Schauer Leads, Snyder Fails
Democratic candidate for Governor Mark Schauer calls for leadership while Governor Rick Snyder asks Michiganders to call their Senators…who have already left for vacation.
Governor
Rick Snyder couldn’t get Senate Republicans to do the right thing for
Michiganders and vote yes on Medicaid expansion — or even vote on it at
all, for that matter. So now he’s asking Michigan’s citizens to call
their Senators and tell them they want Medicaid expansion.
That’s all well and good. Here at Eclectablog, we’re all for citizen action and have been urging readers to do just that for weeks. But a Governor should do more than that. Much, much more.
Recognizing that, Democratic candidate for Governor Mark Schauer
issued a statement urging Governor Snyder to take stronger action to
ensure the Medicaid expansion he claims to support so ardently. Here’s
Schauer’s statement in full.
Gov. Snyder’s failure to convince members of his own party to even
bring this common-sense legislation up for a vote demonstrates a clear
lack of leadership on his part. By 2016, it is estimated that this bill
will support up to 18,000 new jobs across the state, and increase
economic activity in Michigan by over $2 billion. It’s time to get this
done.Today I’m calling on Gov. Snyder to exercise his power under
the Michigan constitution and immediately convene a special session of
the Legislature to pass Medicaid expansion legislation. Moreover, I’m
calling on the governor to veto every new bill that comes to his desk
starting today until the Senate passes this critical legislation. The
clock is ticking. If Lansing can’t get this done, billions of our
hard-earned Michigan tax dollars will go to other states. Health care
coverage for nearly 400,000 Michiganders is on the line, and our state
needs real leadership from our governor to get it done, not more excuses
and empty rhetoric.
Senate Minority leader Gretchen Whitmer is asking for similar leadership from Michigan Republicans:
Had Governor Snyder been engaged on this issue instead of leaving the
country as the legislation was struggling to find support in the
Senate, it may have never come to this point, but the message he sent
the Republicans last night was exactly right: Take a vote, not a
vacation!The people of Michigan deserve a vote on this legislation,
not elected officials putting their political motives and the whims of
the Tea Party ahead of doing the right thing.
It’s not too late to make Medicaid expansion happen in Michigan, but it
very soon will be, so I hope you’ll join me in calling on the Senate
Republicans to get back to the Capitol and do their jobs.Together, we can send a very clear message to these obstructionists
here in Lansing that if they don’t want to be leaders, then we’ll gladly
find others who do in the next election.
Are Senate Republicans listening? They’re too busy catching flights
or, in the case of Senator Majority Leader Randy Richardville, hosting
fundraisers. Today is Sen. Richardville’s Annual Walleye Outing, with a ticket price of $400 a head.
Just imagine what that kind of money would mean to someone who can’t afford health insurance.
[Image credit: Michigan Nurses Association, from their campaign in support of Medicaid expansion.]