Thirty protestors drown out governor's presser on Medicaid obstinance

Charles has the data points covered, so here's a few photos, links, excerpts and a video at the end.

Straining to be overheard above the chants of a protest group, Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, along with other key state officials, Monday morning gave a full-throated defense of the state’s rejection of Medicaid expansion as outlined in the federal Affordable Care Act.

Mostly repeating earlier statements decrying Medicaid as a “broken system,” Perry defended Texas’ rejection of a plan that would pump $100 billion into the state’s economy over the next 10 years if the state would provide $15 billion in matching funds.

At a state Capitol press conference, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst compared the federal offer to a drug dealer’s entreaty – providing the first experience free “and then you are hooked for years and years.”

Somebody's on dope, all right.

Scores of demonstrators who support enlarging Medicaid stood outside the Governor’s Office shouting, “Perry, take the money!”

The Republican governor, though, noted it was April Fool’s Day.

Indeed it was. See Mark Twain quote at the top here, Governor.

Democrats in Congress and the Legislature, uninsured parents, the head of the state’s main hospital trade group and top local officials in Dallas and San Antonio urged state GOP leaders Monday to negotiate with the Obama administration to expand Texas’ Medicaid program for the poor.

“The public hires us not to do the ideological thing but the smart thing,” said San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said it’s unacceptable to leave a large bloc of the population relying on safety net hospitals’ emergency rooms for care when their maladies could receive earlier attention and treatment.

“Do we want to insure the 1.5 million uninsured Texans that need this primary care and are eligible under the expansion population?” he said. “It’s time to put politics aside and stand up to the extremist factions of political parties and work together on the local, state and federal level to find a plan that fits the unique needs of struggling Texans and expands our Texas economy.”

Fat chance that happens. This is Rick Perry, and he's running for president. Still, if all we can do is rain a little on his parade then that will certainly happen. Maybe the governor can put out a prayer request to remove the dark clouds over his head.

Thanks to Progress Texas, Texas Organizing Project, and many others for providing the motivation for this posting. And via Stace, the message from One Texas sums everything up.



I've poured out all my disgust on this topic already. I'm going to keep tracking developments as the Lege winds down, but I am pretty well convinced that if Republican electeds and business leaders cannot pry open Rick Perry's mind, then it will need to be Republican voters, who will have to use an actual crowbar -- and perhaps a torch and a pitchfork -- to get him out of the governor's mansion.