Sen. Ed Emery (R-Lamar)
Before state Sen. Ed Emery (R–Lamar) is dismissed as condescending to constituents who do not share his views on Medicaid expansion and other issues, his thoughts on government service should be examined.
First, let’s discuss what has put Emery in the news.
Debbie Cole, a 51-year-old mother of four from Butler, is one of many people who have signed petitions requesting that Missouri—like some other Republican-controlled states—expand Medicaid coverage as part of the Affordable Care Act. Emery apparently received one of the petitions and responded to Cole with a personal letter. He explained why he didn’t favor expansion and cited a study that concluded Medicaid expansion didn’t change healthcare outcomes for the poor in four categories.
Emery then went on to write, “We live in a nation and an era that facilitates physical moves between states. Individuals and families are free to consider moving to states with differing and even contrasting government policies.”
In an interview with Kansas City Public Media station KCUR, Cole said, “It sounded like I was ignorant, and I could move out of the state of Missouri.”
Emery responded to KCUR, saying “I don’t think there was anything in there suggesting anybody should move.”
A visit to the senator's website and his re-election Facebook page, however, suggests Emery doesn’t care what others think if they disagree with him—and that includes the federal government and authors of the Constitution. “The responsibility of a statesman is to limit government and to secure individual rights," his Facebook page states. "The first line of defense against unconstitutional acts of the Federal Government is your state legislature."
Emery must use this thinking when he votes for bills that would make it illegal for FBI agents and other U.S. law-enforcement personnel to enforce federal gun laws. He must believe his view of the Constitution trumps others' views of the Constitution. Others' individual rights to support Medicaid expansion apparently means nothing to him, considering his stance that “expanding Medicaid in our state would wreak havoc on our already stretched-thin budget, leaving the potential open for disastrous hits to our state programs and services.”
There is zero evidence to support that view, but it must play well with some of his constituents. Cole and thousands of other Missourians disagree, though, and do not appreciate his cynicism.
Emery’s website also mentions a publication by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which concluded that Missouri could expect to spend more than $1.15 billion between 2013 and 2022 on "newly edible Medicaid enrollees" alone.
Yes, Emery's site reads “edible.”
Perhaps he could use a course on the U.S. Constitution, a bit more compassion, and an editor for his website.
