In the every changing, mixed up world of health care reform and politics, I seriously doubt Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson saw this one coming. For weeks, he was courted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in an effort to gain his support for the health care reform legislation the Senate Democrats were trying to pass. Nelson said it all hinged on the issue of abortion, but in the end, it was all about what he could get for his state.
After it became known just what kind of a sweetheart deal he managed to get out of Reid, there was the appropriate amount of outrage by his Republican colleagues. If the truth were to be known, I would suspect there was also a fair amount of envy on the part of the Democrats as well. Some of them probably thought they should have gotten more for their own promise of support. As it stands now, Nebraska’s budget stands to get a huge lift from the federal government, to the tune of about $100 million.
In a strange turn of events, The Associated Press has learned that Republican attorneys general from 13 states, led by South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, have sent a letter to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform legislation as it is now written and threatening legal action if the deal Nelson negotiated is not removed from the final version of the legislation.
“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 letter was signed by top prosecutors in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington state. All are Republicans, and McMaster and the attorneys general of Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania are running for governor in their respective states.
Last week, McMaster said he was leading several other attorneys general in an inquiry into the constitutionality of the estimated $100 million deal he has dubbed the “Cornhusker Kickback.”
I am sure we are about to see a lot of back and forth political bantering between the two political parties. The Democrats are sure to proclaim the Republicans are trying to hinder the passage of the health care reforms that all Americans want and need. The Republicans will probably respond by saying it is unfair to give one state privileges above and beyond that which is given to other states. This debate seems to be just getting started and 2010 looks to be just as interesting as 2009. No matter if you are a political junkie or just a casual onlooker, this just keeps getting better and better. Anyone care to venture a guess as to what will happen next?