GOP Ariz. rep. who supports Medicaid is threatened

PHOENIX (AP) — A Republican member of the Arizona House who supports GOP Gov. Jan Brewer’s push to expand Medicaid received an obscene and threatening voicemail at her office, a sign that the rancorous debate over embracing a signature component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in the state is far from over.

A visibly shaken state Rep. Kate Brophy McGee of Phoenix urged fellow members Thursday to tell their constituents to be civil, after a fellow lawmaker encouraged opponents of the plan to call Brophy McGee and other GOP supporters.

“Let’s tone down the rhetoric, let’s focus on the issue, and let’s disagree without making someone like me frightened to come to work,” Brophy McGee said on the House floor.

Other lawmakers who support or are believed to back Medicaid expansion reported getting email and phone calls containing varying layers of vitriol.

“We’re all getting these,” said Rep. Bob Robson, R-Chandler, who has not publically committed to expansion.

Arizona is among nine states where Republican governors have accepted the Medicaid expansion offered under PPACA. Of those, six have been able to get a deal with their legislatures or are on track to do so.

The six are Arizona, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico and North Dakota, with Arizona in the midst of a heated Legislative battle. The three other GOP governors ran into trouble with lawmakers of their own party, and prospects look dim for Medicaid expansion in Florida, Michigan and Ohio.

Brophy McGee got the threatening message after Republican Rep. Bob Thorpe of Flagstaff sent an email earlier in the week urging his constituents to call her and five other GOP House members who support Medicaid expansion. Thorpe said he sent an apology to the lawmakers late Wednesday, telling them he “screwed up” and wouldn’t do so again.

“I think that kind of behavior is intolerable and terrible and it’s very unfortunate that that happened,” Thorpe said of the threat against Brophy McGee. Thorpe, however, said he’s not to blame because he specifically urged people to be polite.

Brophy McGee said it was, “too little, too late.” She added that while she takes, “a fair amount of insults and abuse, this was beyond the pale.”