State AGs join to fight Obama's reelection

March 6th, 2012

Washington Examiner:

Choking on dozens of new and costly federal regulations, several Republican state attorneys general on Monday pledged to hit the campaign trail against President Obama, calling his administration the most oppressive ever.

Their fear: A reelected Obama will unleash more regulations governing health care, the environment and labor relations that now has a majority of the states -- 29 -- suing the federal government for overstepping its authority.

“Most people who have to face reelection are usually restrained in their first term because they know they have to face the voters one more time,” said South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson. “I shudder to think, hesitate, scary to think of what would happen if President Obama is reelected in November and would not have to face the voters of this country again. If this is restraint now, I can’t imagine in a second term what would happen.”

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is leading the effort to get his colleagues on the campaign trail to warn against an Obama second term. “It’s important for [voters] to understand what’s at stake in this election,” he said.

At a press conference with eight other attorneys generals, Cuccinelli said that new federal regulations are costing Virginians money and jobs. He added that “this is not about policy, that’s what elections are for.” Instead, he charged that Obama is pushing new mandates on states that are unconstitutional. “We have become the last line of defense against an out-of-control administration,” he said.

While it’s not new that states are complaining about federal rules related to the environment, Obamacare and labor relations, organizing by attorneys generals against the president is unprecedented. Explained Wilson, Obama’s administration is “the worst in the history of the country.”

A report from Cuccinelli’s group on letterhead of the Republican Attorneys General Association, said politics is not at play. “Those disagreements are not what serve as the basis for this effort. For example, this administration makes many decisions and takes numerous actions that Republican attorneys find politically ignorant or flawed from a policy standpoint. However, that does not make those decisions or actions illegal. The purpose of this report is to outline actions taken by the administration that are violations of law.”