A second effort in the Tennessee legislature to take up Medicaid expansion failed this week, meaning 280,000 Tennesseans still remain, needlessly, without any kind of healthcare coverage. When one of those Tennesseans confronted Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R), a wealth manager at Morgan Stanley about it, asking him if he'd be willing to give up his own insurance, well,
Gardenhire showed his true colors.
One activist, Damien Crisp, asked Gardenhire if he would be willing to give up his own state-subsidized health insurance.
Gardenhire, in a video of the incident taken by another activist, turned around and said something along the lines of "Not giving it up, asshole" or, perhaps, "Why don't you give it up, asshole?" ("Asshole" is the clearest part of his rejoinder.)
Gardenhire's health coverage has been an issue in Tennessee before. He had previously claimed not to receive state-sponsored coverage, but the Associated Press, through an open records request, revealed that he does.
"I have it, but I don't use it," the lawmaker told AP after the revelation. "I use Morgan Stanley's insurance, which is far greater." […]
"We drove all the way up to Nashville and tried to engage in the process," Crisp said, "and this is the democracy we get, being called an asshole." Crisp said.
Isn't that charming. You won't be surprised to find out who Gardenhire considers his true constituents, (or maybe his bosses). Yup, the Koch brothers, who have gone all in to
kill Medicaid expansion in Tennessee,
twice, in special and regular session. It's pretty clear who the asshole is here.