Kansas views on Medicaid expansion, illegal voters, electronic voting, Ike memorial
Medicaid expansion – For those of you who’ve cheered Gov. Sam Brownback and other conservatives in Kansas for not participating in the dreaded “Obamacare,” you must be thrilled with the news that Mercy Hospital in Independence is going out of business. That’s 190 jobs in a town of 9,000 people, to say nothing of the people in Independence and the area who now will have to drive at least 16 miles to Neodesha, or maybe 20 to Coffeyville, for hospital care. By rejecting Obamacare money and not expanding Medicaid, Brownback put his political ambitions ahead of the state’s hospitals and its residents.
Gov. Sam Brownback and the Kansas Legislature have shown little sympathy for poor and disabled Kansans who would gain access to adequate medical insurance by accepting a federally financed expansion of the Medicaid program. Now, however, the obstinance and callousness of Kansas leaders are creating another, completely avoidable, epidemic – the closure of rural hospitals. The governor and those lawmakers who oppose accepting Medicaid expansion say they’re watching out for the best interests of Kansans in the long run, but that belief is just a symptom of the underlying illness in Topeka – a heart that lacks compassion and a brain that lacks the logic to see things sensibly.
Illegal voters – Secretary of State Kris Kobach should know repeating something over and over won’t make it so. He’s continually claimed undocumented immigrants are rushing to the polls to vote, when they aren’t. During a recent debate with Mark Johnson, a University of Kansas law professor, Kobach tried to claim significant voting improprieties involving noncitizens. “You’d be amazed how many green-card holders who want U.S. citizenship are told by someone, ‘You should go vote,’” he said. We’d be amazed if Kobach actually offered proof of as much.
Electronic voting – We join the chorus of Americans who distrust a digital voting system that has no tangible backup to prove voter intent. Any computer program is vulnerable to hacks, attacks and other sorts of manipulation. And we believe it a complete waste of money to invest in technologies that don’t last a generation now, and that longevity trend line is headed downward fast. As the downsides to paperless voting include an erosion of voter confidence and decreased participation in the process, it is time to end this dangerous experiment.
Ike memorial – Who better than former Sen. Bob Dole to spearhead fundraising for a memorial to honor another World War II hero, former President Dwight Eisenhower? Eisenhower and Dole are two of our state’s most noted and admired leaders. The Eisenhower Memorial has lingered for too long, but we’re betting Dole is the guy who can get it back on track.
This story was originally published September 20, 2015 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Kansas views on Medicaid expansion, illegal voters, electronic voting, Ike memorial."