Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.
Democrats in House District 11 (map) who support expanding Medicaid in Montana should consider withholding their votes from Kim Fleming, whose name appears on the ballot as the Democratic candidate. She explicitly opposes expanding Medicaid, a position diametrically opposed to the Democratic Party’s platform (see my 23 September post on Fleming):
I do not support the expansion of Medicaid in our state. We should be reducing the dependency on federal dollars and the number of people on the welfare rolls in Montana. The federal government is mandating coverage for a plan that it likely cannot afford to sustain. The burden will then fall on Montana taxpayers to provide financial support or else remove welfare recipients in order to continue the mandated federal program.
This is Mark Blasdel’s position, the position of the Republican Party’s teabagger caucus, and in human terms, downright mean and uncaring. It’s the position of selfish people who fear their taxes might be raised to mitigate the predicament of the less fortunate, whom they feel little or no obligation to help. Fleming’s an intelligent woman of many accomplishments, so I find her opposition to expanding Medicaid inexplicable and downright cold-hearted.
