To the editor:

South Carolina Republicans Value Racism Before Health Care for Its People! The South Carolina House has just rejected $ll.2 billion in Federal funding for the state’s Medicaid program. One Republican legislator has stated that the reason for the Republican majority’s decision is the President’s race. State Rep. Kris Crawford suggested that it was politically beneficial for Republicans (who run a Statehouse that flew the Confederate flag as recently as December 2011) to oppose any political initiatives spearheaded by a black man, (forgetting that the President’s mother is white.) Rep. Kris Crawford, a Republican from Florence and also an emergency room doctor, supports the expansion. “The politics are going to overwhelm the policy. It is good politics to oppose the black guy in the White House right now, especially for the Republican Party,” Crawford said. In other words, the Republican agenda is based on racism rather than reason. That’s an ignorant basis to run the most powerful country in the world on. But that is the honest truth! The Republicans in this country value racism over common sense. The Medicaid Expansion program would bring $11.2 billion in federal funding through 2020, more than $4 billion of that coming in the first three years. The program would also create 44,000 new jobs in South Carolina which we definitely need. Let’s ask ourselves: Is voting for Republicans leading us on the road to health or the road to disaster?

Rosellen Aleguire

Fair Play