Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Called a 'Traitor' Over Support of Expanded Medicare

Jan Brewer, the Republican governor of Arizona, has been a darling of the Republican party in recent years for being one of the most vocal opponents of Barack Obama and for her hard-line stance on illegal immigration.

As Brewer is considering expanding Arizona's Medicare program under the Affordable Care Act she has been called a traitor by some in her party, according to Bloomberg.

When the Supreme Court ruled on the Affordable Care Act it made the expansion of Medicare optional on a per state basis, thus causing political showdowns in many states. In approving the expansion of Medicare Brewer is going directly against the Republican platform, a point of contention for many in the state.

"The Republican platform is very clear; free market, efficiencies, tort reform," Carl Seel, a Republican state Rep., told Bloomberg. "The Democrat's platform is single payer, socialized medicine. Governor Brewer is advocating for single payer, socialized medicine. That is not the Republican platform; that is the Democrat's platform. When it comes to health care I'm beginning to wonder if she is even a Republican. I am significantly and sorely disappointed in our governor for not advocating the Republican platform of free market solution and efficiency solutions."

The bill to expand Medicare passed the Senate as an amendment to a budget bill and is facing an uphill battle in the House. Brewer is hoping to be able to gain enough support to push it through. Tim Schmaltz, coordinator of Protecting Arizona's Family Coalition, has often butted heads with Brewer. Schmaltz spoke with Bloomberg about the governor's support of Medicaid.

"I think the governor has a little bit of a moral streak in her," Schmaltz said. "We're just very grateful, frankly, that the governor had a conversion of heart, both economically and morally."

Governor Brewer's push to expand Medicaid also led to a scary incident this week as a group of Arizona lawmakers received a threatening email. At least nine legislators received the email that made references to the second amendment but did not contain a direct threat, according to Fox News.

"Please kill SB1492, the Medicaid expansion act," the email read. "If you are ever asked why you shot the person, the only answer from your lips should be, I felt my life, and/or my family's life was in immediate danger of death. So I did what I had to do in order to eliminate this threat."

Rep. Kate Brophy McGee, a Republican who supports the bill, received a threatening voicemail that state police are investigating, Fox News reports.

"The voice was a male who left a long rambling message with derogatory remarks aimed at Governor Brewer for Representative McGee," Bart Graves, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said in an email to Fox News. "She felt there was a threatening undertone."

Despite all of the opposition Brewer plans on continuing to push for the Medicaid bill to make its way through the House. At a rally last week Brewer said that the Medicaid expansion was "the most important health issue our state has faced in a decade," Bloomberg reports.

"I knew it wouldn't be easy," Brewer continued to tell the crowd. "But let me tell you something else, I don't think the opponents realized how hard we are going to fight."

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