MEDICAID: The short answers

Shortly after Dan Hanks’ loss to Tony Wisniewski, Hanks took to his Facebook page to ask the question: “Why is there a disconnect between the label ‘Democrat’ and the policies? Across the board the policies I ran on as a candidate are very popular in Idaho, but the voters tended to vote against candidates endorsing those policies.” Hanks, seemingly referring to the Medicaid expansion vote, is trying to understand why he lost when the initiative he supported so vehemently passed?

There are two simple answers, and no, it isn’t that the Right is uneducated, though I know many of you would prefer to believe that is the case. The simple truth is that many Republicans were held hostage by Medicaid expansion. By this I mean, many who voted for Medicaid expansion did so because something had to be done for individuals within that gap. Rather than waiting for our elected officials to craft an alternative, this seemed like a short-term Band-Aid for an ever-growing problem.

The second reason is a genuine appreciation of specific ideas. I am certain that many individuals, conservatives included, view Medicaid expansion as the fiscally responsible option. Being a conservative does not mean believing every single liberal idea is a bad one. You can support individual policies without supporting the party’s platform as a whole.

I did not vote for Medicaid expansion.

NICHOLAS PETERSON

Hayden