You may wonder why Gov. of Ohio, John Kasich is all of the sudden changing his mind on the Affordable Care Act’s implementation. You may also wonder why his Secretary of State, John Husted, has changed his mind on the proposed electoral vote laws in Ohio. Well, it’s politics. An endless campaign; a non-stop “silly season” and the people pay the price.
The Republican Party has spent the last four years creating a monster. They used the right wing vitriol toward President Obama to try to win back some of the power they lost in 2006 and 2008. They did win many seats in 2010 and at just the right time. Just like when George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004, clearing the path for his right wing Supreme Court lifelong appointments, the Republican wins in 2010 cleared the way for Republicans to control the outcomes of redistricting in a census year.
They were hard at work in state and local elections all across the country implementing their long range plan while Democrats and the Country were consumed with national politics. They swung state capitols across this country red and elected a record number of Governors, giving them one party control in many states. The result is more government, less freedom.
Republicans have railed for four whole years against government waste and tax increases.
They've admonished the President over high unemployment, asking ad nausea, “Where are the jobs?” Yet, since they took control of the House in 2010, they have only passed 34 anti-choice bills and dozens of attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
How does that serve the people? It doesn't and so you have to conclude that they don’t care about what happens to the people. The people overwhelmingly approve of the individual provisions of the ACA. But the Republicans used the summer of 2009, not to confront the collapsing economy, but to rail against a bill that will help millions of people, reduce health care costs and free up money in state budgets to counteract sluggish growth.
Instead of jobs, Republicans in Congress have spent the last four years blocking the President’s jobs bills and laying off hundreds of thousands of federal employees. Federal employees by the way, are not faceless, soul-less masses. They are mail persons police, fire fighters, teachers, soldiers, people that are crucial to the everyday function of the country.
These Republican legislators are not doing what’s in the best interest of the people. They are doing what is politically best for them. That’s why Kasich is changing his mind on the ACA. Thank God for small miracles.
The reason Kasich finds himself in a rush to allow the medicaid expansion in the Affordable Care Act to go forward is because if he doesn't, Ohio will still have to implement the law, But the people will have to pay 90% of the costs instead of the 10% that the ACA offers now.
If any state does not comply with the law voluntarily, Health and Human Services will come in and implement the plan at the state’s expense. But now, the monster that the GOP created holds a majority in the Ohio State Legislature.
And the monster doesn't want to comply with the provision of the ACA that expands Medicaid. That’s the program that doesn't provide any services to the wealthy and well enough off in this country. It only helps the elderly and poor people afford to see a doctor when they are sick. It may not be the greatest care yet, but the ACA is going a long way to make it better. After all, having something is better than nothing.
Right now, Ohio has the opportunity to formulate the exchanges and implement the plan in a way that’s best for Ohioans. It’s hard to believe that the Party that claims to be all about small government would rather have the Federal government implement this plan, rather than retain the authority that the law affords the state to shape the plan as it sees fit.
But the Republican majority in the Ohio State legislature is still trying to block implementation, even willing to go against the Republican Governor to do so. They are not thinking about the people. They are thinking about ideology, Party politics, and none of it is for the people.
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