Principles: Texas Gov. Rick Perry steadfast in refusing Obamacare Medicaid expansion...

Several Republican governors have recently caved and agreed to accept the Obamacare Medicaid expansion. Texas Gov. Rick Perry and author of “Fed Up!” isn't among that group.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Gov. Rick Perry, who authored the memorably titled book “Fed Up!” before launching a presidential run in 2011, is again demonstrating his skeptical view of a federal government that comes bearing gifts for his state -- even as many of his Republican colleagues have changed their tune.

On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott became the latest GOP governor to say he will accept a provision in the national health care reform law that expands Medicaid dramatically in his state. But Perry remains steadfast in his refusal to accept the federal funding.

Proponents of taking the money have characterized Perry’s decision as reflecting an unreasonable obstinacy. Texas has the nation’s highest rate of uninsured residents, after all, and the proposed Medicaid expansion would cover more than 1 million additional people.

But during a speech in Washington on Friday that was intended to draw attention to his state’s economic strength, Perry was repeatedly heckled by organized groups of protesters -- to no avail, however, as the nation’s longest-serving governor drew a clear line in the sand on the issue.

“Let me go on the record here for a moment: We’re not going to be expanding Medicaid in Texas,” he said to cheers from the partisan Republican crowd on hand, according to the Houston Chronicle. “The reason is because it’s a broken system. It’s moving our state -- and I’ll just speak to our state -- towards bankruptcy if we expand the current program.” Keep on reading...