Video: Hugh Hewitt On Newly Elected GOP Governors Blocking ObamaCare

Steely Speedy Transcript:

Megyn Kelly: Well, state houses could soon be the new "front line" in the fight to repeal the overhaul of health care. A slew of new Republican governors, now set to take the reins coast-to-coast, many of them planning now to block key portions of this law, possibly pre-empting the federal legislation altogether. Hugh Hewitt, radio talk-show host and professor at the Chapman University school of law joins me now. Hugh, what I found interesting about his is, this one political science professor at Rutgers says, and I quote: "the governors could, without defying federal law, simply implement this law inefficiently, throw sand in the gears, and he and others like him are more and more starting to say "that is the best way to stop this law, no matter what happens in the US Congress."
Hugh Hewitt: Well you know, Megyn, (good to see you), I think he's right that governors, especially the eleven new Republican governors who took over from Democrats in Tuesday's "wipe-out," have a lot of ability to... to ahh, stop Obamacare. Their first choice, though, is will they join the lawsuits that are out there; there's a Virginia lawsuit, there's a Florida lawsuit, ah... Ken Cuchinelli, the wonderful attorney is happy to welcome people into his lawsuit, Bill McCullem, Attorney General of Florida, happy to welcome these states in, and I believe they've got great grounds, under the tenth amendment and under the commerce clause, you well know, these are very open issues...
Megyn Kelly: But it doesn't do...
Hugh Hewitt: ... and at the same time they haven't advanced...
Megyn Kelly: ... it hasn't advanced their cause at all, for them to join those lawsuits, yes, it like... tells the courts that more governors feel the same way as Virginia's and... and... and Florida's states do.... Attorney Generals do, but this... this guy, and others like him are now positing that the governors, without joining any lawsuit, can stop this, as he put it... "throw sand in the gears," Hugh. How?
Hugh Hewitt: Well, they have lots of options. The can refuse to take the Medicade opportunity to accept funding, I believe Scott Walker in Wisconsin has specifically said that. But I'd push back; I think their first choice is to join these lawsuits, not just because of the relief that will be granted them if, in fact, they are successful, but as a signal, to help, for example, leader McConnell's statement at the Heritage Foundation yesterday (I've linked it over at my blog today) they're going to "fight on the beach, fight on the field, fight on every bridge," and the Republican governors have to join in that effort to say "complete repeal." If they don't I think they'll pay a political price in fact, Megyn, I was in New Jersey a couple of weeks ago and some of the TEA Party activists were critical of a guy in my neck of the woods, Chris Cristy, looks wonderful, but Chris has not joined this lawsuit and as a result they're very upset with him on ground so I think these governors have to stop ObamaCare by refusing every dollar that's offered, that's number one, joining the lawsuits and then urging their congressional to allow the votes, especially the senators for example in places like... for example, John Kasich in Ohio can lean on Sharrod Brown, who's going to be a very vulnerable Republican in 2012, and Kasich, the new governor, [he]'s going to be an extrordinary governor, can say to Sharrod Brown, "Sharrod, you'd better vote to repeal ObamaCare, to allow those votes to go forward," so there are lots of ways in which these new Republican governors can help in the fight, and I think they're going to do it.
Megyn Kelly: Does it get to the point... let's say it does get to the point, all right, before we move on from the lawsuit, let's say it does get to the point where you've got, you know, some high number, you know, of governors, some high number of states, you know, we're talking some number, I don't know.... more than thirty states that are, possibly, joining in this lawsuit, does it become harder for, ultimately, the Supreme Court to say "too bad," you know, I don't want to say "the will of the people" is on the side of this health care law because the polls don't really suggest that, but "the Congress, the President, have spoken, it's a federal law, and you're stuck with it."
Hugh Hewitt: Well, there's an old saying, I'm sure you learned it in law school too, from Mr. Dooley, that the Supreme Court follows the election laws too, and they're looking at a "sea of red" that swept over the country; yes, part of it was the "jobs issue," a lot of it was Nancy Pelosi's arrogance and Harry Reid's cluelessness and the President's distance from the people, but a lot of it was ObamaCare, Megyn, and I believe you've got four Justices who will strike down the individual mandate; I heard the Cuchinelli analysis about Justice Kennedy and I believe he's right, that Justice Kennedy will join in striking down that mandate, and when that happens...
Megyn Kelly: That's five.
Hugh Hewitt: ...there's the issue of severence, I mean it gets complicated and we don't want to get into the "tall weeds" here, but when you take the heart and soul out of ObamaCare, the individual mandate, and the Supreme Court looks around at the shattered states and the thirty different states and the "red tide," there's a good chance they're going to say "start over, Congress," not do a "jam down..."
Megyn Kelly: The other thing...
Hugh Hewitt: ...that not the right...
Megyn Kelly: ...the other thing that's interesting is, even short... seperate and apart from the lawsuit, they're talking now about... how the governors could basically "handicap" this legislation in various different ways. They're saying (a) they could seek wavers from some of it's provisions, we've already seen... we've already actually seen that attempted, (b) they could veto state legislation related to it, (c) they could opt to slow the immplementation of it, umm... they could (d) basically work with their state legislatures to sort of "pick at" pieces of it so that it becomes ineffective in their state and isn't working right, they could basically thwart it without have to... directly... thumb the eye of the Federal Government [at this point Megyn Kelly begins to make very interesting and fetching eye movements that, I'm sure, are aimed at me alone] and if that happens, I don't know if it's going to be great for the nation, but it could be hard for those who are trying to implement this massive bill, ahh, to do so effectively.
Hugh Hewitt: Well, it would be so great for the Nation, and here's what I'd do. If you're one of these new governors, you appoint yourself a new "Secretary of Stopping ObamaCare," you have a... you find the smartest lawyer you can in your state, and you name them the "Secretary of Stopping ObamaCare," and...
Megyn Kelly: (chuckles)
Hugh Hewitt: ... and just as you said, you instruct every bureaucrat in the state bureaucracy to resist, you tell them that this is a question of Federalism, it's a question of first principles, and you lay out the fact that when you see ObamaCare rolling out, destroying the insurance of so many people, seniors getting thrown off the roles, it becomes, politically, very potent, and you'll convert some of these Democrat senators, like ah... ah... Testor in Montana, is Testor really going to stand by ObamaCare and get wiped out in two years, Ben Nelson's already doomed, he's a "dead man walking" in the Senate, when it comes to re-election, as a result of ObamaCare. I think that these governors have a lot that they can do, including obstructionism of the highest sort, the best sort, obstructionism based on principle and...
Megyn Kelly: Well, it's interesting...
Hugh Hewitt: ... it can be very effective.
Megyn Kelly: ...you've got a situation here where even if the Senate... even if the Senate and the House pass a law to repeal ObamaCare, or President Obama's healthh care law, the President's not going to sign it, so more and more folks are looking to these governors to see what is possible. Hugh Hewitt, thank you sir.
Hugh Hewitt: Megyn, always likewise.

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