Defeated Democrat Sues Political Opponent Over Election Loss

Meet former Ohio Congressman Steve Driehaus, a whiny sore loser who makes Lisa Murkowski look like a principled candidate who accepts the wishes of the voters.

Charging that its activities contributed to his defeat and thus to his "loss of livelihood," Driehaus is suing the Susan B. Anthony List, a group that supports pro-life candidates for Congress and which has been one of the leading and most effective organizations involved in the fight to cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood.

During the 2010 elections the Susan B. Anthony List engaged in a campaign to identify and call out a group of allegedly anti-abortion-rights members of Congress who provided the margin that allowed President Barack Obama's reform of the nation's healthcare system to get through the U.S. House of Representatives. The Susan B. Anthony List said their vote in favor of the law, which did not include any pro-life protections, amounted to a betrayal of their pro-life principles.

According to Driehaus, who was one of that group, what the Susan B. Anthony List said in its public communications amounted to a malicious lie that contributed to his defeat.

Now, you'd think a case like this would be kicked out of court so fast it would make Driehaus' head spin but you'd be wrong. You see the judge in this case, Timothy Black, an Obama appointee, has apparently never heard of the First Amendment. What Black has heard of is Planned Parenthood. He was President of their local affiliate in Cincinnati. Based on that one might think Black has some strong opinions on abortion and abortion opponents.

So we have a former Congressman who apparently thinks it's actionable to criticize an elected official and that he has some sort of right to draw a paycheck from the federal government. We also have an incompetent federal judge who seems unfamiliar with the protections established well over 200 years ago for political speech in this country or the idea of judicial conflicts of interest.

What do Driehaus and Black have in common? They are Democrats. Elections matter. So much so that Democrats are willing to use the law to punish those who don't vote the "right" way.

Added: John B. in the comments makes a good point in the comments.

They're not using the law -- they are inventing it out of whole cloth.

Thanks to Krakatoa for the heads up on the story.

posted by DrewM. at 09:52 AM

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