| Gov Scott explains his dreaded decision |
Longtime foe of Obamacare,
Florida Governor Rick Scott, did
an about face and agreed to implement the first step of it yesterday. The Governors
decision shocked many republican leaders around the country as many of them
jostle with the unpopular health care program.
Many republicans and conservatives derided the governor for
his decision. The conservative group, Americans For Prosperity released this
statement:
“Governor Scott’s announcement today is extremely disappointing.
Governor Scott had been a national leader in the fight against President
Obama’s health care takeover. He was elected because of his principled
conservative leadership against ObamaCare’s overreach, and led the charge, with
Attorney General Pam Bondi, to take Obamacare to the Supreme Court. But today
he came out in support of the Medicaid expansion he vowed to oppose.”
But Fox News contributor, Dr. Charles Krauthammer said that Governor
Scott sees this as the best decision for his state. Dr. Krauthammer said it was
"an honorable decision to make."
Perhaps it was the promise of no cost to Florida for the first three years and then
only a 10% payment for it in the 4th year.
Perhaps it was the realization he has lost every battle to
overturn Obamacare since its unpopular inception and he might as well accept
that it has been mandated the law of the land.
Losing the battle in the Supreme Court struck a huge blow
against opponents of Obamacare, but Mitt Romney’s loss to Obama in the election
basically guaranteed Obamacare was the law of the land.
Although Obamacare is the law of the land and is being
heralded as such, there is much doubt the country can actually afford to pay
for it.
The nation is already 16 trillion in debt and piling on
billions more debt on a daily basis, without adding all of the upcoming expense
of Obamacare.
Governor Scott is a pragmatist and no one thinks his motives
are anything but for the best interests of his state. So perhaps his decision is based on a belief
that Obamacare will eventually collapse upon itself and he might as well get as
much of the free benefits that he can before they are gone.
Governor Scott is only the seventh republican governor to accept the Obamacare mandate, but this might edge the other
Governors to follow his lead and add more burdens on the federal government to
cover states Obamacare expenses. This
will further strain the already out of control deficit and perhaps hasten a
showdown with an economic reality the Obama administration has refused to face
for the past four years.
Perhaps the Obama administration will dread the Scott
decision. Time will tell.