Ingraham Confronts GOP Governor on O’Reilly Over Medicaid Expansion, Obama Complimenting Him

Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich has gotten some flak from conservatives for embracing Medicaid expansion in his state, a move that President Obama hailed as laudatory. Kasich defended himself on Friday night when O’Reilly Factor guest host Laura Ingraham put him on the hot seat over the expansion.

Ingraham teased Kasich for being Obama’s new “BFF,” joking “You guys are practically spooning.” Kasich argued he was trying to “bring Ohio money back to Ohio” in order to take care of people like the mentally ill and the drug-addicted, and making sure the working poor have a system that works for them. He said, “Conservatism means that you help people so they can help themselves.”

Ingraham questioned him on whether the expansion is the kind of fiscal responsibility Kasich used to champion in Congress. Kasich noted that it’s not “cost-free to turn this down” and he’s certainly not going to turn down an opportunity to help people in his state.

He dismissed criticism of his decision and talked of making sure people who “live in the shadows” sharing in economic growth, and “to ignore them is not conservatism.”

Watch the video below, via Fox News:

[photo via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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