This has already been widely reported, but I think I'll take another shot at it.
This past week, a tragic story came to light. Because of Jan Brewer's budget priorities, $5 million dollars was cut from AHCCCS, Arizona's name for Medicaid. Because of these cuts, Arizona also lost out on $10 million in matching federal funds.
While the cuts themselves are simply the modus operandi for the Republican party (you know, screw the needy), the way these cuts are implemented are the real cruel tragedy.
Mark Price, a 37 year old father of six, has leukemia. Price can't afford insurance through his employer. He thought AHCCCS would be able to at least help with any major problems he might have, after already beating his leukemia into remission six months ago.
As is sometimes the case with leukemia, it came back. Without a transplant Mark Price will die. It's that simple.
He'll die. He might see Christmas without this. It is unlikely he would see the following Christmas.
-KTAR
Jan Brewer and the Republican legislature don't care about Mark Price. Price, a born and raised Arizonan, a responsible citizen, has been hung out to dry so that Jan Brewer can give tax breaks to wealthy donors and fly around in two private planes.
Price said, "I'm asking for everybody to e-mail the governor to see if they can overturn that bill... I was born and raised here. I paid my taxes my whole adult life. And now that I need help from Arizona, Arizona's not going to be there to help me."
-KTAR
Why won't Jan and the legislature find a way to fix this problem? Mark, a man in the prime of his life who shouldn't be faced with telling his kids he won't be with them next Christmas, is the real victim of death panels. But they didn't come from a Democratic plan- they came from a Republican legislature and governor who won't give up two private planes to save a man's life.
We will do the very best job that we can, given the limited resources that we have. Tough decisions. Not an easy job for the Legislature or me. Hard decisions.
-Jan Brewer
Goddard says Brewer can easily restore the $5 million dollars in funding AHCCCS is losing by doing away with two airplanes she uses to fly around the state.
The two airplanes are apparently worth more than the $5 million dollars they will receive from cutting AHCCCS funds, according to Goddard.
-Terry Goddard
This is the clearest of choices this year: electing Republicans to government results in real death panels. Death panels that Mark Price knows all too well.
Support Terry Goddard on Facebook / Twitter.
Email Jan Brewer.
And GOTDV! We can't have Republicans like Brewer keep doing murder by numbers.
One last quote from Mark:
These are numbers and people are not numbers, these are lives we need to save. -KTAR