Republican Controlled Prince William Board of Supervisors Passes Resolution to Send Cooch a Letter Thanking Him for Frivolous Health Care Reform Lawsuit

In a press release from the Prince William County Democratic Committee today, Chair Pete Frisbie blasted the Republican controlled Prince William County Board of Supervisors for voting to send a thank you note to Cuccinelli (R-VA) for his lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new federal health care reform law.

As I previously wrote, this lawsuit has little (actually, ZERO) chance of being successful on constitutional grounds and would come at a very steep cost to taxpayers. Instead of filing frivolous lawsuits, Cuccinelli and Gov. McDonnell (R-VA) should focus on using our currently scarce dollars to fully fund education and fix our transportation problems.

All I can say is wow. I thought the current Stafford County Board of Supervisors were nuts. This takes the cake! Here’s the press release from Pete:

The Republican controlled Prince William County Board of Supervisors have passed a motion along a party line vote to send a letter to Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to thank him for protecting their rights as a result of the law suit against the federal government on the health care reform law on the behalf of all of the residents of Prince William County. This is yet another frivolous lawsuit filed against the Federal Government by Virginia’s right wing ideologue Attorney General.

Click here (Go to the 5:00 mark) to watch the debate and the vote amongst our supervisors for yourself

There was no citizen input on this directive from the Board of Supervisors. The Board has no jurisdiction over the federal health care legislation yet they are spending your taxpayer money on letters when our school system just cut $50 million from their budget.

Board Chairman Corey Stewart has even said that he will bring forth a proposal to the Board of Supervisors to ensure that Prince William County will refuse to implement the health care law that was signed by President Obama.

These actions have become typical of the Republicans on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. Please tell Supervisors Corey Stewart (R-At Large), John Stirrup (R-Gainesville, Mike May (R-Occoquan), Marty Nohe (R-Coles), Maureen Caddigan (R-Dumfries), and Wally Covington (R-Brentsville) to stop wasting our tax dollars on their personal political agendas.

We urge them to focus on the issues that face Prince William County every day — such as home foreclosures, rising utility costs, cuts to our school system and predatory loans — rather than writing letters, resolutions or proposals that support frivolous lawsuits against the federal government.

Help us remind our Supervisors of the priorities that matter to Prince William County residents like you and me and lay the groundwork to take back the Board of Supervisors.

Contact these Republicans Supervisors here…

Thanks so much for everything you are doing to stand with Prince William’s families and support the values we share.

Sincerely,

Pete Frisbie

Chair, Prince William County Democratic Committee

The Cooch has apparently met his match in crazy in Prince William County Chairman-At-Large Corey Stewart (R-Prince William). As Pete notes above, Stewart actually

proposed to refuse to implement what he regards as a costly, unconstitutional Federal mandate. He intends to submit a proposal for consideration by the Board of County Supervisors[, which will refuse to implement the new federal health care reform law in Prince William County].

He made these comments at a recent Prince William County Republican Convention held to select party leadership. He also praised the Tea Party movement and drew comparisons between this movement and the movement that drafted the Declaration of Independence. What a complete nut!

Here’s the resolution that passed, courtesy of the Prince William County Democratic Committee:

MOTION: STIRRUP March 23, 2010 Regular Meeting SECOND: COVINGTON Res. No. 10-243 RE: LETTER THANKING THE VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE EFFORTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA TO CHALLENGE THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE FEDERAL PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT ACTION: APPROVED WHEREAS, the U.S. Congress passed on March 21, 2010, and the President of the United States signed into law on March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA); and

WHEREAS, on March 23, 2010 the Commonwealth of Virginia filed suit against Kathleen Sebelius in her official capacity as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for the United States seeking to declare the PPACA unconstitutional (Commonwealth v. Kathleen Sebelius); and

WHEREAS, many other States and private organizations are also seeking to challenge the constitutionality of the PPACA through the federal courts;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Prince William Board of County Supervisors wishes to thank the Virginia Attorney General for his efforts, for protecting the rights of Prince William County residents, and to wish him good luck on his efforts.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Prince William County Attorney’s Office is instructed to look into whether or not the Prince William Board of County Supervisors could file an amicus curiae brief in support of the Commonwealth’s position in Commonwealth v. Kathleen Sebelius.

Votes: Ayes: Caddigan, Covington, May, Nohe, Stewart, Stirrup Nays: Jenkins, Principi Absent from Vote: None Absent from Meeting: None

And here’s the subsequent letter from Stewart, also courtesy of the Prince William Democratic Committee:

Board Letter Thanking Cuccinelli

The Honorable Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II

900 East Main Street

Sixth Floor

Richmond, Virginia 23219

Dear Attorney General Cuccinelli:

Attached please find a copy of a Resolution of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. On behalf of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, I am writing to thank you for your efforts regarding your recent law suit Commonwealth v. Kathleen Sebelius.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA), which was signed by the President of the United States on March 23, 2010 creates a template for federal action that will affect all levels of government and all citizens for years to come. The Prince William Board of County Supervisors would like to thank you for protecting our residents’ rights by filing this action.

Thank you for your leadership on this very important issue. We wish you good luck on your efforts.

Sincerely,

Corey A. Stewart

Chairman

Attachment

Cc: Board of County Supervisors

County Attorney

County Executive

Virginia Congressional Delegation

Cucinelli’s going to need more then luck to win an unwinnable case. I applaud Pete for standing up to the Republican fringe, which is becoming all too common place throughout the Commonwealth, and being the voice of sensibility and fiscal responsibility on behalf of all Prince William residents.