The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged states rights

Rick Perry not likely to receive respite from immigration criticism in Iowa

By | 09.14.11 | 7:30 pm | More from The Iowa Independent

Criticism hasn’t eased for Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the wake of his statement during a recent debate that the border can’t be secured and defense of his state’s tuition policy for some undocumented immigrants — and a two-day tour in Iowa this week doesn’t look like it will More…

U.S. District Court Judge Rules Defense of Marriage Act Unconstitutional

By | 07.08.10 | 5:36 pm

A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled today that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro ruled that the law, which bans federal recognition of same-sex marriages, violated the Constitution because it interfered with a state’s right to define what constitutes a legal More…

Justice Department Sues Arizona Over Immigration Law

By | 07.06.10 | 2:50 pm

The Department of Justice filed its hotly anticipated suit against Arizona’s immigration law today, after months of criticism of the law from the White House and immigrant rights advocates. The main thrust of the suit is that Arizona overstepped its bounds by enacting immigration legislation. Because More…

Kagan Declines to Comment on State Marriage Laws

By | 06.30.10 | 1:16 pm

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan declined today to comment on whether states had the right to determine their own marriage laws, citing the likelihood a case related to that issue would go before the Court in the near future. Her excuse was a veiled reference to the challenge to California’s More…

Governors Still Resisting Dems’ Medicaid Expansion Proposal

By | 10.05.09 | 2:27 pm

One of the central elements of the Democrats’ plans to cover the tens of millions of uninsured Americans is a sweeping expansion of Medicaid, the state-federal partnership to cover the lowest-income folks. But the success of that strategy is in doubt for a couple of reasons.

First, Medicaid pays providers More…

Senate Finance Panel Grants States Flexibility to Drop Medicaid Patients

By | 10.01.09 | 7:01 pm

In a perfect display of how much of the Senate Finance Committee’s public debate over health reform is really not public, the panel this afternoon approved — without discussion and without a roll-call vote — a controversial amendment granting states the flexibility to drop some Medicaid patients after 2010.

Columbine Dad Takes on Colorado Dems Over Thune Vote

By | 07.29.09 | 12:27 pm

It’s no Washington secret that lawmakers voting against the the nation’s powerful gun lobby will likely suffer the National Rifle Association’s wrath come election time. But, as evidenced in Colorado today, there can also be political consequences of voting with the NRA.

In large ads published in Wednesday’s Denver Post More…