'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Republican governors are warming to the expansion of Medicaid under President Obama's health care law, but their cooperation comes with a common plea to the administration — keep your promises and give us a little flexibility in our backyards, or else the deal is off.
Despite public vilification, those who champion traditional values remain stalwart on their issues. The Values Voter Summit, which begins Friday in the nation's capital, embraces subjects that rivet many Americans but often get short shrift.
President Obama's new non-deportation policy has thrown many of the thorniest immigration questions back into states' laps, as governors and legislators now must decide whether to issue driver's licenses or allow in-state tuition at public colleges to the illegal immigrants who will be given an iffy legal status.
Opponents of Arizona's hardline immigration enforcement law launched a new effort Tuesday aimed at thwarting a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that will allow police to enforce the so-called "show me your papers" provision.
Democrats on Thursday invited Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to testify to the Senate in April on her state's tough immigration law, but her spokesman said she's not likely to attend "a publicity stunt."
The same Arizona group that took down the state's leading immigration hard-liner is now gunning for its best-known lawman.
The prospect of Arizona moving up its presidential primary next year has Republican leaders concerned that an early focus on immigration would detract from what many see as the GOP's 2012 trump card — President Obama's handling of the economy.
As state lawmakers mull the expansion, it is still unclear whether existing enrollees would be kicked off Medicaid if the circuit breaker went into effect, Mr. Benson said.
"Ultimately, the decision came down to the math," said Ms. Brewer's spokesman, Matthew Benson, who noted that if Arizona doesn't sign up, other states will get its money. "Our taxpayers are paying the freight for this program, so we might as well get some of the benefit."
