After wanting to jail proponents, Chelsea representative now urges use of ObamaCare

Rep. Deb Sanderson (R-Chelsea) has an opinion piece in today’s Portland Press Herald, opposing Medicaid expansion. In it, she argued that half of those that would be covered by expansion are eligible for subsidies created by the Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare.

Perhaps Sanderson can explain why she is encouraging others to enroll in ObamaCare, since in June 2011 she voted in support of LD1233, An Act To Prohibit Enforcement by a Federal or State Official of the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The Revisor’s Office provided a summary of LD1233:

This bill prohibits a federal or state official, agent or employee from enforcing the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or any other statute, law, rule, regulation or order made in connection with that Act. Violation by a federal official is a Class C crime, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. Violation by a state official is a Class D crime, punishable by less than one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. The bill also allows a civil cause of action.

Rep. Sanderson was willing to send a primary care provider to jail for five years, just for following the law she now espouses.

On the national level, we’ve seen Republicans in Congress lurch from one attack to the next, as each of their complaints is debunked. Here in Maine, even hypocrisy is acceptable.