Conservative Radio's Jay Weber wants Democrats to Apologize to Scott Walker for demanding Medicaid Expansion!

There's more people on Medicaid than there should be? Saving money is "compassionate," not saving lives by providing health care? Republicans shouldn't have to pay anything to keep the public healthy, magical wizards should do it? Oh no, Medicaid participation turned out to be more than originally thought!

The genius that made these clueless comments, WISN's Jay Weber, is telling "every moron Democrat" to apologize to Scott Walker now. You see, Walker was right about states still having to pony up to pay for Medicaid expansion. The other half of the story Weber was too big a "dope" to look at was the higher costs states would have to pay turning down Medicaid expansion.

Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature's opposition to the law is projected to cost $678.6 million in state tax dollars through the 2017 fiscal year.

All the while covering fewer people while resulting in higher health care costs overall for everyone else. What a deal? In the audio clip below, Sen. Alberta Darling admitted to Weber the state had a $700 million hole in the budget for gods sake, and that's without expansion. Gee, I wonder how much Ohio has to pay for covering more people?

Ohio taxpayers will be on the hook for over $130 million to meet the 5 percent state match, more than double the projected $55.5 million.

Yup, that's it, and a whole lot less than Wisconsin, unless you have a different way of doing math. Walker is also doling out $30 million from the general fund so hospitals won't lose money caring for the uninsured (the fed is giving $30 million as well). Oddly, Republicans screamed about a similar backstop plan in the ACA marketplaces that helped insurers recover some of their lost revenues. Guess that's somehow different? 

Weber should be fired for not just radio malpractice, lying, but for being such a sycophantic Walker "stooge."  Dope and stooge were two of Weber's words in the clip below...back at ya.



Liberal Media? Weber started as a news reporter, and then became news director. Yea, real liberal media...

Scott Walker’s message is absolutely clear on this; he wants to save money by cutting off as many people as he can from health care via reductions in access to Medicaid (BadgerCare). This isn’t about saving people’s lives, saving them years of agonizing pain, or reducing the rising cost of health care, this is about saving general revenue dollars for future tax cuts.  

Weber brought up the usual one-sided trashing of Medicaid expansion by such publications as the Wall Street Journal and National Review, and gave no attribution this time around. Right wing tabloids never report how much states would pay if they didn't expand the program (they paying about 40% of the cost, not the ACA's a measly 10%). Analysts have found that without change, costs would skyrocket for everybody else. So instead of right wing spin, here are the facts:

States opting out of the expansion of Medicaid is projected both to drive up insurance costs and to save the States relatively small amounts (with some, like Minnesota, showing up to a billion in new revenue under the program).

The 22 states that didn't expand Medicaid eligibility last year saw their costs to provide health care to the poor rise twice as fast as states that extended benefits. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey of Medicaid directors showed that those that didn't broaden coverage saw their Medicaid costs rise 6.9 percent in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2015. The 29 states that took President Obama up on his offer to foot the bill saw their costs rise only 3.4 percent.

That 3.4% rise is what Walker is whining about. Keep in mind, that’s modest when you consider participation rose 18% – 3 times as much as non-expansion states.

A National Review article inadvertently ripped into a purely Republican “private plan” for expansion that increased costs...but sure, that's Obama's fault?

Arkansas reached an unprecedented agreement with the administration to accept the Obamacare expansion, but only under the condition that the newly eligible population would enroll in private health plans … They called it the “private option,” and claimed it would control costs.

The private option was supposed to be “budget-neutral” for the federal government, but federal auditors have calculated it will cost $778 million more than expected over just the first three years. The Arkansas Republican “private option” ended up increasing the cost of the ACA and the state.  

WISN News Director Herrera: "I will never...set foot in Dane County...liberal bastion...avoid giving money to the libs who have businesses there."

With never an original thought in their Borg-like heads, the Republican talk radio machine now wants to copy the growing business boycott of bigoted North Caroline, by boycotting Dane County. 

