It's stunning but not at all surprising to see the Kochs go all out in Louisiana to try and kill the Medicaid expansion for people earning less than 138% of the federal poverty level. Because really, we don't want the poor folks -- especially poor folk of color -- to have access to decent medical care, now do we?
The Tea Party group Americans for Prosperity, which is backed by the billionaire Koch brothers and is spending huge money on multiple Senate races, has announced a major campaign in Louisiana to pressure state lawmakers not to agree to expand the state’s Medicaid program under Obamacare, as Dems want to do.
Senator Mary Landrieu — a top target of Republicans this cycle — has embrace the expansion, even as she has called for fixes to the law overall. Her opponent, GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy, opposes it.
The battle over the expansion was already set to heat up when Louisiana’s legislative session begins in March. Dems in the state think AFP’s entrance into the fray will allow them to elevate the fight in a way that will help Landrieu, by framing Cassidy’s opposition to it in a more negative light, as a key piece of a national Tea Party agenda associated with the Koch brothers.
Right. This is more of a cynical ploy to hurt Landrieu than it is about health care. But you watch them pretend they're a 'grass roots movement' and pretend further that it's just a terrible sin to allow those poors to get any decent health care when emergency rooms are still around for them.
