Paul Ryan

Everybody Wants To Throw Granny Off A Cliff

Ryan J. Reilly | March 21, 2012, 5:02AM

A newly-founded group behind an ad showing an actor portraying President Obama throwing an elderly "grandma" off a cliff is sponsoring a rally with Rep. Paul Ryan (R) next week. The group, AmericanDoctors4Truth, is an offshoot of the anti-Obamacare group Docs4PatientCare and made the ad in response to a video from a liberal group which tied Ryan's plan to reform Medicare with video of a man pushing an elderly woman to her presumable death.

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Abortion

Judge Rules Against Anti-Abortion Group's Claim That Health Care Reform Law Funds Abortion

Jillian Rayfield | August 3, 2011, 4:36PM

Former Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH)

A federal judge has allowed a defamation lawsuit by former Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH) to move forward, on the grounds that an anti-abortion group's ad campaign erroneously attacked him for supporting taxpayer-funded abortion with his vote for health care reform.

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Nullification

Health Care Nullification Bill Moving Through Idaho Legislature

Eric Kleefeld | February 4, 2011, 3:36PM

Another battle over attempts by Republican state legislators to nullify the federal health care reform law is bubbling up in deep-red Idaho, where legislation was introduced last week.

As the Spokane Spokesman-Review (located just on the other side of the Washington state border) reports, legislators in a key Idaho state House committee voted to advance the bill on a party-line vote, 15 Republicans for four Democrats. However, some GOP legislators said at the same time that they had reservations about the bill, and were voting for the bill in committee in order to allow for further debate.

The bill's main sponsor, state Rep. Vito Barbieri (R) said: "The question becomes, is the Legislature going to become a rubber stamp of everything that the government decides to do, or is the Legislature going to be able to interpose between onerous laws that the federal government decides to implement and its citizens? That's the question before us."

However, this move is also being strongly opposed by the few Democrats in Idaho's state legislature -- and the office of the state attorney general, a Republican.

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Gabby Giffords

FLASHBACK: Gabby Giffords Faced Threats Over Heath Care Vote

Ryan J. Reilly | January 8, 2011, 6:24PM

Picture of vandalized congressional office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)

Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) was facing threats long before she was shot in the head today at a supermarket in Arizona.

Though it's not yet clear what motivated the attack on Giffords -- though suspect Jared Loughner has left a long internet trail -- the attack came after numerous threats against Giffords over the past couple of years.

Giffords's father Spencer Gifford, 75, told the New York Post that her enemies were "the whole Tea Party."

But as Zachary Roth also outlined, Giffords has consistently faced threats, mostly for her view on health care reform.

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Health Care Reform

King: Babies In Garbage Cans Prove Health Reform Is Unconstitutional (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | January 6, 2011, 3:34PM

Rep. Steve King (R-IA), master of the pithy C-SPAN clip, made an original argument today for why health care reform is unconstitutional during an emergency House rules meeting about the GOP's upcoming vote to repeal it.

After Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) said that health insurance counts as interstate commerce and therefore falls under the Congress's constitutional powers, King argued that there are people who never even use health care -- and therefore a law requiring them to buy insurance is unconstitutional.

"There have always been and likely will always be, babies that were born, lived and died within the jurisdictions of the individual states," he said, "who never cross a state line, access no health care and therefore do not impact interstate commerce. Therefore, to compel someone who fits that category to buy an insurance policy" does not fit under the interstate commerce clause.

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Henry E. Hudson

Health Care Judge's Interest In Anti-Health Care PR Shop Raises Questions

Ryan J. Reilly | December 13, 2010, 5:02PM

Federal judge Henry Hudson at a court in Richmond, Va., 2010.

Federal judge Henry E. Hudson's ownership of a stake worth between $15,000 and $50,000 in a GOP political consulting firm that worked against health care reform -- the very law against which he ruled today -- raises some ethics questions for some of the nation's top judicial ethics experts. It isn't that Hudson's decision would have necessarily been influenced by his ownership in the company, given his established track record as a judicial conservative. But his ownership stake does create, at the very least, a perception problem for Hudson that could affect the case.

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Ken Cuccinelli

Ken Cuccinelli: Gov't Could Force You To Buy Gym Membership

Ryan J. Reilly | November 19, 2010, 12:46PM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the rising conservative star who sued the federal government over health care reform, told audience members at the Federalist Society's National Lawyers Convention yesterday that if the government is allowed force everyone to buy health care, forced gym memberships could be next.

"It is not about health insurance, it is about liberty," Cuccinelli said. He said that if the government could force citizens to buy health care, a gym membership or even the forced purchase of a car could be next, since jobs are needed in Detroit.

