Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder has finally accepted reality and set his sights lower than the governor’s office, as he has formed a committee to explore a run for the U.S. House. It makes sense that he announced this decision on the same day that a band of hardline, right-wing House Republicans forced a partial shutdown of the federal government, rather than pass a spending bill that included funding for programs instituted by the Affordable Care Act.
Kinder – who has a history of pandering to urban voters in St. Louis – has now affiliated himself completely with the extreme, government-hating right wing of the Republican Party. These ideologues have been winning the small, safe, gerrymandered congressional districts that collectively made this partial government shutdown possible. That Kinder would be filing against an incumbent Republican, U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, also makes sense, since he is following in the footsteps of a desperate minority that seems willing to destroy their party, if not our nation, to support their position.
Completely playing his now-established role as far-right buffoon, Kinder told reporters on a conference call, “I would hope there would be active resistance to this law,” referring to the Affordable Care Act. “I would really hope that people will not sign up,” he added, referring to the health insurance exchanges created by the law. This is a man with health insurance provided by taxpayers telling people without health insurance that they should not explore health insurance options that their government is newly making available to them. It’s this kind of ignorance and hypocrisy – like the House Republicans still drawing a taxpayer-funded salary, while their antics put on furlough public health experts and first responders – that created widespread outrage this week.
By contrast, Gov. Jay Nixon – who clearly is focused on a political future larger than the claustrophobic confines of a congressional district – encouraged people in Missouri to explore the new options for health care provided by so-called Obamacare. Nixon told reporters that the health insurance exchange provides “another option for Missourians to find competitively priced insurance” and “is an important opportunity.” Nixon urged, “And they should explore those options. I think it is especially important that they do it.”
Nixon also continues to show leadership in trying to push the Republican super-majority in the Legislature to expand Medicaid in Missouri and claim $8 billion in federal revenue over the first six years of implementation of the Affordable Care Act. To date, Missouri Republicans have been so relentlessly – and mindlessly – opposed to health care reform and President Obama himself that they are willing to leave all that money unclaimed, rather than expand health care access for the neediest people in this state. Nixon told reporters he is still hopeful that “we can not only provide a cost-competitive opportunity for them through the exchanges, but also, very importantly, draw down those federal dollars and strengthen and increase the opportunity for health care improvements through Medicaid.”
Meanwhile, in the real world, the health insurance exchanges are open through March 3, though if consumers want their coverage to start on January 1, they have until Dec. 15 to sign up. Anthem and Coventry Health Care are selling insurance on the exchange in Missouri, offering between them a choice of 20 different health plans. We join the governor and other sensible voices in encouraging the uninsured to visit www.healthcare.gov and explore their options.
