suing to block health insurance reform, 13 of them joining Florida AG Bill McCollum's suit (South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Utah, Pennsylvania, Alabama, South Dakota, Idaho, Washington, Colorado and Louisiana all of whom are Republicans except James "Buddy" Caldwell of Louisiana, and many of whom are running for governor), and a separate suit by Virginia's wingnut AG, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli. At least a few others, Wisconsin's J.B. Van Hollen, have considered joining.
The larger suit argues "the new healthcare reform package exceeds Congress’s powers to regulate commerce, violates 10th Amendment protections of state sovereignty, and imposes an unconstitutional direct tax." The Virginia suit "focuses in part on the clash between a recently enacted state law protecting the right of Virginia residents to refuse unwanted health insurance and the new federal law that imposes penalties on anyone who seeks to defy the national government’s command to purchase health insurance."
I'll leave it to the law bloggers to discuss the legal merits of the cases (which on the whole seem pretty weak, but here's Jack Balkin, and here's BTD, and here's conservative Orin Kerr), and will look instead at how the ploy is playing politically at home for some of these guys. On a national level, it seems to be fizzling, despite Mitt Romney's efforts against a new law that is pretty much Romneycare writ large.
There's been some pretty heavy backlash in a few states. In Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle severely rebuked Van Hollen writing "The lawsuit you suggest is a frivolous and political attempt to thwart the actions of Congress and the law of the country." State Republicans are pushing Van Hollen to try to move the suit forward, but it's unlikely he can get passed the governor and legislature, as would be required to join the suit.
Likewise, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire slammed Rob McKenna's decision to join the suit.
"I don't know who he represents. He doesn't represent me," Gregoire said. "I don't think he represents a million and a half Washingtonians that will be helped by this. I don't think he represents small business that will be helped by this. I don't think he represents Medicare people who will be helped by this."
There's also been immediate pushback with the grassroots and netroots, with the founding of No R.O.B. Pac to "Tell Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna to drop his lawsuit against the Affordable Health Insurance Act by sending him the only kind of message politicians like him understand... the kind with a dollar sign in front of it!" McKenna has been planning a run for 2012 run for governor for years, and money raised for this PAC will go to his Democratic opponent, whoever that might be (Jay Inslee?).
Democrats in Florida are hitting back hard, demanding an audit of Bill McCollum's office, and pointing out the huge waste of state money his suit is.
"Why is our attorney general spending all the resources of his office on this political frolic whose only purpose is to get headlines?" he said. "He had a press conference every single day on this. It was nothing other than a political issue. It's incumbent on this body to stand up and say we want our chief legal officer...spending his time protecting our citizens."
Even in Idaho, there's some skepticism. There's a nascent grassroots effort coming together on the Facebook group "Not Wasting Idaho Taxpayer Money on Ridiculous Lawsuits," and the state's largest paper reports on the suit with the slightly critical headline: "Idaho's health care lawsuit won't be cheap," which for the Statesman is pretty stinging.
Opposition in Nebraska will have to come from the grassroots, since the state's senior Democratic Senator actually supports the suit.
A lawsuit that Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has filed along with 12 other state attorneys general, challenging the constitutionality of the new health care law, is being welcomed by U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.... Nelson said the constitutionality of the newly passed health care bill needs to be resolved.
Thanks, Ben. I wonder how much more money the DNC is going to spend on ads thanking him for his work on health reform.
Via Steven Benen we have more:
In Georgia, the state AG said he wouldn't waste taxpayer money on such a weak case, but the far-right governor intervened anyway.
Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, a Democrat, has refused to file an anti-health care mandate lawsuit, and called other AGs' decisions to do so "political gamesmanship." Undaunted -- and, of course, very concerned about the rule of law -- Gov. Sonny Perdue (R-Ga.) is appointing a "special attorney general" to sue the federal government anyway.
It'd be funny if it weren't so sad.
It's worth remembering that many of the AGs involved with this ridiculous exercise are running for governor in their respective states, and likely are wasting time and money on this case to impress in-state Republican voters (and donors). This dynamic has not gone unnoticed.
In Michigan, for example, the Detroit Free Press blasted state AG Mike Cox: "As a candidate for his party's gubernatorial nomination, Cox has every right to pander to the Tea Party adherents many believe will play a decisive role in August's Republican primary. As Michigan's top law enforcement officer, he should know better than to pursue his specious claim that Congress has exceeded its constitutional authority."
In Pennsylvania, Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett, in an apparent bid to help his own gubernatorial campaign, is also part of the pointless litigation. Some state lawmakers are so annoyed by the waste of taxpayer resources that they're threatening to cut funding for Corbett's office.
All this sturm and drang from Republicans, many in hopes of getting the rabid support of tea baggers in their quest for higher office, over a moot point, if you can believe Sen. Ron Wyden, who points out that the law allows states to set up their own plans.
When the world doesn't end with the final signing of health insurance reform today, it's going to be a lot harder for the repealers to to keep up their momentum. They've already lost the major financial backing of the Chamber of Commerce. The momentum has turned so much that now Dem candidates are daring Republican opponents to go all in on the repeal bandwagon.
These are utterly frivolous suits, and are very likely to cost already cash-strapped states more than they can afford, a point which is likely to very soon overcome all but the most rabid teabagger opposition to the bill. The reality that has hit John Cornyn, who has the difficult job of raising money for Republican Senate candidates, will eventually hit most everyone, and I suspect that the heat fueling this repeal effort will soon burn out.