Waco mayor calls Rick Perry, GOP Texas Lege morons

Well,. not in so many words, no.

But, that's the implication of what Malcolm Duncan Jr. said about them at a Waco-area town hall meeting, if the state rejects the Medicaid expansion portion of Obamacare:

Mayor Malcolm Duncan Jr. said that if Texas rejects the money, the uninsured will continue to get medical treatment at local emergency rooms, and somebody pays for that.

“The thing I keep coming back to is that care happens no matter what,” he said. “But if it’s uncompensated care, we all end up paying for it . . . through increased premiums on private health plans.”

It's like the GOP's old "we have national health care, just visit your hospital ER" nonsense.

And, local leaders were grilling their Austin representatives, too:

County Judge Scott Felton, who also favors the Medicaid expansion, asked for the opinions of State Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson, R-Waco, and state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury.

Both expressed reservations about accepting the federal money, arguing that it could have strings attached. The dialogue was cut short when Duncan noted that the meeting was not posted for public comment, but he said the discussion should continue.

Good to know that Waco leaders, while representing a conservative area, aren't idiots.

Texas legal blog Grits for breakfast has more on this and jail issues for the mentally ill.