In a week dominated by retrospectives on 2009, the opening story of 2010 was short shrifted.
Outgoing Virginia Attorney General Bill Mims joined with 12 other Republican Attorney Generals in threatening a lawsuit if Congress approves the “Cornhusker Kickback,” the $100 Million Medicaid deal that Senator Ben Nelson negotiated for Nebraska as the price of his support for health care legislation.
I’m not sure what the outcome of the proposed lawsuit would be in the courts, but it’s a shrewd way of highlighting part of the bill that doesn’t begin to pass the proverbial smell test.
It’s also a vehicle for reporters in every state to put their own Senators on record on whether they believe the Cornhusker Kickback was reasonable and is the way the Senate should conduct its business.
Any senator who answers “yes” to these questions will then have to explain why she or he settled for less than $100 million for their state.
The compilation of these explanations should be priceless.
But this threat is only the beginning.
If someone knows of a more popular target for a state political leader to kick around right now than the U.S. Congress, I must have missed something.
Delegate Bob Marshall is filing legislation contending that a federal mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance is unconstitutional.
Incoming Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has vowed to protect the state’s constitutional authority from federal overreach.
Given the public uneasiness about health care legislation and its almost unrelenting disdain for Congress, I fully expect Cuccinelli to keep his promise.
The 10th Amendment could become the same kind of activist cause for Republican AG’s that going after tobacco companies was for Democrats five to ten years ago.
Three of the AG’s who signed onto a prospective Cornhusker Kickback suit just happen to be running for Governor in their states.
Get that copy of the Constitution off your bookshelf!
You’re going to need it in 2010.
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