David Vitter, republican U.S. Senator from Louisiana and other republicans in congress say they are still committed to defund or repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA: Obamacare to republicans) yet in an editorial of 6/18/14 in the Times Picayune appearing before the Press Club of Baton Rouge, Vitter said he would be open to accepting the federal expansion of medicaid offered under the ACA if he becomes governor. That is obviously good news for Louisiana and the uninsured if he wins.
That flip flop defines Vitter's phony ideology. I happen to live in his district and receive his emails and his rant about how bad the ACA is for Louisiana. If there were no ACA there would be no medicaid expansion. So once again Vitter's rant has given way to his support to a program made possible by the ACA. Of course, being a announced candidate for governor of Louisiana he will do most anything.
Medicaid expansion in Louisiana would cover 242,000 who are now uninsured, create 15,600 jobs and would bring in $16 billion in extra medicaid money according to the editorial. That is what Bobby Jindal has rejected so far. Two other parts of the editorial are very revealing concerning Vitter and the republican failure to move the country forward and improve the quality of life.
Vitter said we need to reform and improve medicaid. I have no problem with that but lets see. Nothing was done to do that by republicans during the 8 years of the Bush administration and the 5 years of the Obama administration. Vitter also said the state's budget has been held together in the last few years with sewing yarn and scotch tape. (Actually, it has been that way since Jindal was elected) It was a hint that excepting the medicaid expansion money would come in handy concerning budget matters. Vitter knows of course that Jindal has never really balanced one state budget and that no republican administration has balanced any federal budget since Ike in 1960 and he has been silent on the matter.
President Obama in drafting the ACA that includes the medicaid expansion was very thoughtful. It allowed state governors who accepted the expansion seek waivers to do it their way and waivers have been granted to the governors. Yes, the Obama administration has worked much better to help state governors than those that opposed his policies and the ACA. Their answers are personal attacks.
Democrats have policies that work and are flexible for corrective action in order to move the country and its people forward. Republicans have trickle down economics as part of their ideology that has no relationship that benefits the average American. They also refuse to work with democrats because they want to see failure.
This commentary published by John Lucia.
