Hypocrisy in the Republican camp

Liberal America has written a post about Arkansas state representative Josh Miller. Eleven years ago, he was in a car accident while drunk. However, it is not clear if he was driving or if his friend was driving. Because of this incident, he is paralyzed and his extensive hospital care bills were taken care of by Medicaid. He is now a state representative trying to abolish Medicaid, because he says the people receiving it are not deserving of it.

Liberal America is a blog which is devoted to liberal beliefs so its audience is mostly other liberals, making the post rather appropriate for the audience. The opinions found here are rather harsh but it is a blog and not a newspaper so it does not have the same need for objectivity. The fact that it is a blog which clearly advertise its liberal thoughts makes it even more appropriate. They are, however, putting words in his mouth by saying that the people he does not believe to be deserving of Medicaid are most likely Latinos or blacks. There are no references to Josh Miller ever saying this, but rather this seems to be an assumption which the writer is making.

This post links to the Arkansas Times to show the validity of the article's claims. This lends the story credibility. This is not just something that they have invented to make Republicans look bad. This event is true and it has happened and it shows the hypocrisy of many Republicans. Josh Miller obviously liked the Medicaid just fine when he needed it but at the same time he believes that he deserves it meanwhile other people do not.

I strongly believe that everyone deserves to be treated for illnesses and accidents, including Josh Miller. It would be easy to say that he does not deserve it because he brought it upon himself but that doesn't matter. Do I think that Josh Miller seem to be a good person? No, but that is beside the point. No one should have to be forced into lifelong debt because of the need for hospital care. No one should have to deny themselves access to health care because they can't afford it. It is unlikely that Josh Miller does not see the irony in the fact that he got basically free care for an accident which he brought upon himself, while at the same time accusing other recipients of Medicaid of being undeserving. It is not surprising to me, however. Taking a closer look at Republican policies shows that they seem to be mainly interested in helping themselves but not their fellow Americans.