If the Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature votes to accept the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, it will prop-up an unpopular and vulnerable law that practically all members of the majority caucus have said should be repealed. How could this be? Wes Nakagiri, a savvy Tea Party leader from Livingston County, has explained one very possible scenario for his members:

Here is a small tidbit that most citizens do not know. Generally the majority party will not pass a bill out of committee unless a majority of their members vote yes. But House Bill 4714 (the Medicaid expansion) was voted out of committee even though a majority of Republicans on this committee were against the bill.  This is an indication of how badly the establishment wants to move forward with the Medicaid expansion.

…It is customary, but not mandatory, that Speaker of the House Jase Bolger would not schedule a vote on HB 4714 unless the bill has the support of at least 50 percent of the entire Republican caucus…typically (at least) 30 out of the 59 House Republicans. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he violates this custom. In theory, HB 4714 could pass with as few as five Republican votes as long as all 51 Democrats vote for the bill.

…I’ve heard establishment Republicans argue that this expansion won’t cost Michigan a dime because the federal government is picking up the tab. I’m astonished that there are Republicans that haven’t grasped the concept that our federal government is broke!

Piling on to Nakagiri’s last point, Michigan legislators will add $22 billion to the national debt through 2022 if they approve the Medicaid expansion.

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