Where is Randy? (Medicaid Expansion)

MONROE, MI (Aug 21, 2013) – A small group of concerned voters gathered outside the doors of the Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville field office on South Monroe Street but Randy was not there. That didn’t surprise anyone … Randy is never there.

Looking for Senator Randy Richardiville at his Monroe field office

Senator Richardville and other Senate Republicans have been hiding from their constituents all summer. They know that they should have passed House Bill 4371 before they went on summer vacation, but they don’t care.

Republicans are pretending that there are some little changes being made to the language that will in some way improve the bill. Here is the problem; Randy can’t move the consensus bill to the floor of the Senate without offending a handful of Tea Party Republicans.

That is why Senator Randy Richardville was award a Tea Party Crackpot Award; he simply lacks the ability to tell certain crackpots in his own party that they cannot hold up legislation that has the support of the Governor, bipartisan support in the State House, and the support of small businesses and healthcare providers across the state.

They may not be the true majority of Republicans in the Senate (or maybe they are), but the Senate Majority Leader is marching to the beat of their drum and has earned a Tea Part Crackpot Award for doing so.

Richardville told Monroe News that he was “not on vacation” (we might be annoying him with our relentless “Take a Vote, Not a Vacation!” message?).  He indicated that he was going to Lansing to work on House Bill 4714 (not that it needs any work) and that he expects a vote on the bill next week.

The State Senate will be back from its summer vacation on Tuesday August 27^th and session is scheduled to begin at noon. Can we expect this to be done by 1:00 PM? After all, they have been working on it since March 23^rd, 2010 when President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and brought it into effect and the Medicaid expansion provisions haven’t exactly been a mystery.

Tea Party Crackpot Award

There is one question that remains unanswered, “Will Randy be stopping by his field office any time soon to pick up his much deserved Tea Party Crackpot Award?” I don’t think I have ever seen a light on in the field office.

Click here to follow the progress of House Bill 4714 (2013) on the Michigan Legislative Website.

Click here to view "Facts About Medicaid Expansion: Improving Care, Saving Money" (PDF requires Adobe Reader to view).

Click here to let Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville know how important Medicaid Expansion is to you (or to congratulate him on winning the Tea party Crackpot Award).