We’ve all heard about the lawsuit that Speaker of the House John Boehner is pursuing against President Obama. It’s a political stunt as much as it is founded on flawed legal theory. The real kicker though is that Boehner wants you to pay for it.
The legal theory that Boehner is suing under was originally co-authored by attorney David Rivkin in Politico Magazine. Now that same flawed legal theory will be put to work under Rivkin and Boehner wants taxpayers to foot the bill.
It’s quite a bill too. Rivkin charges $500 and the terms of his contract max out at $350,000. But as, ThinkProgress points out, it’s likely that the cap will increase quickly. Haven’t we spent enough money on flawed Republican theories?
The lawsuit is over President Obama’s slow rollout of Obamacare but it is unlikely to succeed. Obama has committed no criminal act in the rollout of Obamacare and no one in Congress, not even John Boehner, has standing to bring suit against Obama over Obamacare.
To have standing to bring suit Boehner or some member of Congress would have to demonstrate that the rollout of Obamacare has caused them some direct harm. Outside of stubborn pride, it’s hard to imagine how Boehner has been hurt.
If Boehner wants to play his legal game and parade before us this political stunt, the least he could do is pay for it himself.
Joshua is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. You can follow him on Twitter @Joshual33.