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Health Care Reform

Nevada Lawyer Says Health Care Reform Violates His Freedom Of Religion

Ryan J. Reilly | September 8, 2010, 9:41AM

Joel Hansen -- the Nevada conservative using some unique arguments in his suit challenging the new health care law -- told TPMMuckraker that his argument that health care reform imposed a form of slavery on the nation might not be his strongest argument, but it was a valid one.

"I think it is involuntary servitude, if they force you to buy a product," Hansen said. But, he noted, "It's not the same thing as the African-American slaves were under."

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Joel Hansen

Nevada Man Sues Over Health Care, Calls 'Socialistic' Law 'Involuntary Servitude'

Ryan J. Reilly | September 6, 2010, 9:08AM

In what he dubbed the crowning achievement of his life's work, Nevada Independent American Party attorney general candidate Joel Hansen filed last week what he said is the most comprehensive lawsuit against the health care law signed by President Barack Obama earlier this year.

Unlike separate suits filed by Virginia and a joint suit by several states that Hansen contends are too focused on the 10th Amendment, Hansen's suit alleges the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act violates a plethora of amendments: the First, the Third through Fifth, the Ninth, 10th and 13th.

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Ken Cuccinelli

Cuccinelli: Health Care Is 'Secondary' Issue In My Health Care Lawsuit

Zachary Roth | May 28, 2010, 1:38PM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

Presenting his lawsuit against health-care reform in apocalyptic and grandiose terms, Ken Cuccinelli has said that health-care itself is a "secondary" issue in the legal challenge. The real goal, the Virginia Attorney General acknowledges, is to limit federal power. "If we lose, it's very much the end of federalism as we've known it for over 220 years," he said.

Cuccinelli's comments came in response to the Justice Department's motion, filed earlier this week, to dismiss his lawsuit.

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Guns

New Gun-Rights Gambit Sweeping Nation: 'Firearms Freedom'

Zachary Roth | May 26, 2010, 9:24AM

Protestors come armed at the "Restore the Constitution" gun rights rally at Gravelly Point Park on the Potomac River in Alexandria, VA. on April 19, 2010

Supporters of gun rights have hit on a new gambit that ties in perfectly with the far-right's fears during the Obama era.

Under the rationale that the federal government only has the power to regulate issues that affect inter-state commerce, they've been pushing legislation in states from Florida to Alaska that would exempt guns and ammunition made within the state from federal gun laws. The idea is "the latest crack cocaine for gun-rights advocates," says Peter Hamm of the Brady Campaign.

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Tom Corbett

Penn. AG Subpoenas Twitter: A Move To Silence Critics?

Zachary Roth | May 20, 2010, 9:09AM

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett

Is the attorney general of Pennsylvania using his authority to go after political critics?

Tom Corbett, who this week won the GOP nomination in the state's gubernatorial race, has subpoenaed Twitter, demanding that it provide information about the people behind two accounts, reports TechCrunch. The subpoena refers to "alleged violations of the laws of Pennsylvania".

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NFIB

Getting Back On Grover's Good Side? Small-Business Lobby Joins Anti-HCR Suit

Zachary Roth | May 17, 2010, 3:10PM

Grover Norquist

Is a key business lobby group back on the right-wing reservation?

Earlier this year, Grover Norquist, the long-time majordomo of Washington's conservative alliance, called out the National Federation of Independent Businesses for not doing enough to fight President Obama's agenda. "The biggest hole in the center-right bloc is that the NFIB is not being the tribune of the masses on this," Norquist told National Journal in February. "Why is that? That is a fascinating question."

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Health Care Reform

Justice Department Offers First Response To Health-Care Reform Challenge

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2010, 8:46AM

Attorney General Eric Holder

The Justice Department has offered its first response to one of the lawsuits filed recently challenging the constitutionality of health-care reform. And it offers a strong indication of what the government's legal strategy will be as it seeks to defend against the spate of similar lawsuits.

In a filing in U.S. District Court in Michigan today, reports Main Justice, DOJ lawyers wrote that the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative legal group in that state, lacked standing to challenge the law, because the individual mandate -- the provision at issue -- won't go into effect until 2014. "They bring this suit four years before the provision they challenge takes effect, demonstrate no current injury, and merely speculate whether the law will harm them once it is in force," wrote the government's attorneys.

