Republican governors once so ferocious in their fight against ObamaCare now seem content to roll over and play dead.
Perhaps their new agreeable attitude is inspired by the fact that President Obama was reelected in November while their own political futures remain in jeopardy. As the Associated Press reported last Sunday, “nearly two dozen GOP governors elected in 2009 and 2010 could face the voters again.”
The conciliatory spirit among the GOP executives was strong at the annual winter meeting of the National Governors Association held February 22-25 in Washington, D.C.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (shown), once one of the most brazen bulldogs in the Republican kennel, reflects the new pragmatism prevalent among the GOP governors in comments he made at the governors meeting.
“People may agree or disagree with my position on this social issue or that social issue, but as long as I’m not rubbing it in their face all the time and instead talking about jobs and balancing the budget in a way that’s relevant to their lives, that’s where the real focal point is,” Walker said.
Walker knows firsthand how fragile the hold on office can be. Last year, Walker narrowly escaped a recall movement backed by unions.
“We’ve got to be relevant,” Walker added.
Relevant and repentant.
Nowhere is the governors’ go-along policy more evident than in the flip-flop on ObamaCare.
As the AP story explains, “Seven states led by Republican governors are pushing to expand their Medicaid program under Obama’s health care law. Such a move once was considered anathema in the party.”
The latest challenger converted to the cause of supporting ObamaCare is Florida Governor Rick Scott. Scott and the Florida attorney general once led the coterie of states challenging the constitutionality of the health care mandates, now, the governor considers the war lost.
Scott told his fellow governors at last week’s gathering that the Supreme Court’s ruling declaring ObamaCare constitutional makes the mandates “the law of the land.”
Despite the recent opinion of the Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of ObamaCare, there is little debate as to whether the Constitution provides power to the federal government to require individuals to purchase qualifying healthcare plans or to force states to establish healthcare exchanges.
While many constitutionalists and Republicans took heart at the courage in the defiance of the various state executives, they are rightly dismayed at what they perceive as a betrayal of these governors’ oaths of office.
Governos Scott and Walker are but the latest bulldogs turned lapdogs. As we reported early February, the call to heel had already begun.
Full article: http://thenewamerica … o-obamacare-mandates