Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton criticized Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin for not expanding Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act at a campaign stop on Friday in Tulsa. Clinton told supports that rural hospitals could close if they don't have the funds they could have from Medicaid. The Tulsa World reports that the remark drew loud applause:
“We have to protect and defend Medicare against Republican attacks to voucherize it, and I sure wish we could get your governor and others to extend Medicaid,” Clinton said during a grass-roots organizing event at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame downtown.
Fallin, a Republican, chose to not expand Medicaid or set up a state-based health insurance exchange because, she said, Oklahoma voters disapproved of the health care law.
Clinton pledged to defend women's rights, marriage equality and voting right. She promised the 900 or so in attendance that she would implement immigration and comprehensive criminal justice reform.
“When you hear Republican candidates saying some of the things they say, I want you to take them seriously because, if elected, they may try to do what they are saying,” she said. “They want to turn the clock back on the progress we have made. They want to go after women’s rights and gay rights and voting rights and workers’ rights. They want us to be out of touch and out of date when it comes to who we are in America today.”
Clinton continues to lead the Democratic primary field over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley among voters nationwide. Poll aggregator RealClearPolitics finds Clinton with 54.3 percent support among Democratic voters across the nation. In the early primary voting state of Iowa, Clinton leads with 53.3 percent, but she continue to trail behind Sanders in New Hampshire, where Sanders leads 47.3 percent to 43.3 percent.
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