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Bob McDonnell

McDonnell Mum On Cuccinelli's Climate Science 'Witch Hunt'

Zachary Roth | May 6, 2010, 2:12PM

Virginia Att. Gov. Ken Cuccinelli and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell

Since news broke that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is conducting a fraud investigation into the work of a former UVA climate scientist who was caught up in the "Climate-Gate" controversy, reactions have been pouring in -- with even some climate skeptics slamming the probe as a threat to academic freedom.

But one interested observer has been noticeably mum: Governor Bob McDonnell.

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Ken Cuccinelli

Cuccinelli Targets 'Climate-Gate' Scientist

Zachary Roth | May 3, 2010, 12:05PM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and the Virginia state seal

Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's ambitious and deeply conservative attorney general, has launched two new fronts in his right-wing crusade: one absurd, the other deeply troubling.

Absurdity first: Cuccinelli recently handed out to his staff lapel pins with a redesigned version of the state seal, which shows the Roman goddess Virtus, or virtue, the Virginian-Pilot reported over the weekend. In the usual version of the seal, Virtus's left breast is exposed. In Cuccinelli's version, it's covered up.

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J.B. Van Hollen

Wisc. AG's Office Asked GOP Consultant For Advice On HCR Lawsuit

Zachary Roth | April 28, 2010, 12:57PM

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen

When Wisconsin attorney general J.B. Van Hollen announced last month that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of several other AGs by suing the federal government over health-care reform, he presented the issue as a pressing legal and constitutional priority. "Wisconsin must act to protect its sovereign interests and the interests of the citizens of this state by bringing an action to contest the constitutionality of the (law)," Van Hollen, a Republican, wrote in a letter to the governor.

That may be how he sees things. But emails released this week by Van Hollen's office suggest that politics was hardly absent from the initiative.

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Mark "Thor" Hearne

GOP Vote Suppression Expert Now Handling Anti-HCR Lawsuit

Zachary Roth | April 22, 2010, 9:37AM

Mark Hearne

A Republican operative who was behind a sophisticated effort to make it harder for poor people and minorities to vote is back in the news. He's handling Missouri's lawsuit against the health-care reform law.

Mark "Thor" Hearne has been hired by Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder to challenge the law's constitutionality. Several other states are bringing similar claims. Kinder is mounting a fundraising effort -- even launching a website -- to pay for the challenge to the law because the state's Democratic attorney general has declined to get involved.

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Oklahoma Militia

'Is It Scary? Sure It Is' -- Tea Partiers Want Oklahoma Militia

Zachary Roth | April 13, 2010, 3:15PM

State Sen. and gubernatorial candidate Randy Brogdon (R-OK)

Tea Party leaders in Oklahoma have been talking to Republican state legislators about introducing legislation to create a new volunteer militia, designed to protect against what they see as the federal government's infringements on state sovereignty, reports the Associated Press.

"Is it scary? It sure is," Tea Party leader Al Gerhart told the AP. "But when do the states stop rolling over for the federal government?"

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Carl Paladino

Tea Party NY Gov Candidate's E-Mails Exposed: Racism, Porn, Bestiality

Zachary Roth | April 12, 2010, 11:39AM

Carl Paladino

An online news outlet in New York state has obtained dozens of emails, many of them racist and sexually graphic, which it reports were sent by Carl Paladino, the Tea-Party-backed Republican candidate for governor of New York, to a long list of political and business associates. One email shows a video of an African tribal dance, entitled "Obama Inauguration Rehearsal," while another depicts hardcore bestiality.

Paladino's campaign manager, Michael Caputo, would not comment on specific emails, but acknowledged to TPMmuckraker that Paladino had sent emails that were "off-color" and "politically incorrect," saying that few such emails represented the candidate's own opinion. Caputo accused Democrats of wanting to change the subject from substantive issues to "having sex with horses."

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Goldwater Institute

Group That May Bring Health-Care Lawsuit Is Backed By Big-Name Conservative Funders

Zachary Roth | April 7, 2010, 11:14AM

Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ)

A conservative think tank that's funded by several prominent backers of right-wing causes may bring a lawsuit over health-care reform on behalf of the governor of Arizona.

The Goldwater Institute has offered to bring the suit for free, and Gov. Jan Brewer is considering the offer, a spokeswoman for the institute told TPMmuckraker.

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Ken Cuccinelli

Far-Right Virginia AG Launches PAC

Zachary Roth | April 7, 2010, 10:00AM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's far-right attorney general, has launched a political action committee to bolster his influence within state politics.

"Liberty Now" is designed to "support the efforts of Ken Cuccinelli in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and to elect Republicans to non-federal offices in the Commonwealth of Virginia," according to a filing made by the organization with the IRS last month.

