ORLANDO, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., was one of those Tea Party stars whom voters believed had the courage of his convictions when he promised, as recently as last summer, to block the Affordable Care Act in his state. But last week, writes the Orlando Sentinel, “Scott made an abrupt about-face, embracing a three-year expansion of Medicaid coverage for about 1 million low-income Floridians that will be paid for by the health care law.”

Scott said, “I think this is a common-sense solution to dealing with this for the next three years where it will give us the time to think about how we can improve the system.” Sounding like a Democrat, he added that the state is obligated to help “the poorest and weakest among us.” No, governor, charities and religious bodies are obligated to help the weak and poor. State and federal governments have no such obligation. To claim they do empowers bureaucrats and politicians who are having a difficult enough time fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities. It also undermines the work ethic.