NASHVILLE - Tennessee Republican candidates are condemning the federal health care overhaul approved Sunday night by the U.S. House with one GOP gubernatorial contender calling it a "disaster for Tennessee citizens" and the state's balanced budget requirements.
Charging the measure "will raise taxes on Tennessee citizens while stripping away the right to control one's own medical decisions," Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, a Republican gubernatorial candidate Monday urged State Attorney General Bob Cooper to challenge the measure's constitutionality in court.
Democratic candidates for governor Kim McMillan and Mike McWherter so far have been silent on Sunday's vote.
U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., another GOP gubernatorial candidate, in a statement called the bill "unconstitutional" and "an extraordinary government takeover of one-sixth of our economy. We need to stand against it with everything that we have."
The New Republican, a liberal publication, reported on its Web site that before Sunday's vote, the Chattanooga congressman joined colleagues in wandering out to a Capitol balcony. It described how Rep. Wamp "snatched up a discarded poster board, propped it against a column, and, black marker in hand, began gleefully writing "Let's Meet 'em at the State Line' in big block letters."
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bill Haslam, Knoxville's mayor, in a news release called the bill an "intolerable expansion of federal power and a reminder of the incredible arrogance of Washington. The Obama administration and Congress chose to defy the majority of Americans and the governors of most states, including our own."
Shelby County District Attorney and Republican candidate for governor Bill Gibbons said Congress "has acted irresponsibly by enacting a so-called health care reform bill that imposes huge unfunded mandates on state governments. If this legislation ultimately becomes law, it will take state funding away from job development projects, our schools, and public safety."
TENNESSEE'S VOTE
Six of Tennessee's nine congressmen voted against the bill. All four Republicans voted "no," but so did U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., and U.S. Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn.
"Having analyzed this issue ... there are reasons why I could not support this legislation," Rep. Davis said. "One of the main reasons, if not the most important, being that the overwhelming majority of the constituents I represent opposed this plan, regardless of their party affiliation."
But U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., voted for the measure, noting in a floor statement that after analyzing the bill, he believes the "bottom line is that this legislation offers the only realistic hope that most Americans have for getting a fair deal in today's private health insurance markets. This is not a government takeover of those markets, but a way to encourage better private-market competition."
But Rep. Cooper cast a "no" vote against the reconciliation bill, called the "fix-it bill." The vote on the reconciliation bill followed the vote on the Senate reform legislation.
REFORM AS CAMPAIGN FODDER
Third Congressional District hopeful Robin Smith said that in "their fanatical drive to tighten their grip on our freedoms, Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama have sentenced our people to rationed care, taxpayer funding of abortions, cuts in benefits to our seniors, higher taxes and turned their back on the legacy of liberty this nation represents."
Another 3rd Congressional District candidate, Chuck Fleischmann, said that he has "pledged to work to repeal ObamaCare when I am elected in November, and I reaffirm that commitment now more than ever."
Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble, another 3rd District candidate, said the bill will "compound our out-of-control debt." If elected, he said, "I will work hard to repeal this piece of truly destructive legislation and replace it with a fiscally responsible alternative."
Third Congressional District Republican hopeful Art Rhodes, said "I am deeply disappointed - I would say even disgusted - that the House has passed a health care bill that will change the direction of our country for the worse."