Since we’re on the topic of appalling and bizarre things said by rightwingers, here’s a US entry, from this morning’s inbox, with the headline above. It’s from the Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida thinktank closely linked to ALEC (it also has some overlap with Cato and the State Policy Network).
The “argument” is that the expansion gives health care to poor people “many of whom (35 percent) with a record of run-ins with the criminal justice system”. This is illustrated with a “light-hearted” YouTube cartoon of convicts (riding in Cadillacs, naturally) pushing old ladies out of the line to get into the luxurious health care club that is Medicaid.
Given the catchy use of percentages (the 35 per cent figure is applicable to any assistance given to the poor), we can expect to see this one resurface in the Repub memepond on a regular basis. Paging Mitt Romney.
John Quiggin 
It’s not a surprise that Google has finally cut its ties to ALEC. More of one that it’s been joined by Occidental Oil, a quite large ($77bn market cap) second-tier international oil company that funds initiatives against proper climate education and donates heavily to Republican politicians. They must think that the ALEC brand has gone toxic, and/or that the Kochs are going senile.
The SMH says the ceo of Medibank Private will increase his salary from A million of so to four million after privatisation. I doubt if this will lead to cartoons about convicts robbing the paying public.