Former State Senator Jim Keet, Republican candidate for Governor, announced today that he has sent a letter to Governor Beebe asking the Governor to encourage Attorney General Dustin McDaniel to address the critical Constitutional issues of the new federal health care law.On Wednesday, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel released Opinion No. 2010-036 in response to a request made by State Representative John Burris, R-Harrison, and 32 other State Representatives. In the formal Opinion released, McDaniel declined to answer a series of legitimate questions about the new federal health care law stating they do not fall within the scope of an Attorney General opinion.
“It is disingenuous for Attorney General McDaniel to tell a State Representative that he cannot provide an opinion on the Constitutionality of Obamacare,” said Keet in the letter, “if he holds an opinion that differs from the governors and attorneys general of many other states, is he not duty bound to tell the people, with specificity, why he believes the law is Constitutional?”
Copy of Jim Keet's letter to Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe:
April 15, 2010
Governor Mike Beebe
State Capitol Room 250
Little Rock, AR 72201
Dear Governor Beebe:
When the people of Arkansas elected you to be Governor, they entrusted you to represent and protect their interests. By choosing to remain on the sidelines of the healthcare issue, you have become Obama’s “Silent Partner” and have represented the interest of the Federal government over the interest of Arkansans.
Your eager deference to President Obama was first noticed when you refused to state your position on the wasteful 2009 Stimulus bill. You said, “none of that’s our business.” I disagree, because the people of Arkansas are paying the tab on this bill.
Since then, you have done nothing to oppose the concerted effort of President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid to federalize important institutions and activities that have historically been the province of the private sector or state government. Most recently, you chose to keep your position on the federal health care bill a secret until after it was passed by Congress, at which time you said: “I would not have voted for the bill.” If you had disclosed your position before the critical votes in Congress and taken your case directly to the people of Arkansas, they could have used that important information to urge Senators Lincoln and Pryor, and our Representatives in the House, to vote against the bill. Had they done so the bill would not have passed.
Yesterday, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel declined to answer a series of legitimate questions about the new federal health care law, known to most people as Obamacare. The questions were posed to McDaniel by State Representative John Burris, R-Harrison, and 32 other State Representatives.
Obamacare, when implemented, will cost the people of Arkansas billions of dollars in the next two decades. You have acknowledged that, but you haven’t told the people how you plan to raise the money to pay for Obamacare. The law will, without a doubt, diminish the quality of health care now received by most Arkansans, particularly senior citizens on Medicare. And, according to every poll, Obamacare is not only opposed by the people of Arkansas, but a significant majority feels very strongly that it should be repealed.
Attorney General McDaniel’s refusal to address the legitimate questions raised by Representative Burris is unacceptable. At the time you finally declared your opposition to Obamacare you said you had not discussed the bill with Attorney General McDaniel to ascertain his opinion as to whether it is, or is not, unconstitutional. Your casual approach to such an important issue is not acceptable. Obamacare is far-reaching and it dramatically increases the power of the federal government. This law raises serious questions about what it might do to the careful balance of federal and state powers that was envisioned by the framers of the U. S. Constitution.
It is disingenuous for Attorney General McDaniel to tell a State Representative that he cannot provide an opinion on the constitutionality of Obamacare. And then, when asked if he would join the effort of 20 other states that are challenging the law, McDaniel said, “When the arguments appear to have little or no legal merit, it would be a waste of the state’s resources to pursue that course of action.” If he holds an opinion that differs from the governors and attorneys general of many other states, is he not duty bound to tell the people, with specificity, why he believes the law is constitutional? And, on a matter of this importance, don’t you have a similar responsibility? It is not fair to disregard the concerns of so many Arkansans with off-handed comments like the one you made about the 1957 integration crisis. It is not appropriate to say – without citing your legal reasoning – that you believe the law is “constitutional.”
During World War II the people of Arkansas and other states were concerned about the reach of the federal government as they fought to defeat Germany, Japan, and Italy. The people were committed to supporting “the conduct of the war,” and they put up with rationing and other far-reaching federal laws. But, they also wanted to guard against “objectionable or harmful encroachments upon the normal field of state functions and powers,” to the extent possible. Accordingly, the Arkansas legislature joined other states in passing what later became “Act 166 of 1943, The Uniform Law To Oppose Federal Encroachment On States Rights.”
That law, which is still on the books, requires the Attorney General to cooperate with other states in conducting studies and examinations of congressional legislation to determine whether it results in federal encroachment. It is then his responsibility to advise Senators and Representatives in writing of his opinion and views with respect to those studies and examinations, to suggest any amendments as may be necessary to protect the interests of the state and its citizens.
The law also makes it the duty of the Attorney General to make any reasonable or appropriate investigation or study of any existing federal legislation to determine its effect upon the state and its citizens whenever he is requested to do so by any of this State’s Senators or Representatives in Congress and report the result of such investigation or study.
I understand that you have obligations to your political party and your leaders in Washington. However, your duty to the people of Arkansas should be first and foremost. You still have an opportunity to encourage the Attorney General to address these critical constitutional issues.
By your inaction, you have become President Obama’s “Silent Partner” in Arkansas. The people of Arkansas deserve better.
Sincerely,
Jim Keet
CC: Attorney General Dustin McDaniel
Tags: Jim Keet, Mike Beebe, Dustin McDaniel, ObamaCare, government healthcare, U.S. Constitution
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