States push back against Sen. Nelson’s 10th Amendment violation

According to a recent article in the Washington Examiner, 13 state Attorneys General have threatened to file suit against the federal government for legislation exempting Nebraska from paying its share of the health care expenses under the Senate version of “health care reform,” which passed on the morning of Christmas Eve. From the article:

“We believe this provision is constitutionally flawed,” South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster and the 12 other attorneys general wrote in the letter to be sent Wednesday night to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

“As chief legal officers of our states we are contemplating a legal challenge to this provision and we ask you to take action to render this challenge unnecessary by striking that provision,” they wrote.

The “Cornhusker Kickback,” as it is being termed, ensured passage of the very controversial government takeover of health care… at least, in the Senate. In the wake of Nelson’s sellout foams an outrage from the people of Nebraska that may sink his re-election hopes in 2012, according to the Wall Street Journal. In response, the Senator has launched a massive ad campaign, defending his vote.

There’s little question as to whether or not the bill, as it stands (either version), violates the 10th Amendment. There’s a quotation from one of our Founding Fathers that refers to the federal governments usurpation of powers under the guise of the public good which escapes me at this point. Our government – any government – will always use a crisis, manufactured or otherwise, to take powers away from the states and their people.

The mounting injuries and usurpations are being addressed by several states, who take exception to Nebraska’s financial exemption. Opponents to potential legal action note that all AGs in question are Republican and that political posturing is likely, but it would seem that these attorneys general are expressing a concern voiced by a significant percentage of Americans.

In what used to be a rare occurrence, more and more people are talking about the 10th Amendment as a relevant issue. With bailouts and health care and other unforeseen expanses of government, I believe more people will be asking, “What is the proper role of the federal government?”

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 2nd, 2010 at 11:02 am. It is filed under 10th Amendment, Featured, Health Care and tagged with Ben Nelson, Cornhusker Kickback, Health Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.