KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasI-Team: Gov. Gibbons Wants to Sue Feds Over Health Care Changes
LAS VEGAS -- Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons sat down to explain his plans to use state lawyers to stop health care reform and get his education reforms pushed through Carson City.
The governor is upset on two fronts: First he wants state staff to write up his education bills for a pending special session and he'll sue to get it done. But the more controversial move would be to sue the federal government over what Gibbons calls an illegal health care package. He says the price tag is irrelevant.
"I am not going to sacrifice our position in protecting the constitution of the United States for that matter because I'll move some other priority to a different priority in litigation and we'll go after this constitutional protection," he said. "Whatever the cost is, our Constitution is worth protecting."
The governor is upset about the publicized vote trading done in the United States Senate over healthcare. To shore up support, Democrat leaders like Majority Leader Harry Reid offered concessions to Nebraska, Maine and Louisiana in exchange for yes votes.
This time-worn tactic is called log rolling or vote trading. It isn't pretty, but it's common in politics.
"This is not vote trading," he said. "This is clear buying off a vote."
Gibbons, a former Congressman, denies trading a vote for an issue he needed in Nevada. "Never did it. Never was asked to do it. Never would do it," he said.
Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez-Masto would have final say over any lawsuit, no matter what the governor believes or wants. Since no final bill has been finalized or passed, the AG is unlikely to take a position.
The cost issue also comes into play with the ongoing budget woes and a promise of a $50,000 a day special session looming. The governor has already asked departments to prep for 10-percent cuts. Now there may be more spending from his office to go along with it.
