The Alaska Legislature has signed a contract for lawyers to take on Gov. Bill Walker's expansion of Medicaid, drawing criticism from some of its own members who had urged them to not continue after an early loss.
The contracts signed Tuesday for up to $450,000 include a signing bonus of $100,000, said Sen. Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage.
“I'm struggling to understand how Republican leadership has drifted so far from common sense, losing any sense of priority when it comes to serving the people of Alaska," Gardner said in a prepared statement Wednesday.
The Legislative Council, the Legislature's operating arm, decided in August to sue Walker and his commissioner of Health and Social Services, Val Davidson, to block expansion, but failed to get an injunction before the state began enrolling Alaskans in the program on Sept.
Let me remind you that the expansion will help to cover 42,000 Alaskans currently without any health insurance at all. And since we have less than 737,000 people altogether that is nothing to sneeze at.
I have been criticized lately for posting stories about stupid people in other states, especially Texas where the people seem to be particularly thin skinned.
However if you think just because I am posting about Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, or any other state bulging with morons, that I am giving a free pass to Alaska, well you my friend must be new here.
I have lived here my entire life, and while we have some truly exceptional people up here, we also have far more than our fair share of fucking idiots.
And no, their last name is NOT always Palin.
I can hardly wait until it's voting time again. I suspect many of the Republican Alaska Legislators are going to lose their seats. And, hopefully new Republicans running for positions in the Legislature will not be elected!
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful seeing Alaska turning blue again. Mayor Berkowitz was recently elected to run Alaska's largest city, Anchorage. He is a Democrat!
And, Governor Walker and Lt. Governor Mallott, recently gained the top two positions in Alaska. Governor Walker is an Independent and Lt. Governor Mallott a Democrat!
Can't get much better than that!!!
Charge on Alaskans!!! The Republicans have run our state into the ground financially! (i.e. that new building in downtown Anchorage that they are going to occupy!)
The majority in the Alaska Legislature do not represent us - in fact, they pay no attention whatsoever as to the wishes of the people!
How many people could have many, if not all of their immediate healthcare needs met by that $450,000?
ReplyDeleteGryph - sorry for OT, pretty sure you follow TBogg on twitter. Check the timeline. heh - sjp
ReplyDeleteAs a person who has lived the majority of my life in Texas, I implore you to keep up the good work. Boneheads need to have the spotlight put on them no matter where they reside.
ReplyDeleteBut almost all have a 'R' on the voter registration card..fools..
ReplyDeleteIf you notice when candidates run in our world of today, they don't indicate their party on the ads. Republicans hiding what they are is how I see it! Are they ashamed of themselves as many of us are (of them) in Alaska!
ReplyDeleteMost of them literally make me want to 'sock it to them' - in the voting booth!!!
So, they're already enrolling Alaskans?
ReplyDeleteIt's over...they've lost. Try as they might, they'll not get this genie back in the bottle.
Your job now is to use the taxpayer money wasting legislator's actions in this regard against them. Their opposition should make for some great campaign material in the coming election cycles.
And, by the way, I think you do a great job of covering hypocrisy everywhere. It's not your fault so many morans live in Texas. The Republican morans in the Missouri legislature experienced a spectacular FAIL yesterday when they couldn't get enough votes to override Gov. Nixon's veto of their bogus "Right to Work" legislation.
alec and other groups have spent gillions of dollars trying to make Missouri a right to work (for peanuts) state, and it is great to see them lose!
March On, Democrats!
So, I see the national Republican party and the Koch brothers still control the Alaskan Congressional Republicans. Ever since Obama was elected the National Republican Party has been telling lies and giving misinformation to their constituents. Of course the ones who believe the Republicans are the gullible, the racists, the under educated, and evangelicals. Whoops, I may have just repeated myself when I wrote the gullible and the evangelicals.
ReplyDeleteTheir repeated lying has done nothing but to divid their party and threaten their chances of electing a Republic President and loosing their control of Congress. Sometimes your just better off letting the other side destroy themselves instead of arguing against them.
The IDIOT CROWD for Alaska right at the top has to include
ReplyDeleteJerry Prevo and Ted Stevens
Even us folks who live many thousands of miles away know what a specially entitled breed of viciously bigoted and ignorant bastards those two are.
OT, but interesting perspective on the kid who built a clock. They didn't think he had a bomb! http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/17/1422329/--They-didn-t-think-he-had-a-bomb?detail=email#
ReplyDeleteSo let me guess, those Alaaskan republicans call themselves "pro-life" yet are upset about over %17 of the population of their whole state having access to healthcare, amirite?
ReplyDeleteIf they lose again, the judge should make all the legislators who signed on to this, personally repay all the money they spent plus all the money the executive branch has to spend defending itself.
ReplyDeleteAnd a whole bunch of those AK morons are transplants from Texas, Oklahoma, and other southern states. Or overly influenced by those transplants.
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean that you'll finally be able to get health care coverage, Gryph? I hope so. For all the good work you did in covering the debate over the ACA and then not be eligible for it was a real stick in the eye. Hope everything works out for you.
ReplyDelete