NEVADA - SUPPORT SUE LOWDEN AS OUR NEXT LT GOVERNOR

For months since announcing his campaign for lieutenant governor, Republican State Sen. Mark Hutchison has been attempting to polish up his conservative bona fides after supporting over $1 billion worth of tax hikes in his freshman session in the Nevada Legislature earlier this year.

On the campaign trail he's been pointing out that he "represented Nevada for free in filing lawsuits to challenge" ObamaCare - a commendable and generous act that Hutchison used to successfully launch his political career last year.

"I bring a history of fighting for Nevada and ensuring our constitutional rights are protected," he told Ed Vogel of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Unfortunately, in this matter Sen. Hutchison also brings a history of saying one thing and doing another.

While it's true that Sen. Hutchison represented Nevada pro bono in the lawsuit to stop ObamaCare, it's also true that he voted earlier this year as a state senator to implement ObamaCare…not once, not twice, but THREE times!

AB138 was a bill that allowed businesses to receive a tax abatement if they donated up to $1 million to a Nevada college or university. However, they could only get this tax credit if they fully complied with the provisions in ObamaCare.

Sen. Hutchison voted "Yea." So either he didn't read it before voting or he agreed with pressuring Nevada businesses to implement the same ObamaCare program he sued to stop.

AB425 set up the "Facilitators" and "Navigators" to encourage people to sign up for ObamaCare, the very program Sen. Hutchison sued to stop. Sen. Hutchison voted "Yea."

AB507 was the budget bill that funded the expansion of Medicaid as part of  implementing ObamaCare, the program Sen. Hutchison sued to stop. Sen. Hutchison voted "Yea."

This is particularly egregious since the U.S. Supreme Court specifically ruled that individual states could not be required to expand their Medicaid coverage as part of ObamaCare. So this expansion of our welfare system was not only unnecessary, it's unsustainable and will inevitably come back to haunt Nevadans in years to come.

In a TV speech in 1964 Ronald Reagan said “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!” Although ObamaCare covers the initial medical coverage it does not cover the costs of managing the burgeoning enrollment. In addition in three short years Nevada will start paying a portion of the medical costs too.

It's one thing to be a lawyer and file a lawsuit and then use that lawsuit to run for office. It's another thing, however, to vote three times to implement the very program you filed the lawsuit against after you got elected.

Sen. Hutchison's mixed record on his ObamaCare opposition warrants additional scrutiny by Nevada voters.

Paid for and Authorized by Sue Lowden for Lieutenant Governor