On second thought, just send lawyers.
Republicans don’t like lawyers. They say lawyers are responsible for everything from higher health care costs because of medical malpractice suits* to a decline in American society due to the worst kind of lawyer: the activist judge. A common refrain is “we don’t need more lawyers in Washington.”
Well, one Republican disagrees.
Kris Kobach, law professor, believes we don’t have enough lawyers in government.
On April 20, 1999, Kobach wrote a column for the Kansas City Star where he cited “sloppy lawmaking” as the result of the Kansas and Missouri legislatures having too few lawyers in office.
"Why is there such a decline in lawmaking skills? It's hard to pinpoint any single source of the problem. But one development certainly bears mentioning: Fewer and fewer lawyers are serving in state legislatures."
Kobach cites studies which show the number of lawyers in the Kansas and Missouri legislatures dropped by half since 1972. Some would see this as an improvement, but Kobach sees a hole. Kobach points out that he and his law professor colleagues are “trying to fill the void by offering [bill] drafting assistance to Missouri and Kansas legislators.”
Now a law professor calling for more lawyers is like the chairman of a beer company calling for lowering the drinking age – there’s a little self interest involved. But will the chambers of commerce and NFIB understand Kobach’s call for more lawyers making laws?
Here at KrisWatch, we like lawyers. Our favorite lawyers are ones who put criminals in prison, such as former Johnson County District Attorney Dennis Moore, and we are glad to see someone finally stand up for them.
But we have to wonder whether those groups considering supporting Kobach – groups that campaign against the influence of lawyers in government – really want to get behind someone who thinks there are too few lawyers in government. Do they really want to support someone who has made a career out of making more lawyers?
We’ll find out soon enough. And if not, we’ll sue.
* These suits are on behalf of patients horribly mutilated or killed by medical errors and Republicans and the insurance industry claim they increase health care costs by increasing insurance costs for doctors. The Congressional Budget Office has shown that there is no connection between caps on malpractice awards and the cost of insurance for doctors, as has a study by an independent financial firm: http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=4968&sequence=0 http://www.weissratings.com/News/Ins_General/20030602pc.htm
And while malpractice payouts decreased 8.2 between 2001 and 2002, insurance costs to doctors didn’t go down, according to a study cited by the Des Moines Register. http://www.dmregister.com/opinion/stories/c2125555/21716886.html
Finally, the Government Accountability Office says that insurance costs have not driven out doctors, contrary to claims from Republicans and the American Medical Association: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A15752-2003Sep15?language=printer
And in case you're wondering, the headline comes from a song by the late, great Warren Zevon.
