Cuccinelli

‘You Said It’s What You’re Going to Do’

June 13, 2017 by GregC

Senate Republican leaders are not offering an specifics on their health care reform bill but reports of critical concessions in at least three major areas leave skeptical conservatives worried that years worth of Obamacare repeal promises are wilting before our eyes.

In recent weeks, reports have described the difficulty of Republicans in cobbling together 50 or 51 votes to advance an Obamacare overhaul. As a result, leaders are reportedly considering a more generous approach to Medicare expansion, effectively adopting the Obamacare approach to people with pre-existing conditions and, most recently, allowing tax payer funding of Planned Parenthood to continue.

Former Virginia Attorney General and current Senate Conservatives Fund President Ken Cuccinelli says efforts to make everyone happy appear to have taken any meaningful teeth out of the legislation.

“I’m concerned anytime (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell is talking the way he is. A deal to Mitch McConnell to you and me means capitulation,” said Cuccinelli, who was also the 2013 Republican nominee for Virginia governor.

He says if McConnell embraces a badly watered-down bill, he is breaking promises he clearly made while running for re-election in 2014.

“I remember, ‘Root and branch. We’re going to pull it out root and branch,'” said Cuccinelli, mimicking McConnell’s 2014 declaration. “[He ] paid for over 30,000 anti-Obamacare ads in October alone for his re-election in 2014. He apparently had no intention of keeping those promises.”

But it wasn’t just McConnell. Every Republican senator has campaigned on addressing Obamacare, with the vast majority vowing to repeal and replace the 2010 law. What has changed now that the GOP is in a position to do something about it?

“A lot of them lie. That’s the sad truth that is now being brought home to us,” said Cuccinelli, who also has no use for the argument that dealing with Obamacare is far more complex than a simple repeal vote.

“They love to tell us how complicated it is. What that means is, ‘You’re stupid and I’m the smart senator. You don’t know what you’re talking about so you should just adopt my soft, unprincipled position that, oh by the way, is not what I campaigned on,'” said Cuccinelli.

“It’s demeaning to the American people. It’s patronizing. It’s elitist and it’s a lie,” said Cuccinelli.

Rather than try to mollify every critic, Cuccinelli says there’s a much simpler way for lawmakers to proceed – do what they promised voters they would do.

“They didn’t say, ‘We’re going to undo parts of it.’ They didn’t say, ‘This is complicated and I’m going to simplify it.’ They said they were going to repeal it. There was a good article by one of the Fox (News) contributors a little while ago about simply doing what you say you’re going to do.

“Will some people not like it? Yeah, some people will not like it, but you said it’s what you were going to do,” said Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli points to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial effort to ease the grip of unions on state government as an example of honoring your word in a tough environment.

“We saw the largest protest in the state capital we have ever seen, 100,000 people. They physically shut the place down with their obstruction. Scott Walker and the Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature soldiered on and did what they said they would do,” said Cuccinelli.

He says the voters ultimately rewarded that consistency when opponents were able to put a recall election on the ballot.

“Guess what? The people who had been largely silent, the people of Wisconsin, came back out and returned Scott Walker to office with essentially the same margin as his first election. He got re-elected again three years after that,” said Cuccinelli.

“The moral of the story is even when people disagree with you, they respect it when you keep your word, even when it’s hard,” said Cuccinelli.

While the House has passed a bill, Cuccinelli says it also is not what voters were promised. He says President Trump’s biggest mistake was to let GOP leaders lead the process.

“One of the mistakes…was for the White House to turn this over to (House Speaker) Paul Ryan. What they got was a donor bill. They did not get a repeal bill. That’s what the House leadership does. They caucus with donors,” said Cuccinelli.

Contending that repealing the burdensome regulations in Obamacare is of top priority, Cuccinelli points out that the House bill only address one and a half out of 24 key regulations in the law.

Cuccinelli was the first attorney general in the United States to challenge the Affordable Care Act in court after it was passed into law. He doesn’t understand why Republicans in Washington don’t just vote on a full repeal.

“They ought to put a real repeal bill up and have a vote. If you lose Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, that’s still 50 (votes). And Rand Paul will vote for a real repeal. He just won’t vote for the other junk. Then the vice president can break that tie,” said Cuccinelli.

He also says it’s not out of the question for vulnerable Democrats up for re-election in red states next year to get on board.

Cuccinelli and other conservatives balked at the original version of the House’s American Health Care Act, or AHCA. Most conservatives only got on board after amendments were added to ensure premiums would not increase, even in the short term.

Cuccinelli sees a lot of the same problems emerging in the Senate.

“If we get to an insurance situation instead of a mandate situation, then the bill may be OK. But if you’re having community rating and forcing pre-existing conditions, it’s not insurance any longer. It’s a welfare program, which is what Obamacare is right now.

“Until they move it from a welfare program to insurance, where risk is assessed and priced and the market can determine where people land, then it’s not going to be an acceptable bill,” said Cuccinelli.

