Democratic Party Says Shurtleff is Pandering to “Glenn Beck Kool-Aid Crowd”
01.07.2010 by Jeff Robinson
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff
(KCPW News) Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says he’s fulfilling his duties by warning Congress that the healthcare reform legislation is unconstitutional. But others disagree. Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland says the AG is pandering to right-wingers.
“We’ve got legitimate things the Attorney General’s office should be involved with,” he told KCPW. “Instead, it appears clearly that they’ve chosen to engage in things that’ll keep a few of the staff there, including the elected official, in the limelight, kind of feeding red meat to what I call the Glenn Beck Kool-Aid crowd.”
Last month, Shurtleff joined a dozen other attorneys general in sending a letter to Congressional leaders. Its chief complaint was the Senate bill’s exemption for Nebraska, allowing the state to expand Medicaid without having to pay for it.
Judi Hilman, Executive Director of the non-partisan Utah Health Policy Project, doesn’t like the Nebraska deal, and hopes it’s stripped out of the final healthcare legislation. But she says Shurtleff does not have a valid argument that it’s unconstitutional.
“I think what’s happening for Nebraska, that special deal is in really bad taste, and it needs to go away,” she said. “But should it stick, it would actually pass muster, because it’s not unusual for states to have different funding arrangements around Medicaid.”
Listen to our previous interview with the Attorney General here.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says he’s fulfilling his duties by warning Congress that the healthcare reform legislation is unconstitutional. But others disagree. Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland says the AG is pandering to the right-wing political crowd.
07-REACTION 1 :16 “…Kool-Aid crowd.”
“We’ve got legitimate things the Attorney General’s office should be involved with. Instead, it appears clearly that they’ve chosen to engage in things that’ll keep a few of the staff there, including the elected official, in the limelight, kind of feeding red meat to the Glenn Beck Kool-Aid crowd.”
Last month, Shurtleff joined a dozen other attorneys general in sending a letter to Congressional leaders. Its chief complaint was the Senate bill’s exemption for Nebraska, allowing the state to expand Medicaid without having to pay for it.
Judi Hilman, Executive Director of the non-partisan Utah Health Policy Project, doesn’t like the Nebraska deal, and hopes it’s stripped out of the final healthcare legislation. But she says Shurtleff does not have a valid argument that it’s unconstitutional.
07-REACTION 2 :13 “…around Medicaid.”
“I think what’s happening for Nebraska, that special deal is in really bad taste, and it needs to go away. But should it stick, it would actually pass muster, because it’s not unusual for states to have different funding arrangements around Medicaid.”
You can listen to our interview with the Attorney General from earlier this week on our website, KCPW-dot-o-r-g.
It is so frustrating to be dismissed out of hand as “Glen Beck’s Koolaid crowd” if you disagree with the current heath care bill and how it is being handled in congress. There are a LOT of good, educated, thinking people who believe this bill is being rammed down our throats for political (NOT concern for our health care)reasons. I want health care reform. I don’t want this bad, bad bill.
The other problem is that this completely ignores the FACT that the DEMOCRAT Attorney General of Oklahoma has joined AG Shurtleff et al in this objection.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=17&articleid=20100106_17_0_COLUMB857713
But then again, why should a party leader let facts get in the way of a perfectly good political insult…..
LL