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Health Care Reform

Debate Planners Can't Find Anyone to Argue That Health Reform Is Unconstitutional

Zachary Roth | March 31, 2010, 10:09AM

From left, Attorneys General Bill McCollum (FL), Ken Cuccinelli (VA) and Henry McMaster (SC)

The University of Washington tried to organize a debate on whether the health-care reform bill is constitutional. But it couldn't find a law professor to argue that it isn't, reports the Seattle Times.

"I will say that we tried very hard to get a professor who could come and who thinks this is flat-out unconstitutional," said the moderator. "But there are relatively few of them, and they are in great demand."

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Minuteman Civil Defense Corps

Minuteman Leader: When I Said To Come To The Border Locked And Loaded, I Didn't Mean Locked And Loaded

Zachary Roth | March 29, 2010, 10:07AM

A member of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC), the Arizona-based anti-illegal-immigration group whose members keep watch on the border, is disbanding as a national organization, after its leader asked for volunteers to come "locked, loaded, and ready," then got more than she bargained for.

On March 16, Minuteman president Carmen Mercer sent out an email to members, urging them to come to the border "locked, loaded and ready," reports the Arizona Daily Star. She added: "You are strongly encouraged to exercise your rights and duty as an American citizen to carry a long arm and if challenged use it to defend the United States of America." Mercer also suggested changing the group's rules to allow members to track illegal immigrants and drug smugglers, rather than just reporting them to the Border Patrol.

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Tea Parties

Feeling The Heat, Tea Partiers Denounce Violence

Zachary Roth | March 26, 2010, 1:12PM

Tea party in Hartford, Connecticut in 2009

Tea Partiers and others on the right are starting to distance themselves from the recent spate of violence and racism that has characterized the opposition to health-care reform.

In a letter to President Obama and Congress released yesterday, an alliance of Florida Tea Party groups called the Tea Party movement "a peaceful movement" and declared that they "stand in stark opposition to any person using derogatory characterizations, threats of violence, or disparaging terms toward members of Congress or the President."

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Jim Gibbons

NV Gov To AG: C'Mon, Get Us In On That Health-Care Lawsuit

Zachary Roth | March 26, 2010, 11:23AM

Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV)

We've told you about the 13 state attorneys general who have filed suit to get health-care reform declared unconstitutional. But spare a thought for another state official who's desperate to get in on the fun too -- but so far in vain.

That's Gov. Jim Gibbons of Nevada. On Wednesday, the GOP governor called on his state's attorney general, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, to sign the Silver State onto the lawsuit, citing a state law that gives the governor the power to direct that legal action be taken "to protect and secure the interest" of the state.

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Bill McCollum

Florida AG's Lead Role On Lawsuit

Zachary Roth | March 26, 2010, 9:46AM

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum

Florida Attorney General Bob McCollum, in the midst of a run for governor, is eager to take credit for leading the effort to get health-care reform struck down by the courts.

McCollum and 12 of his fellow state AGs, all but one Republican, filed suit earlier this week in Federal Court in the northern district of Florida, arguing that the law is unconstitutional. (We assessed the lawsuit's slim chances of success here.) And now McCollum's office has explained to TPMmuckraker how he quarterbacked the effort.

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David Frum

Days After Lambasting GOP, Frum Leaves AEI

Zachary Roth | March 25, 2010, 6:54PM

David Frum

David Frum, the conservative pundit and former Bush White House speechwriter, has left his perch at the American Enterprise Institute -- with some observers wondering whether the move was triggered by his recent criticism of the GOP.

Today, Frum posted on his blog a note he had sent to AEI President Arthur Brooks:

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Stephen Green

Pajamas Media Editor: Let's Bring Back Tar And Feathering -- And Maybe More

Justin Elliott | March 25, 2010, 12:42PM

Stephen Green

In a blog post yesterday on the climate of threats surrounding health care reform, an editor and radio host employed by the Pajamas Media conservative blog outlet called for a return to the "fine tradition" of tar and feathering, and potentially even more extreme acts of violence.

In the post, titled "Put the Fear of Something Into Them," Pajamas' Denver Editor Stephen Green riffed on the recent threats and attacks on Democrats and concluded:

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David Rivkin

Behind The Lawsuit: Florida AG Turned To Beltway Fixture -- And Old Lobbying Pal -- For Health-Care Challenge

Zachary Roth | March 25, 2010, 11:42AM

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and attorney David Rivkin, Jr.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has so far served as the public face for the legal challenge to the constitutionality of health-care reform. But on the legal heavy-lifting, McCollum has had help from a top member of Washington's conservative legal establishment and former Bush 41 White House lawyer, who once teamed up with the AG as a lobbyist.

