Mischievous

Republicans in the U.S. Senate continue their campaign to make you poor and sick:

âThey got health care,â [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell [R-KY] told POLITICO with a mischievous glint in his eye. âWeâll see whether thatâs a gift worth receiving.â

Here's the thing about McConnell. Since graduating law school (from a state-funded university, naturally), he's always been a government employee, getting free medical coverage from taxpayers. First, his abortive military career (he washed out because of a medical problem, treated on your dime). Then his time as a Capitol Hill intern and again as "the Jefferson County Judge/Executive, the top political office in Jefferson County, which includes Louisville."

From that august seat, he proceeded to the United States Senate, in which the federal government has continued to provide for his medical care. In short, his entire adult life he's gotten healthcare as a gift from the American people, and he clearly doesn't appreciate it. But people who don't have insurance know, and they are glad that McConnell isn't calling the shots in DC.

While we're talking about calling the shots, let's compare the senior Senator from Kentucky's rhetoric on suing over healthcare reform with the words of the Kentuckian who actually calls the shots. Politico reports:

McConnell also said the state attorneys general who have challenged the new lawâs constitutionality have âa legitimate concern.â

âState governments have a lot of grievances,â he said. âTheyâre going to get stuck with significant Medicaid costs down the road, which is why you have so many governors upset on a bipartisan basis. And theyâre worried about the individual health insurance mandate, and I think itâs a legitimate lawsuit.â

Meanwhile Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway wants nothing to do with it:

"I do not intend to use my authority as Kentucky Attorney General to sign our Commonwealth onto a health care lawsuit against the federal government, because I will not waste taxpayer dollars on a political stunt," Conway said â¦

Responding to Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson's urging Conway to "file suit against the federal government for the unconstitutional overreach of its authority with the passage of this health care legislation," Conway added

"Trey Grayson's gimmick may be good 'tea party' politics, but it's based on questionable legal principles," Conway said.

Fellow Kentuckian Martin Cothran is unconvinced, blathering at his blog that the bill may be unconstitutional, apparently based on his mistaken belief that the House passed the Senate bill using a widely-used technique called "deem and pass." The idea was considered and abandoned, something people who choose to inform themselves before opining already knew.

This is all by way of saying healthcare reform is a big fucking deal, and the more the American people learn about it, the more they like it:

More Americans now favor than oppose the health care overhaul that President Obama signed into law Tuesday, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds â a notable turnaround from surveys before the vote that showed a plurality against the legislation.

By 49%-40%, those polled say it was "a good thing" rather than a bad one that Congress passed the bill.⦠The largest single group, 48%, calls the legislation "a good first step" that needs to be followed by more action.

I guess they like that gift. In no small part because they can finally look it in the mouth, and have a doctor look it in the mouth, too.