And would these concessions impact costs to consumers?

“It isn’t going to lower premiums, critically. All the while, Obamacare is crashing around their ears. It’s amazing. How destroyed does this concept have to be until they reject it. This is classic government. ‘If it’s broke, do more of what you did before,'” said Cuccinelli.

The reported consideration allowing taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood would be designed to assuage Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Cuccinelli says Murkowski’s stand on this component is particularly galling.

“Lisa Murkoswki has been against funding Planned Parenthood during her campaigns and has viciously fought for it after she’s elected. This is not the first time for Sen. Murkowski to lie to Alaskans about this and to flip back to her pro-abortion position,” said Cuccinelli, asserting no one with that record should be a chairman in a GOP-run Senate.

Standard Podcast [ 12:21 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

‘This Is A Really Terrible Piece of Legislation’

March 8, 2017 by GregC

The first man to sue the federal government over the Affordable Care Act says Republicans are breaking their campaign promises to repeal the health care law and are instead abandoning free market principles with legislation that will make health care even worse and let the Democrats off the hook for the blame.

Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli III launched the first constitutional challenge to the law, widely known as Obamacare, in 2010. His efforts, along with others, ultimately ended in a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision that saved President Obama’s most significant domestic policy.

Late Monday, House Republicans unveiled the text of the American Health Care Act and promoted as a means of getting Washington out of health care, reducing costs and regulations and setting the stage for market-based reforms.

But Cuccinelli says the bill is nothing more than a GOP version of Obamacare.

“This is a sloppy Democrat bill. The people who call this Obamacare-lite are wrong. It’s not lite. It’s just a Republican form. This is a really terrible piece of legislation on its own merits. It’s even worse when you realize this is what’s supposed to pass for keeping their promise to actually repeal Obamacare,” said Cuccinelli.

He says any members trying to keep their promise to repeal the law have to vote against it.

“The problem for conservatives is if it doesn’t really mean actually getting rid of Obamacare and all of the worst features of it, then it should be voted against,” he said.

“Otherwise, it’s an adoption by the Republicans of all the worst elements of Obamacare. They’re going to own the consequences. They’re going to own those price increases and health insurance increases, which will keep happening,” said Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli says it will be up to congressional Republicans to get this right because President Trump has yet to wade into many specifics.

“Whatever bill gets to the president’s desk, he’s going to sign it. He was very unspecific in the campaign. They’ve been very unspecific in the last week or two. Clearly, they just want to check this box and ‘get it done,’ whatever that means,” said Cuccinelli.

Republicans ran on repealing Obamacare in the past four election cycles. The issue was largely responsible for the GOP takeover of the House of Representatives in 2010 and the Senate in 2014. Cuccinelli says the promise resonated with voters, so it makes no sense to abandon that mission now.

“They’re all running around, at least leadership is, afraid that they’ll upset somebody. Well, I’ve got news for you. People are already upset, and it isn’t a question of whether people are upset after you do whatever you’re going to do. If that’s all you care about, what will they be more upset about: doing what you said you would or going in another direction?” said Cuccinelli.

“If you go in another direction to appease a constituency you didn’t rely on to get elected, what you’ve succeeded in doing is ticking everyone off. That’s the direction Republicans are headed right now,” Cuccinelli.

But Cuccinelli goes a step farther. He says Republicans are really abandoning a full repeal because they do not actually want a market-based health care system.

“They don’t want the regulations to go away. That’s their dirty little secret. They don’t want market-based health care. They want big government control, even though someday it’s all going to come crashing down just because of how bankrupt it will all be,” said Cuccinelli.

He says GOP leaders have gotten comfortable turning to government to address problems.

“Let’s take (House Speaker) Paul Ryan for instance. Paul Ryan has never done anything in his adult life except be in government. It’s his solution to every perceived problem. He doesn’t rely on the market. He doesn’t trust the one force in the history of the world that has raised more people up out of poverty than any other, and that’s free market capitalism,” said Cuccinelli.

So what does Cuccinelli specifically see s the biggest problems with the GOP bill?

“There were 24 major regulations with Obamacare. Under Ryancare, 22 and a half of those stay in place. And of course we get blessed with a brand new entitlement. I don’t know if anybody in the Republican leadership noticed, but we are bankrupt. They do nothing really to resolve that problem,” said Cuccinelli.

“They make no move toward a market-based approach to health care. There’s no expansion of freedom and there’s no reason for people to want to become a doctor any more than under Obamacare,” he added

Supporters of the GOP point out that this legislation needs to start the reform process because it can pass through reconciliation, meaning a simple majority in both chambers can get the job done. They also suggest Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price can tackle most of the regulations unilaterally. Then, they say market-based ideas can come in later legislation.

Cuccinelli isn’t buying it.

“I could swallow [all of that] a whole lot more easily if the first bill was a repeal bill. So if you want us to trust you, then you do what you said you were going to do. Is that really too much to ask? Just do what you’ve been promising for seven years,” said Cuccinelli.

