Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe has made it clear that he will push for the expansion of the state’s Medicaid program. Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly have made it clear that they are opposed to Medicaid expansion.
So naturally the Republican Party of Virginia, in a survey of voters on issues in the upcoming legislative session, would ask for opinions on Medicaid expansion.
Right?
Wrong.
The year-end survey conspicuously leaves out Medicaid expansion in asking voters what potential Democratic policy actions worry them the most, specifically listing “higher income taxes,” “higher sales taxes,” “more job killing environmental regulations,” “weakening Virginia’s right to work laws” and “weakening Virginia’s Standards of Learning.”
Speculation about the omission could be that the GOP does not think the Medicaid expansion issue will get anywhere with strong Republican opposition, or that, on the flip side, perhaps there’s a chance that a compromise between the incoming governor and the majority in the General Assembly could be in the offing.