Faced with a federal mandate of next January to show that they are making progress, Richmond legislators have dilly-dallied past the problem, many apparently fearful that too much action on setting up state-run exchanges for people to shop for health insurance will bring on conservative wrath.
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Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has been publicly silent recently on the legislative debate, but it is clear where he stands. He wants the state to avoid setting up exchanges until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on Obamacare. As a potential GOP vice presidential candidate, he hardly wants to get too far ahead on a federal program despised by the right wing.
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With the clock ticking on this year’s session, it seems likely that nothing will get done. This once again raises the question of state vs. federal rights — one in which Virginia has a dark past. There is a tendency in the Old Dominion to ignore federal laws or court rulings it doesn’t like. The shining example is Massive Resistance, in which the state’s official policy was not to integrate schools and close many down rather than bow to the legal power of the U.S. Supreme Court.
There are echoes of that movement in what we’re seeing today.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-opinions-are-local/post/foot-dragging-on-obamacare/2011/03/10/gIQA3I5f1Q_blog.html
Hat tip: Washington Post/ All Opinions Are Local/ Peter Galuszka writes at: Bacon's Rebellion
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