Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday said the national health care plan could cost California billions. Gubernatorial hopeful and current Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner also chimed in with similar sentiments, followed by his Republican opponent Meg Whitman. And so are the three Republicans seeking to replace Senator Barbara Boxer in the November election.
But if California is going to officially challenge Obama and congress on the landmark legislation, Republicans are going to have to get through to Attorney General Jerry Brown, who is also running for Governor.
"Thirteen attorneys general, all but one are Republican, are rushing to kill the federal health care bill by filing lawsuits alleging that the bill violates states' rights," he said in a statement on Tuesday. "Here in California, a handful of Republican leaders have followed suit and are asking that I join in. Accordingly, I've instructed deputies in my office to carefully review these claims in light of applicable constitutional principles. Health care is not the place, with people's lives at stake, to engage in poisonous partisanship. At this critical time in our nation's history, we need to come together to forge a common purpose."