Tag: Conservatism (page 2)

Snyder Administration Pushing To Distance Medicaid Expansion From Obamacare

Gov. Snyder, Lt. Gov. Calley and others now using the phrase, 'Healthy Michigan'

Originally, Obamacare included the expansion of Medicaid to help cover some of the nation's uninsured, but the U.S. Supreme Court said that was unconstitutional.

So, now the federal government is using money from the Obamacare bill to entice states to expand it on their own, says one health policy expert.

With that in mind, a recent tweet from the staff of Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley raised the eyebrows of Cato Institute's Mike Tanner, who wrote a book on Obamacare. Lt. Gov. Calley said the debate on Medicaid expansion is about reforming the system and is not linked to Obamacare.

"This is reform of our Medicaid system. Classifying it as 'Obamacare' is inaccurate," a Snyder administration staffer retweeted Lt. Gov. Calley as saying on July 2.

But Tanner says Obamacare is picking up the tab for any Medicaid expansion.

"The question to ask him (Lt. Gov. Calley) is: 'Would Michigan be taking these actions in the absence of Obamacare promises for future funding?' " Tanner said.

REST

"Healthy Michigan" explained...

Jeez, I just cannot imagine how could've the former mASSachusetts's governor who enacted Romneycare before it was known as Obamacare lost to Obama last November...

If anything, Majority Leader Randy Richardville said, he saved Gov. Rick Snyder from a big defeat more than two weeks ago by not calling a vote on House legislation to expand eligibility for government-provided health insurance to 320,000 low-income adults in 2014. The Republican governor had cut short a trade trip in Israel to return home and lobby the GOP-dominated Senate.

"I think he was convinced that the votes were there. I'm in the room where those votes get counted," Richardville, of Monroe, told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday, the day he outlined his expectations for a Senate workgroup that will study Medicaid expansion this summer.

"This debate, this issue, is alive because I provided leadership on this issue based on the feedback from the Senate Republican caucus. This thing was dead if we had taken a vote when it was being demanded that we take a vote. It wasn't a gentle request. There was a demand and then after the demand there was a - they called it a press conference. I've got other words to describe it, but I'm not going to use them."

Give him credit - he came through, we read.  A special thank you, we read.

LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Rick Snyder today offered the following statement as the July 4 holiday weekend gets under way:

"... That's why I applaud the U.S. Senate for its passage of bipartisan immigration reform legislation, and urge the U.S. House to do the same. [snip]"

Rick Snyder just placed ObamaCare exemptions (amnesty) to the front of the line over hiring already unemployed American citizens!

This corporate limousine liberal has to go.  The sooner it is admitted that voting Snyder in 2010 because "he's a Republican" was a mistake, the faster Party principle will be restored and upheld.  

I am holding on to a little hope that the appropriate response from Michigan Republicans will be to toss aside the taint that threatens our cohesion.  For years we have seen the discussion of whether or not the Republican party is worthy of support from conservatives here and in other places. Many including myself have in the past, defended the possibility that the party could be salvaged, and did what needed to be done to be a part of a successful 2010 election season. It was somewhat short lived however, as the establishment parasites seeing something succeed without them then attempted to reconstruct their control based on the 'Tea' won goodwill.

We didn't win 2010 so that Republicans can feel energized to pass Obama-esque legislation.  Fool-me-once is already a worn out term, and the fear of losing is gone.  There are no more chances. A couple of days ago, a prominent leader of the conservative movement opined that Republicans might easily go the way of the Whigs. When Republicans don't act like Republicans, and those who hold principles dear can only feel used, its time to move on. Sarah Palin:

"If Republican leaders continue to "back away from the planks in our platform" and the principles on which the party of Lincoln and Reagan was founded, then rank-and-file Republicans with a "libertarian streak" might strike out on their own, Ms. Palin said."

There is still time, but not very much however.

If there is even a chance that the GOP, and particularly in Michigan, wishes to survive even one more election cycle, it had best see some serious soul searching.

The Traverse City Record Eagle is one of those papers that persist in perpetuating the belief that the news is slanted, and editorial bias is more important than actual news.  The editorial page is even worse with frequent attacks and letter limitations that would make the casual observer think this is a leftist community; a non truth if ever there was one.

One of the results seen in a community that is still conservative, and mostly traditional, is that the profitability of such enterprise can be lessened to a degree which puts it continuing viability in peril.  The Record Eagle has become a leftist blog, as partisan and unreasonable as any out there.  It is poised to attack opinions as soon as they are uttered, as long as those opinions don't jibe with their ideological perspective.

I am, as always concerned about collateral damage to a community that has such firepower, loose, and uncontrollable.  Not from a censorship perspective, but one that recognizes the bullying done, and how it will in the end do a disservice to the community, and the owners who expect profitability from their acquisition.

On January 19th, I offered my services to Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., (CNHI) which owns this paper.

As inviting as a life away from political theater might be, its detracting elements are unfortunately the very reason we persist.  Common sense often ignored, calls out for correction.  Ideological corruption of our traditions and beliefs demands challenge. Transparency and openness requires that we run around, opening windows and letting the sunlight in.

Sleeping on the job is not an option. Never mind that we do tire on occasion. It doesn't matter that we've done our job already. That we have endured the wholesale idiocy promoted by the left, and our sanity firewall is perpetually tested.

I attended the last meeting in my term as a County commissioner tonight.

The interesting thing about serving as a public official is the curious inhibition to controversy one can develop. (unless one is a whacked out lefty - where the more absurd the reasoning the better) Its too easy to start worrying about whether 10% of one constituent group or another will be upset by simple common sense decisions or a reasonable stand on principle.  Simple fire resistant pajamas are sufficient for most politicos I think.  Instinctual survival techniques, such as not opening ones big fat mouth at an inopportune time suffice quite well.

Take Jon Huntsman: the governor of Utah for more than four and a half years. Huntsman also served stints as the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore and China in the early 1990s and late 2000s, respectively. Besides being fluent in Mandarin, his governorship saw the highest contemporaneous job growth rate in the country. The man was electable.

And if that isn't enough, Newsweek reported in 2011 that Huntsman was ready after the 2008 election to tweak party platforms to reach a younger base. The key changes: a more centrist Republican approach on "immigration, gay rights and the environment."

Never won a state in the primary.  Drops out with placing 3rd in New Hampshire.  Not even a noteworthy stalking horse candidate.