(Fresno mayor) Autry backs governor's health plan in GOP rift

Source: Fresno Bee

SACRAMENTO -- If he wasn't already, Fresno Mayor Alan Autry on Monday clinched his spot as Gov. Schwarzenegger's go-to Republican.

Sharing the stage with union leaders and the Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Autry gave the governor some much-needed GOP support for a health-care plan that an hour earlier passed the state Assembly without a single Republican vote.

Autry's support drew sharp criticism from GOP activists, who say the $14.4 billion proposal amounts to a massive tax increase. But Autry, who has spurned his party on immigration and other issues, didn't seem to care.

"I'd like to know where it says in the Republican commandments -- 'thou shall not have universal health care,' " he said, speaking at a post-vote news conference in a packed Capitol rotunda. "I think there's Republicans all over this state that can't wait to vote for this."

... Conservative Republicans said the mayor's support of the health-care plan would hurt him politically if he ever chose to run for a statewide office.

Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/273169.html

It's universal health "insurance", just a way to get more taxpayer dollars into the hands of their buddies in the insurance bidness. It will do little or nothing to improve the quality of care, just save a piece of the pie for insurance companies.

The only way to achieve universal health care is with a single payer system so that all patients are assured of equal and quality attention.

pass a single payer bill a couple of years ago and it was vetoed by Arnold? These insurance company schemes just don't work out, how many failures do we need before they wake up to that!

with a few Armeniens left and Asians sprinkled in. White flight took off a long time ago, and the Mayor knows his career is short if he does not appear to be moderate, like Arnold.