Cook: You Might Be A Private Option Supporter If…

Last week an impressive thing happened in Arkansas politics. A Republican-controlled state Legislature voted overwhelmingly to continue the Private Option, aka Obamacare, for the next two years.

A Republican-controlled state Legislature created the Private Option and voted to reauthorize it, so voting for it again wasn’t the impressive part. The impressive part was that many of the Republicans who voted to continue Obamacare in Arkansas vigorously campaigned on ending Obamacare in Arkansas.

Although, while voting to continue the Private Option is good for Arkansans, I wonder if we should be all that impressed or laudatory with elected officials who say one thing and then go do the exact opposite.

These Republicans hated Obamacare in Arkansas so much they voted to fully fund it for the next two years. More to the point, for freshman Republican members, they voted to fully fund Obamacare in Arkansas for their entire first term in the General Assembly.

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy made millions off the brilliant phrase entitled: “You Might Be a Redneck If…” which is always followed by a hilarious description, like “if you ever financed your tattoo, you might be a redneck.”

So imagine Foxworthy saying the following, which granted lacks the funniness of his lines: If you ever voted to continue the Private Option, you might be a Private Option supporter. If the Democratic Party of Arkansas sends out a press release thanking you for voting for the Private Option, you might be a Private Option supporter.

Funny enough, the DPA did send out a press release on Friday thanking the state Legislature for voting for the Private Option.

The DPA’s press release also called out by name two Republicans who campaigned against the Private Option and then voted for the Private Option:

“We especially thank those Republican legislators who while they campaigned adamantly against the private option realized just how wrong they were to do so. Republicans like Laurie Rushing and John Cooper campaigned against the Private Option and played to the fears of their constituents – using this issue to help defeat their Democratic opponent who was honest and helpful with their constituents.”

Rushing, elected last year, campaigned heavily against the Private Option, but then voted to keep the program rolling for two years. Right after the final vote in the House, Rushing tweeted the following.

You gotta give Rushing, and other Republicans who expressed a similar convoluted sentiment, some credit for the elaborate spin explaining why they voted to fund Obamacare for two more years, and perhaps longer.

I say perhaps longer because the state Legislature also passed legislation creating a task force to study the Private Option and provide recommendations for health care reforms.

If Arkansas is really ending the Private Option/Obamacare permanently, why do we even need a task force to study it? Just end it completely and be done with it.

On Twitter over the past few days, some Republicans who voted for the Private Option took fire from people opposing the Private Option and from Democrats noting the hypocrisy of those who campaigned against the Private Option, but then voted for the Private Option.

Rushing got defensive on her vote and tweeted the following insult to a woman who works for former State Rep David Kizzia, who Rushing beat last year. The woman had been calling out Rushing’s vote for the Private Option after Rushing had campaigned against it.

Yikes.

If you ever get defensive for voting for the Private Option and insult someone by saying they don’t know how to read, you might be a Private Option supporter.