After right-to-work was struck down by an enemy of the state, a “liberal” judge, WISN Radio's news director Ken Herrera hatched the idea. Of course it goes without saying that conservative judges are almost always right. And if their not, they're purged from the system (see Kansas Supreme Court).

What's most appalling is that a radio station’s NEWS DIRECTOR is pushing this by making it public. Which begs the question; what else is Herrera choosing to spin, ignore or censor in the station’s coverage of news?

What is he directing WISN News to ignore or spin?

Outdoing his own authoritarian right wing talk show bloviators, Herrera just opened a whole new can of worms; are the talkers just a distraction from the more silent subversive nationwide movement toward an extensive network that's dedicated to right wing propaganda…via our public airwaves?

It’s interesting to note the hypocrisy; Republicans have always opposed boycotts, going so far as to protect campaign donor names and employee contributors to ward off a possible public backlash effecting their businesses bottom line. Another “principled” flip flop?  

Personally, it's hard to imagine a more outlandish statement coming from someone the public assumes is unbiased and fair. Nice catch by the Devil’s Advocates, who wrote:

Dom: "I wonder if his opinions on 'libs' and Dane County impact decisions on what 'news and information' he is employed to direct."

Here's Herrera's Facebook comment, where he even hates businesses owned by liberal job creators:

Ken Herrera: "No surprise here...it's a Dane county judge...I am happy to say that in the 12 years I have lived in Wisconsin...I have never...and will never, set foot in Dane county. I don't want to spend even one penny in that liberal bastion. It's sort of a personal thing…but my wife and I agree we will never enter Dane county as long as we live. We have actually taken routes WAY around the county to avoid giving money to the libs who have businesses there...this has been my personal boycott for as long as I've lived in WIsconsin...and I'm quite sure I will never, ever spend a penny in Dane county...because I will never, ever visit... I wish every conservative in the state would adopt the same pledge... avoid this county... when you spend money there you are only helping the liberal cause..."

Herrera went on to highlight his stations influence on public perception, especially when it came to the raw pro-Ted Cruz propaganda, like it was a bragging point:

Herrera's Facebook supporters like Andy Smith are proving the slide into right wing authoritarianism is on the fast track:

Andy Smith Slap! Frap! Zowie! Oooof! Bam! GOOD JOB, KEN. I listened to you on WBBM, I had the pleasure and honor of working with you at both WTMJ and then-Clear Channel. You label what's news and what's comment . . . they merely resent that everyone doesn't listen to CLEARLY Left Wing "public" (translate: government radio), which NEVER distinguishes "news" from Leftist agenda setting and active Leftist agenda advancement.

After that twisted rant, the liberal enemies of the state reacted with humor and criticism:

Andy Smith's response made it clear humor, speech and dissent will not tolerated, in another bad case of projection:

“Amazing (well, actually not a surprise) to read the red-hot hatred firing from the typing fingers of all those, tolerant, accepting, kind, thoughtful Leftists in Dane County who CANNOT STAND anyone whose attitudes, opinions and behavior are not in LOCK STEP with their own. It's disgraceful, but as we've learned in so many ways, it is also predictable and consistent. So filled with vile hatred!”

UPDATE: WISN News Director Ken Herrera is now officially a victim, thanks to his own right wing commentary. Herrera's attempted to save his credibility ranks right up there with "former" bigot and political partisan Justice Rebecca Bradley, insisting his personal beliefs don't influence his job:

Ken Herrera No... it's a personal boycott...to answer your question about whether my personal beliefs interfere with my news judgment.. The left is always holding boycotts that are highly publicized.. mine has been, until now, a quiet, personal one that has nothing to do with my selection of news stories to run...or the "slant" of any story. I think any listener to WISN will know I run stories that are pro-left.. and anti-left just as much as those that are pro-right or anti-right. I just personally don't agree with much of what the left holds out, so I choose, as an individual, not to contribute my money to the left. That's just a personal decision and has nothing to do with my profession... one I have followed for almost 40 years now and I believe you won't find anyone in the country who would question my ethics as a journalist. Except, of course, you... based on a simple Facebook post. But I'm not surprised because that's usually the way folks on the left operate...