They were against it before they were for it?
Ohio Right to Life endorsed Ohio’s Healthcare Freedom Amendment in September 2011, making its recent position on Medicaid expansion even more baffling and contradictory. Especially in light of the group’s stated mission.
In his “memo to Tea Party leadership”, Ohio Right to Life’s president, Michael Gonidakis, succumbs to lecturing and lobbing insults at the Tea Party, while seemingly throwing principles to the wind in favor of what he calls “practicality”.
Gonidakis, who calls himself both a Republican and a conservative, wrote a commentary yesterday in the Columbus Dispatch titled “Medicaid Expansion Good for State, Conservative Movement”.
He called out Tea Party leadership using specious arguments in favor of Medicaid expansion – despite evidence that Medicaid actually lowers quality of care, increases costs, and leads to exploding Medicaid spending, and doctor shortages.
Gonidakis makes no mention of Ohio’s Healthcare Freedom Amendment, which passed overwhelmingly in November 2011 – nor RTL’s endorsement of the state constitutional amendment.
Gonidakis labels Tea Party leaders’ opposition to Medicaid expansion as “out of step” with Ohioans and champions Kasich’s “compassion”.
Republican Governor John Kasich’s proposal to expand Medicaid will surely advance Obamacare in the state of Ohio.
“Like it or not, Obamacare is now the law”, writes Gonidakis.
Did Ohio Right to Life do a flip flop and completely compromise its principles with its approval of Kasich’s proposal to expand Medicaid in Ohio? Is he sacrificing his organization’s principles and throwing supporters and donors under the bus?
“By opposing this extension of Medicaid to fellow Ohioans, you put our state at serious financial risk…And you also put the conservative movement at political risk.”
“As a Republican, I don’t like Obamacare any better than you do. Like you, I worked to defeat Obama last fall. But we didn’t win. And we can’t let the philosophical opposition of the last election cause us to make a serious error in business judgment now.”
Medicaid is a failing, grossly underfunded program that has not improved the quality of healthcare for those in the system. We are robbing future generations and financially compromising our nation by adding to reckless government spending and debt.
“Kasich has wisely put practicality at the forefront and proposed voluntarily taking the federal offer to expand Medicaid coverage, thus rebalancing the equation.”
So we can say it’s “practical” to take “free” money from the federal government? U.S. taxpayer money funneled through D.C. and then back to Ohio with strings attached?
Make no mistake, Ohioans are taxpayers and they are paying for it.
This looks like a RINO Establishment Party (REP) in Columbus – complete with super majorities in both state houses. And they appear to be singing from the same sheet of music. Demonize the Tea Party and any opposition to Medicaid expansion.
Opposition to Medicaid expansion has little to do with compassion or political gain – it has everything to do with liberty, fiscal responsibility, quality healthcare, constitutional principles, and free markets.
Is this an argument over who “cares” the most? The Tea Party, politicians in Columbus, Ohio RTL?
Be willing to bet that we the people are factored very little into the equation.
Ohio Pundit 