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 […]

They didn’t just fail to vote. They failed the people they were elected to represent. I’m sick, absolutely sick to my stomach that Republicans in the Michigan Senate refused to hold an up or down vote on Medicaid expansion before adjourning for a two-month recess. Good thing I’m not one of the hundreds of thousands of residents who were counting […]

Are Senate Republicans just running out the clock before summer recess? Or are they seriously considering Medicaid expansion’s merits? After a day reportedly spent largely discussing Medicaid expansion, the Michigan Senate adjourned without voting on the issue. There’s no guarantee they’ll vote on it Wednesday or Thursday, when they adjourn for summer recess. I really have nothing to go on […]

I’ve never been more optimistic. Keep up the activism. UPDATED with links to a new action tool and a petition to be delivered directly to the Senate. See below. I was hopeful, then I was nervous and now I’m genuinely surprised — in the best possible way. I’m thrilled by the number of Michigan Representatives who voted in favor of […]

Forward momentum and signs of compromise are promising. Supporters of Medicaid expansion — which is pretty much everyone except the Tea Party and staunch conservatives, by most accounts — will be happy to hear some positive news. The House Michigan Competitiveness committee voted 9-5 to approve a Medicaid expansion bill, according to an article in the Detroit Free Press. Opponents […]

An open letter urges conservatives to “sit out” Governor Rick Snyder’s re-election campaign. That’s how much the Michigan Tea Party hates Obamacare. They’d sabotage the Republican Governor’s chances of winning re-election to prove a point. They published an open letter today railing against Gov. Snyder’s continued efforts to convince the Michigan legislature to accept Medicaid expansion. Never mind the fact […]

The House GOP is dropping demands for a 48-month cap on Medicaid coverage for able-bodied adults. The Michigan Tea Party can’t be happy about this. There are signs of Republican willingness to compromise on Medicaid expansion, a big step forward in making it a reality in Michigan. Yesterday, a story in Crain’s Detroit Business reported that House Republicans were abandoning […]

There are new signs of hope. Let your legislators know voters overwhelmingly support doing what’s right for everyone. When it comes to accepting Medicaid expansion, there are no losers. Everyone wins. And it’s possible that the Michigan legislature may be coming around to that idea. A Democratic source in the House told Eclectablog there’s still hope for Medicaid expansion. Some […]

How can they claim to be fiscally responsible if they’re willing to throw away billions in savings and revenue? If this doesn’t qualify as legislative malpractice, I don’t know what does. At the very least, it’s malfeasance. On Tuesday, the Michigan Senate approved a state budget that did not include Medicaid expansion — even though the expansion is federally funded. […]

Some Republicans will say anything to see the Affordable Care Act fail. The best defense is the truth. Now I’ve heard everything. Well, probably not, when it comes to myths the GOP invents about Obamacare. But this one’s a doozy. On the May 29 edition of The Last Word, I saw Tea Party Republicans leading citizens at a town hall […]

It’s time for Governor Snyder to prove the “tough” part of his self-proclaimed “one tough nerd” persona. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has famously done her share of finger-pointing at President Obama and his policies. But despite her vocal opposition to nearly everything the President stands for, Gov. Brewer has fully embraced Medicaid expansion. It’s the right thing to do for […]