“Don’t put it on Tom Price to get rid of the regulations. You do it in the legislation. You do it as part of the vote. It’s what repealing means,” said Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli says Republicans had no problem passing a full repeal in 2015 so there’s no good reason not to pass it again.

“All of them have voted on that bill. Were they lying then when they voted on it? It sure seems like it now. Why not just pass a true repeal again?” he said.

“They were loudly speechifying back then. Now they’re using scare tactics to say, ‘Those of you people who want to hold us up for this repeal bill are for Obamacare,” said Cuccinelli.

“That is the worst kind of ducking of a debate on the substance of an important, important issue to every family in America. And it’s a dodge on their campaign promises. They’re all breaking their promises and making liars out of themselves,” said Cuccinelli.

Standard Podcast [ 13:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

‘Making Decisions Based on What the Law Says’

February 9, 2017 by GregC

Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says the confirmation of Jeff Sessions means we will once again have a Justice Department that follows the law and he says the way Democrats treated Sessions could mean fewer of them in the Senate after the 2018 elections.

After eight years of Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch running the Justice Department, Cuccinelli says Sessions will be a breath of fresh air.

“Simply making decisions based on what the law says would be a radical change at the Department of Justice, as would the appearance of justice,” said Cuccinelli, who served four years as the top law enforcement official in Virginia.

While hoping to see many changes compared to the Obama years, Cuccinelli says one of Sessions’ top goals should be to stop federal agencies from granting themselves power that the law does not grant them.

“They have to stop backing up executive agencies, including the department itself, in expanding the law. They need to focus on containing government within the law. That includes everything from silly stuff like transgender bathrooms being covered by gender discrimination all the way up to agencies attempting to create new regulatory arenas for themselves and this vastly increase their power,” said Cuccinelli.

President Trump has already talked about his desire to roll back the ability of the government to grab more power. But Cuccinelli says that effort really needs to be rooted at the Justice Department.

“The legal oompf for all of that comes from the Department of Justice and having Sessions there – someone who’s committed to the rule of law and to reining in the federal government and not using it to exercise power – is going to be a very welcome change,” said Cuccinelli.

One specific area Cuccinelli expects to see great improvement in is the Justice Department’s relationship with law enforcement.

“These are people going to bat to protect you and me who have not had the back of the government. Frankly, it’s been the opposite. They’ve had to worry about getting prosecuted just for doing their job. That day is over thanks to the ascension of Jeff Sessions as the attorney general,” said Cuccinelli.

However, Cuccinelli reminds Sessions and all Americans that attorney general is different than every other cabinet position.

“When it comes to matters of policy, the attorney general does what the president wants. When it comes to matters of law, the attorney general does what the law dictates regardless of what the president wants,” said Cuccinelli.

“As opposed to what we’ve seen for the past eight years, I am confident that Sessions is going to be an attorney general who is actually going to uphold both sides of that deal for the American people,” said Cuccinelli.

On Wednesday, Sessions was confirmed by the Senate on a 52-47 vote. Only Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, crossed the aisle to back Sessions.

The confirmation process featured heated debate, including Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that Sessions should be rejected for his record on race and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was booted from the debate for allegedly disparaging Sessions in her floor speech.

Cuccinelli says the vitriol coming from Democrats is telling.

“They’re playing to a rabid left-wing base that is wildly out of touch with just ordinary Americans,” said Cuccinelli, who says the Democrats never found substantive reasons to oppose Sessions.

“There’s just nothing that they can point to other than generating their own allegations for complaints. He is a nice guy. He is an intelligent individual. He believes what he believes and that is somewhat different than the lefties there. Nonetheless, the way he conducts himself even in those situations has never given any of them cause for complaint before,” said Cuccinelli.

He believes Booker and Warren lodged their fierce protests for the sake of their own self-promotion. He notes Booker recently lavished praise on Sessions in public after they worked together, but then turned and accused Sessions of being racially biased.

“I don’t care what the project is. If I think you’re a racist, I will never stand next to you and tell the world what a great guy you are,” said Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli is also president of the Senate Conervatives Fund, which recruits and contributes to conservative U.S. Senate candidates. The group has frequently clashed with establishment Republicans and the national party, but right now Cuccinelli sees great opportunities as Democrats have to defend the vast majority of Senate seats in 2018.

“I fully expect Republicans to gain seats. The only question is how many. The biggest targets of them all are going to be Democrats in states that President Trump won,” said Cuccinelli.

Three years after narrowly losing the governor’s race in Virginia, Cuccinelli will not be a Senate candidate against Tim Kaine in 2018. However, he believes the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee is vulnerable too.

“This is an eminently winnable state and Sen. Kaine has really accomplished nothing and has become more radicalized, certainly much more so than the average voter in Virginia, than his time in the Senate,” said Cuccinelli.

Standard Podcast [ 10:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download