The Montana chapter of Americans for Prosperity goofed when it was responding to the state’s House of Representatives approving legislation to expand Medicaid.
After the House passed the legislation on Thursday night, according to The Great Falls Tribune, Montana AFP state director Zach Lahn released a statement saying that his group was “deeply disappointed in the state legislature’s decision tonight to expand Medicaid. This decision stands directly against the voices of millions of Montanans who have made it clear that they do not want more Obamacare.”
But the last census estimate from 2014 said Montana’s population was 1,023,579, up slightly from the 2013 estimate of 1,014,864. Twitter took notice and the hashtag #millionsofmontanans took off, with Gov. Steve Bullock (D) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) weighing in.
Yesterday, a “grassroots” organization talked about the things #MillionsOfMontanans did. What else have #MillionsOfMontanans done? #MTLeg
— Steve Bullock (@GovernorBullock) April 10, 2015
#MillionsOfMontanans wish they had my haircut. #FlattopFriday #mtpol pic.twitter.com/BF6LlzDAyv
— Senator Jon Tester (@SenatorTester) April 10, 2015
Does anyone remember that one time when #MillionsOfMontanans opposed medicaid expansion, because I don’t. @AFPMontana
— Adam Gregory Haight (@AdamGHaight) April 11, 2015
Lahn later released a statement saying his group made a mistake. He kept criticizing the move to expand Medicaid though.
“Two mistakes were made yesterday. One was in our press release, the other was on the house floor with the passage of Medicaid expansion,” Lahn wrote in an email, according to the Tribune. “The latter mistake will have a devastating impact on state budget and the lives of Montanans who have made it known that they reject Obamacare. Our organization and our 14,000 Montana activists will be holding lawmakers accountable for that mistake in years to come.”