Mitch McConnell won the ObamaCare portion of last night's debate by default when Alison Grimes lauded Gov. Steve Beshear's "courage" for illegally implementing optional provisions of the "Affordable Care Act," but it wasn't the knockout it could have been.
"With regard to the Medicaid expansion, that's a state decision," McConnell said. "States can decide whether to expand Medicaid or not. In our state, the Governor decided to expand Medicaid and that..."
McConnell was cut off there by KET debate moderator Bill Goodman. If McConnell does not wish to support Kentuckians fighting against illegal implementation of the Medicaid expansion here, he might make that clearer than he already has by finishing his sentence. I suspect, however, that he never will.
I don't have much of a problem with the word games McConnell is playing with the "Kynect" implementation. Obamacrats don't want to call him on saying the state could keep it because they don't want to draw any more attention to the fact that they need huge amounts of federal dollars to maintain even a facade of viability for the exchange. McConnell could stand up for the rule of law on this issue, but expecting him to start that now is perhaps setting the bar too high.