In the June 27 Lexington Herald Leader, Doug Epling went on a tirade against the Tea Party lawsuit seeking to stop the illegal expansion of Medicaid. I just submitted the following response:
While I don't really mind the name-calling directed at me by letter writer Doug Epling on the June 27 Opinions page, I am offended by his reckless disregard for the truth as it applies to Gov. Steve Beshear and leaders of the Kentucky General Assembly attempting to use unconstitutional means to expand Medicaid in Kentucky as part of ObamaCare.
Even if the proposed Medicaid expansion were different than all previous expansions of this disastrous federal "health" program and truly represented even a small portion of the purported economic stimulus some have promised, a proper procedure for making such an enormous policy change exists for good reason. That proper procedure has not been followed.
Kentucky's Constitution very firmly requires checks and balances throughout state government for the protection of all citizens. This basic principle has been flagrantly ignored in Frankfort in this case, to the extent that Gov. Beshear's attorney argued in open court that rights of citizens have no intrinsic value whatsoever. Our fighting men and women have not stared down Death itself so some government employee could succumb to such a backwards view of his function in society.
We should have a vibrant public discussion about the efficacy of Medicaid, its dreary history, its bleak future and the culture of dependency it has exacerbated. But first, we must agree to follow Kentucky law. We can all agree to do that, right? Such is the primary purpose of the lawsuit that now so angers Mr. Epling. That's a shame.
