This, apparently, is Mr. Weatherford's definition of The Golden Rule

This, apparently, is Mr. Weatherford's definition of The Golden Rule

In the morning speech explaining his resistance to expanding health coverage for the poor, Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, told the House and Senate, meeting in a joint session on the Legislature’s opening day, about his family’s circumstances when he was 15 and his brother, Peter, age 2, died of cancer after surgeries and a year’s worth of treatment had drained the family’s savings. His father, who was self-employed, and his mother, who home-schooled the family’s nine children, faced a “mountain of medical bills,” Weatherford, 33, said. The family was uninsured. “It was the safety net that picked my family up,” Weatherford said. “I will continue to believe in – and fight for – a strong safety net for Florida.” Hours after his speech, when asked to expand on his story, Weatherford told reporters that his family didn’t receive Medicaid.

Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford is a rising star in conservative political circles. Yesterday, the 33-year-old Republican appeared to burnish those credentials, receiving a standing ovation after delivering a passionate speech decrying Gov. Rick Scott's decision to take advantage of Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. The Palm Beach Post reports Weatherford initially said he didn't know precisely who paid for the care, but later in the day a staffer soon told The Palm Beach Post that the cost had been written off by medical professionals as charity care. That story supported the premise of Weatherford's argument: Instead of expanding money pits like Medicaid, Florida should fight for the safety net that helped his family when it was in need.

As you'll see below the fold, the only problem with the story is that it wasn't true.