GOP SPILLED MILK

Healthcare reform had quite a showdown Sunday night on the floor of the House of Representatives.  But now it seems the battle is not over, as resentful Republicans prepare to shift the fight to the state level.

Despite President Obama signing healthcare reform into law yesterday, Republican leaders in several states have simply refused to give up and vow to challenge the historic legislation in court, calling it unconstitutional.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (GOP) said that he will file a federal lawsuit next week on behalf of his state.  And Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum (GOP) promised similar action, adding that he would soon be joined by other states. He called the new healthcare law “a tax or a penalty on just living. And that’s unconstitutional.”  All in all, more than three dozen red states are discussing ways to challenge the federal government’s authority on health insurance.  Sen. Jim DeMint (R -S.C.) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R -Minn.) have both said they will introduce legislation to repeal health-care legislation. “This bill is unconstitutional and it cannot be fixed. It must be repealed,” DeMint said Sunday.  Even Sen. John McCain got in on the resentment, by promising Democratic leaders that there would be no cooperation from Republicans for the rest of the year!

Legal scholars contend the threat of lawsuits and attempts to repeal the law in Congress are frivolous, and will likely turn out unsuccessful and only for show, since constitutional provisions and legal precedents grant wide latitude to Congress to regulate national affairs. Or in other words, since Democrats control the White House and both houses of congress, they have the upper hand in pushing their own agenda through — just as Republicans have done under similar circumstances. Still, they warn of an upcoming period of legal wrangling, resistance and discord.

This display of GOP “spilled milk” is tapping into current Republican resentment in their lost battle against healthcare, combined with the anti-government convictions of “tea party” protesters. “Give us liberty, not ObamaCare,” read one placard outside a rally last week, just as Tea Party protesters were shouting racial epithets at civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D- GA) and hateful rhetoric at openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D- Mass.). Emotional sentiments are only certain to rise over the coming months.  Stay tuned!