PLANK JULY 11, 2012
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In all the puzzlement over the irrationality of Republican governors vowing to turn down the bonanza of federal dollars provided for expanding Medicaid, there’s a reason hiding in plain sight: pure ambition.
It’s no accident that several of the fire-breathers on this subject—notably Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley—have exhibited interest in (or have been reported to covet) higher office.
I don’t know if Rick Perry still wants to be president, or can overcome the impression of buffoonery and incompetence that helped sink his once-formidable 2012 campaign. But I do know that his one big policy mistake involved letting rivals get to the right of him on an emotionally important issue, immigration, and he would not likely make that miscalculation again. Perennial smartest-guy-in-the-room Jindal would almost have to consider running for president at some point as a member of a party that is crazy for minority wingnuts (as Herman Cain’s improbable campaign showed). And the same factor may be motivating Haley, who has the additional challenge of staying in the very good graces of Jim DeMint, who publicly urged governors to do everything within their power to obstruct implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
This doesn’t explain all the Medicaid rejectionists, of course. I doubt Terry Branstad is foolish enough to see a future President of the United States in his bathroom mirror each morning, though he does govern a state with a generous enough Medicaid program that rejecting the expansion is not as big a deal as it is in a place like Texas. As for Rick Scott—who knows? He probably has as good a chance of landing on a 2016 national ticket as he does of getting re-elected governor of Florida. But then he’s a guy whose whole political career began with public opposition to ObamaCare, so he may just be dancing with the one that brung him.
In any event, observers mulling this situation do not seem to have sufficiently absorbed the central reality of Republican politics at this particular moment, which is that it’s well-nigh impossible to move too far to the right. You say you’re a conservative, bubba? Then I’m a true conservative! And if you’re a true conservative, I’m a constitutional conservative! Anyone even distantly dreaming of a Republican presidential or vice presidential nomination understands this dynamic implicitly.
6 comments
Scott is the most interesting case. His business background is running a hospital company. His big issue back then was the unfair advantage of not-for-profit hospitals (Scott ran a for-profit chain), which don't pay most taxes. Of course, Scott is remembered as the CEO of the hospital chain hit with the largest Medicare fraud fine ever assessed; I have joked that the voters in Florida elected him governor because of his experience in stealing federal dollars, something the voters hoped he could duplicate as governor. How ironic that now Scott is refusing to take federal dollars that the government is offering to give Florida. Maybe it's out of guilt for all the dollars he stole from the federal government while CEO of the hospital company. As for the unfair advantage of not-for-profit hospitals, Scott hasn't forgotten that issue. He just closed Florida's only TB specialty hospital because, he says, it's unnecessary. That Florida has experienced an epidemic of new TB cases was a minor inconvenience; the Scott administration simply concealed this information during consideration of the closure of the hospital and then fired the whistle blower at the department of health. Once a law breaker, always a law breaker. Here's another irony: Scott has purged thousands of registered voters because, he claims, many are convicted felons who don't have the legal right to vote. One has to ask how someone who was responsible for a company that stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government is allowed to vote, much less be governor.
- rayward
July 12, 2012 at 9:54am
"You say you’re a conservative, bubba? Then I’m a true conservative! And if you’re a true conservative, I’m a constitutional conservative! Anyone even distantly dreaming of a Republican presidential or vice presidential nomination understands this dynamic implicitly." Which is exactly why the Republican Party's days are numbered, at least as it is presently constituted. As America's demographics shift in an ever more unfavorable direction for the GOP--no wonder they're cozying up to "minority wingnuts"--2012 is the party's last, best chance to regain the White House and do their damnedest to further rig the game in they're electoral favor--Super PACs, voter ID laws, inter-sensus gerrymandering all working towards the same thing: a Republican hedge against the fact that the intolerant white people who make up the bulk of their supporters are part of a dying breed. And the thing is, Romney isn't even going to win.
- AaronW
July 12, 2012 at 10:21am
"And the thing is, Romney isn't even going to win." Nice to know that God talks to his chosen, revealing His Truth ... how?? Stone tablets?? Or gold delivered by the angel Moroni??? My guess would be Mittens has about a 40% chance of winning. Can you tell me what He revealed unemployment and GNP change is to be in October, and I'll alter those non-miniscule odds.
- drofnats1
July 12, 2012 at 12:34pm
AaronW, I agree with your sentiments but not your logic, and especially not your conclusion that Romney is going to lose. This is a very tight race that could well be tipped in Romney's favor by his financial advantage, key states' voter suppression laws, or other factors. As for the longer term, don't underestimate the power of those factors combined with the Right's domination of some media outlets and intimidation of others. I hope you're right, but see both the short-term and long-term political prognoses as much hazier matters.
- Thunderroad
July 12, 2012 at 3:30pm
Droffy, I agree. Kahn's law -- perhaps law #3 after there is no You Know What -- is no one can for sure predict the future. What are your odds on Romney actually getting the nomination? What are your odds on the GOP choosing someone (as named in the article, though there are other possibilities for people even more doofy than MR) someone even more capable of snatching virtory from the jaws of sanity?
- skahn
July 12, 2012 at 3:32pm
I still can't believe that TNR HTML actually seems to work. THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS and his name is close italic.
- skahn
July 12, 2012 at 3:34pm