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Kagan Vote Likely This Week;
Missouri Voters Reject Key
Component of ObamaCare
Part Two of Four By Dave Andrusko
At this point there is not a lot to say about the Supreme Court nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan. National Right to Life has made its opposition to her confirmation clear. (See www.capwiz.com/nrlc/issues/alert/?alertid=15225531&type=CO and http://www.nrlc.org/Judicial/NRLCletterToSenateOnKaganJune232010.pdf) Iowa Senator Charles Grassley's explanation of why he is voting against Kagan is an excellent overview of many of the major arguments why this deeply political person should not be on the High Court, including Kagan's role in protecting partial-birth abortion while a member of the Clinton Administration. (See http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/08/04/grassleys-statement-on-kagan). A vote is expected soon. As of this afternoon, there appears to be little suspense. On a happier note, yesterday we talked in advance about Tuesday's non-binding referendum on ObamaCare in Missouri. There wasn't a lot of suspense about that either. Opinion polls showed overwhelming support for "Proposition C," described by the Associated Press as "prohibit[ing] the government from requiring people to have health insurance or from penalizing them for not having it," a key provision of ObamaCare. But the size of the "yes" vote was larger than expected. 71% of the voters supported Proposition C, "sending a clear message of discontent to Washington and Democrats less than 100 days before the midterm elections," writes the AP's David Lieb. He added, "Missouri was the first state to challenge aspects of the federal law in a referendum." Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, and Virginia have passed statutes. According to the Wall Street Journal's John Fund, ObamaCare proponents understood the importance of the vote. "[A]t last month's Netroots Nation meeting of liberal activists in Las Vegas, many privately admitted a defeat would be a body blow," Fund wrote this morning, "Melinda Gibson, an organizer with the union-backed group Health Care of America NOW, warned especially about the tide turning during the August Congressional recess. "'We have to make sure we don't lose August,' Ms. Gibson emphasized. 'August is crucial. People who experienced August last year will remember that we lost the media narrative for a long time, things were blown up on the ground, our organizers were in a defensive posture, and so it's very important that we go on the offensive.'" Please send all of your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are now following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha. |
