Fox News "Your World With Neil Cavuto" - Transcript

Interview

NEIL CAVUTO, ANCHOR: Meanwhile, more than 100 people protesting today outside the Kentucky state capitol. They're upset with the Democratic attorney general there, Jack Conway. They want him to join a lawsuit with other states aimed at blocking the new health care law. So far, he is not budging.

The attorney general joins me right now.

Attorney General, very good to have you.

JACK CONWAY D-KY. ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's good to be on with you, Neil. Thanks for having me.

CAVUTO: So, you're not in that camp, sir, that says send this to the courts; what they're doing is unconstitutional. Why not?

CONWAY: I'm not. I'm not going to spend the taxpayer resources of the Commonwealth of Kentucky on a political stunt. And that's what I think it is. It's a political stunt for Rand Paul...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Well, your Democratic counterpart -- that might be so, but your Democratic counterpart in Louisiana, I guess the one big Democrat part of this, does not -- does not agree.

CONWAY: He's the only Democrat. He's the only Democrat.

CAVUTO: So, is he committing a political stunt?

CONWAY: He's the only Democrat. Buddy Caldwell is a colleague of mine. He can do what he wants.

But the rest of the A.G.s are -- are Republicans that are filing these lawsuits. And while it may make for good Tea Party politics, Neil, it makes for a really crummy lawsuit, because it's based on questionable legal principles.

CAVUTO: We should say, for those -- and you know this inside and out, Attorney General, but what is being protested here, or at least appealed to the court level, and maybe all the way up to the Supreme Court, is the notion, can the government force you to buy health insurance?

And a lot of these A.G.s are saying, no, they can't. You're saying that, yes, they can.

CONWAY: What I'm saying is, my copy of the Constitution doesn't carry a right not to be insured and that, if you don't carry insurance, you're likely to be some sort of drag on the system. Now, those are not my words, Neil. Those are worlds of Charles -- words of Charles Fried, who's a Harvard law professor and Ronald Reagan's solicitor general from 1985 to 1989.

CAVUTO: Nevertheless...

(CROSSTALK)

CONWAY: And most constitutional scholars...

CAVUTO: No, you're right. I don't even know.

CONWAY: And most constitutional scholars, they have looked at this.

CAVUTO: I don't even know.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: You're right, Attorney General.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: I have seen this argued...

CONWAY: They have said -- they have said that this is not going to -- this is not going to fly in the courts.

CAVUTO: OK. I have seen this argued both ways. I'm not a lawyer, but I have watched "L.A. Law," "Law & Order."

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: So, I feel I'm up to speed. So...

CONWAY: You stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

CAVUTO: Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: So, your point is that this has no point. And that's fair enough, if you want to argue that.

But what I'm saying is, you're facing a lot of pressure in your state to -- to do this. Now, it's a little different than the case in Georgia, where the Republican governor is urging, I think, the Democratic attorney general...

CONWAY: Right.

CAVUTO: ...to move. You have a Democratic governor.

CONWAY: That's correct. That's correct. We also have a Republican...

CAVUTO: But explain what the dynamics are there.

CONWAY: Well, the dynamics are, we have a Republican state senate and we have a Republican caucus here that has called on me to sue. I have declined to sue.

Rand Paul, who is running in the Republican Senate primary -- as you probably know...

CAVUTO: Right.

CONWAY: ...I'm running in the Democratic Senate primary -- they called on me to file a lawsuit trying to declare the new health care law unconstitutional.

And what I'm saying is, I'm not going to. We're having tough budget times here in Kentucky, and I'm not going to waste taxpayer resources on a political stunt. And when you look at it, when you look at the individual mandate, if you were to take the arguments of Rand Paul and Sarah Palin to their logical conclusion, then you could go off -- go after the mandate for a payroll tax in the Social Security, for example.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Well, they say this leap is a greater leap than that. But I guess you're right. That's going to be argued out in court. We will see where it goes. You're not going to be part of it.

(CROSSTALK)

CONWAY: But, Attorney General, thank you very much.

CONWAY: My pleasure, Neil. Good afternoon to you.

CAVUTO: OK.

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