David Rivkin, a lawyer with white-shoe DC firm Baker Hostetler, told TPMmuckraker that McCollum personally asked him to get involved with the lawsuit, once it appeared that the reform bill would indeed finally pass. "McCollum approached me on behalf of himself and several other AGs," said Rivkin, who along with Lee Casey, another Baker Hostetler lawyer, is listed on the lawsuit as "of counsel."

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Health Care Reform

Angry Perriello: Boehner's Statement On Threats Was 'Outrageous' (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | March 25, 2010, 9:58AM

Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA)

Following the incident in which someone cut a gas line at his brother's home -- whose address had been posted online by tea partiers -- Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) says he isn't satisfied with a statement from Minority Leader John Boehner on threats against Democrats.

Boehner's statement said in part, "But, as I've said, violence and threats are unacceptable. That's not the American way. We need to take that anger and channel it into positive change."

Asked about it on CNN this morning, Perriello replied:

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Health Care Reform

MAP: A Guide To Recent Vandal Attacks On Democrats (UPDATED)

Justin Elliott | March 24, 2010, 5:19PM

Smashed windows. Threats of violence. A slashed gas line. Reports of vandalism and threats against Democrats have been stacking up over the past few days.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer today estimated that 10 members had been threatened over the health care vote.

So just how bad is it out there?

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Ken Cuccinelli

VA Dems To AG: How Much Is Anti-HCR Lawsuit Costing Taxpayers?

Zachary Roth | March 24, 2010, 2:07PM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

The Democratic push-back against the GOP-led bid to challenge the constitutionality of health-care reform is gaining steam.

Virginia Democrats announced today that they've filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, seeking information on the amount of taxpayer money being spent on the lawsuit Cuccinelli filed yesterday, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

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Health Care Reform

Taitz Challenges Constitutionality Of Health Reform: It Blocks My Right To Practice Dentistry

Justin Elliott | March 24, 2010, 8:57AM

Orly Taitz

Joining a distinguished group of state attorneys general in challenging the constitutionality of the health reform legislation, now comes Orly Taitz, who in a new federal court filing argues that the bill violates her "right" to practice dentistry.

Along with her lawyerly pursuits, Taitz operates a dental office in Rancho Santa Margarita, California.

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Health Care

Justice Department: 'We Will Prevail' In Health-Care Reform Lawsuit

Zachary Roth | March 23, 2010, 6:04PM

From left, Attorneys General Bill McCollum (FL), Ken Cuccinelli (VA) and Henry McMaster (SC)

The Justice Department is already signaling its willingness to "vigorously defend" the health-care reform law that has been challenged as unconstitutional by a group of attorneys general.

In a statement to Main Justice, a DOJ spokesman said:

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Health Care Reform

Vandals Attack Dem Offices Nationwide

Justin Elliott | March 23, 2010, 1:00PM

Vandals smashed doors and windows at five Democratic offices around the country in the days surrounding the landmark House health care vote Sunday night, and a right-wing blogger in Alabama is taking credit for starting a so-called "window war."

Here are the reports we've seen from around the country on the mini-epidemic of brick-throwing:

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Health Care Reform

Fat Paydays For Key Players On Both Sides Of Health Care Debate

Justin Elliott | March 18, 2010, 2:55PM

Key players in the year-long fight over health care reform -- including heavyweights like PhRMA's Billy Tauzin and Karen Ignagni of America's Health Insurance Plans -- rake in huge annual salaries, according to tax filings.

New IRS rules require non-profits, including trade associations representing health care stakeholders, to disclose more salary information than ever before, a development first reported on by Roll Call.

So TPMmuckraker decided to take a look at what the lobbyists and leaders of these organizations make for a day's work.

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Tea Parties

All The Tea In China: Conservative Activists Gather At Hunan Dynasty For Anti-Reform Press Conference

Zachary Roth | March 9, 2010, 6:01PM

A coalition of Tea Party groups will gather in a Chinese restaurant on Capitol Hill tonight to announce plans for one final Washington showdown over health-care reform.

The event, dubbed "Take the Town Halls to Washington," is designed to bring Tea Party activists to Capitol Hill during the month of March, in order to target 50 House Democrats who have not yet announced their vote on health-care reform, according to a press release. It's being put together by Mark Skoda, a prime organizer of last month's controversial National Tea Party Convention, where Sarah Palin was the keynote speaker, and by Michael Patrick Leahy, a Tea Party leader and GOP consultant.

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