Florida Gov. Rick Scott Flips

[Ocala Mike]

Former Tea Party favorite Rick Scott has now joined several other Republican governors in deciding not to opt out of a key Medicaid provision of Obamacare. If the legislature goes along, around one million low-income uninsureds will be added to the Florida Medicaid rolls at federal expense (100% for the first three years, 90% thereafter).

Question is, did he have an "Amazing Grace" moment, or is it all just a political ploy to bolster his sagging popularity rating in the state? He recently threw bonus money at state employees, another totally out-of-character move for him.

Wonder if he'll be "primaried" from the right now.

[NJ Stinks]

From the Washington Post website:
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In Florida, the dwindling band of tea-partiers was furious with Scott, calling him a Benedict Arnold. But the cause he supposedly betrayed has already lost.

After following the tea party agenda over the last two years, Scott has the support of just one in three Floridians. Now he’s acting like a competent executive. He said he would evaluate the expansion over time and decide whether changes should be made. That’s a great idea. It’s too bad the law’s opponents wasted three years hollering about socialism and tyranny.

Scott argued that the Supreme Court and the 2012 election made Obamacare inescapable, but he also made a personal appeal for the expansion. The recent death of his mother (http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/13/3095752/esther-scott-mother-of-fla-gov.html) gave him “a new perspective,” he said. “I thought about my mom’s struggles raising five children with very little money. I remember my mom’s heartbreak when she struggled to find health care for my brother. I don’t want any parent to worry like my mom did.”

“My top priority continues to be to make Florida the global leader for job creation,” the tea party traitor said. “But we also have to be sensitive to the needs of the poorest and the weakest among us who struggle to access affordable, high-quality health care.”

Obama couldn’t have said it better himself.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-rick-scott-makes-his-peace-with-obamacare/2013/02/22/b6f2c480-7cfb-11e2-9a75-dab0201670da_story.html?hpid=z2

[elysiantraveller]

He doesn't really have a choice at this point.

[boxcar]

He doesn't really have a choice at this point.

And he should have never been given one in the first place!

Boxcar