Has the Tea Party lost its grip on state lawmakers in Lansing?
Macomb Daily columnist Chad Selweski asks that question in a column on a vote Thursday on Medicaid expansion.
Will Thursday, June 13, 2013, be marked by history as a turning point, when Republicans in the state Legislature finally broke free from the ideological chains of the Tea Party and extremist right-wing groups?
The 76-31 House vote in favor of Medicaid expansion — representing a surprising turnaround from the doctrinaire GOP opposition of recent months — may mark a welcome Michigan milestone. Despite an intense grassroots campaign against the plan, the House voted overwhelmingly to approve the “Michigan Healthy Plan” put forward by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.
It appears that many House Republicans got over their knee-jerk reaction against a state-by-state Medicaid program advocated by President Obama.
