(CNN) - On the same day a federal judge examined his lawsuit challenging President Obama's health care law, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster launched a campaign ad touting his opposition to the bill.
McMaster is one of several state Attorneys General who filed the high-profile lawsuit in a Florida court shortly after the president signed the bill, claiming that the new legislation infriges on legal and budget matters traditionally left to the states.
But because a handful of the plaintiffs are also seeking higher office, including McMaster and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, Democrats have accused the lawsuit of being politically motivated.
That isn't stopping McMaster from using the bill in a new ad for his gubernatorial campaign.
"Family man, Christian conservative, Henry McMaster has worshiped here his entire life," a narrator says in the ad. "As our Attorney General, McMaster challenged Obama's health care takeover and defended our state's rights."
McMaster is considered a frontrunner for the GOP nomination. His primary opponents are Rep. Gresham Barrett, Lieutenant Gov. Andre Bauer and state Rep. Nikki Haley.
Asked if the campaign had any qualms about using the legal action in a political ad, McMaster spokesman Rob Godfrey said the lawsuit is a key example of the candidate's courage and leadership abilities.
"Henry's executive experience, courage to act and ability to lead make him uniquely qualified to be South Carolina's next governor," Godfrey told CNN. "There is no better example of a time when Henry had the courage to act and the ability to lead than when he organized state attorneys general to stand up to the Obama Administration's assault on our state's rights."
From CNN Politics
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It sure would be nice if the Republicans would do a days work instead of spending ALL their time complaining
GET TO WORK !!!!!!
All of these lawsuits are politically motivated. The bill is not getting repealed or replaced. Give it up already. As far as Mr. Cucinelli and his AG Confederate colleagues go, they're just a bunch of hateful bigots.
Health care reform is now a law and this guy is more proof Republicans have nothing to offer. New Gingrich said it best, Republicans must come up with some policy making instead of just saying no.
Someone should remind this clown what happened yesterday to the candidate in Florida's 19th congrtessional district who ran on a platform of railing against the health care bill. He was soundly defeated by the democrat. You have to love this. Keep it up tea bag people.
How does his faith and where he worships relate to allowing health insurance companies to deny children health insurance because they have a birth defect?
If any CLEAR THINKING PERSON had any doubts before, they should not have doubts now.
These state attorney generals that are filing lawsuits against Healthcare Insurance Reform are playing politics for their own SELFISH reasons.
They are wasting tax dollars on lawsuits that have ZERO legal merit and an even less chance of success. I sure hope the people in these states hold them accountable for wasting money.
If you truly believe that health care "infriges on legal and budget matters traditionally left to the states", why not file a lawsuit to repeal government mandated auto insurance?
Of course the Tea Party argument will be that not everyone is required to own a car, BUT, everyone in this country is at risk on the highway whether you own a car, ride in a car or a bus as a passenger or walk down the street and can be injured by a car, bus, truck or any other motor vehicle.
If vehicle insurance was as optional as health insurance has been, imagine how high YOUR premiums would be to cover YOUR losses from uninsured motorists.
this stupid idiot is as good as the Governor of SC, Mark Sanderson...idiots..ok, just do not pay any kind of tension on these nasty idiots...GOPs...ok...
The AG in Georgia was also asked to partake in this frivolous and useless lawsuit. The poor man did his research by poring through the constitution, eventually reporting back to the Governor of Georgia that they did not have a case as nothing in the Constitution had been violated in passing this law. The result? They are asking that he, the AG, be impeached!!!
So hell yeah this is political posturing, and a useless attempt to denigrate the President. Nice, but stupid, try.
If these eejits would look beyond their next move, they should realize that it is NOT going to go over well to even ATTEMPT to overturn a law that would allow somebody's child to have medical coverage.
They need to stop playing checkers and realize that they are trying to tango with a master chess player. Do not underestimate the President, his so-called 'arrogance' is borne out of KNOWING WHAT HE IS DOING! These Southern Governors just don't measure up!
Yeah and I hope it will be the nail in your coffin. Republicans are counting on this being the dems waterloo, but their master plan may backfire on them and you will see them jumping ship yet again like scared rats! The dems have been extremely quiet about this whole thing because they have a strategy and the repubs have a lot of mouth!
God Himself could run against a rethugliban in SC, and He would lose, so it's not much of a stretch for a rethugliban to win there, anti-healthcare lawsuit notwithstanding.
The gop in South Carolina is always on the map..........of CRAZIES. Do they eat a special diet to enhance lunacy?
Another attorney general that has the guts to do what's right for America. Thank goodness! We need more of these attorney generals wether they are R or D. This plan will be a disaster.
As a Democrat, I think they should of ripped it up and started over. I will be voting for someone who has a reasonable approach to healthcare.
Unfortunately, it doesn't show "courage and leadership abilities" to waste taxpayer dollars with a political stunt.
The taxpayers in SC should be up in arms. This lawsuit is a waste of their money. Every expert, Republican and Democrat, says they will lose and the money spent will be down the drain. This is just an exercise in policitical blustering without regard to what it does to the SC budget. Hopefully the voters in SC will wake up and get rid of this big spender.
He's a racist anyway a shoe in
These southern republican politcians have no shame. It seems that all in the GOP are only concerned with their own power and money; not at all concerned with America or Americans. They lie and make up outrageous slanders. They know perfectly well these lawsuits are "frivilous" but as long as they think they can get stupid, racist people to contribute to their campaigns, they do it. Of course we can be asked to pay for our healthcare insurance, we already contribute to Medicare each pay check. Now, if you or I needed to sue a hospital or Dr; who killed or maimed us; that would be frivilous to them.
"Democrats have accused the lawsuit of being politically motivated."
As if the passage of the bill somehow WASN'T politically motivated???
"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury..."
healthcare
"Assault on our state's rights" – Why is when I listen to the GOP these days its always feels like I've gone back in time to the days of the Confederacy.
There are hundreds of thousands of American Children who battle deadly diseases like cancer and type 1 diabetes every day of their young lives. President Obama has made it clear that he believes that it is immoral to deny sick children health insurance, and the Republicans have made it clear that they believe it is immoral socialism to pass a law that allows very sick children to get health insurance. I hope and pray that Mr. McMaster fails in his attempt to deprive sick children of health insurance.
Of course...playing games with the right of SC residents to get healthcare coverage to buy votes from the Tea Klux Klan.
The big lie about the national debt, deficit spending and social
security going broke: go to internetfreepress.com and see for
yourself.
These States Attorneys think they're going to get votes by filing these frivolious lawsuits but I think it's going to bite them in the ass come November. They're wasting taxpayer money in an effort to get elected and many people will see it for for it is.
Does this article seriously suggest that the lawsuit might be politically motivated? What a shock!
So.... he's going to waste lots of taxpayer money so he can burnish his political image with his base...