- Medicaid Shows Its Political Clout Politico by Rachana Pradhan — Medicaid may be the next "third rail" in American politics. Resistance to cutting the health care program for the poor has emerged as a big stumbling block to Obamacare repeal, and Republicans touch it at their political peril. "If they'd gone ahead ... clearly I would think we'd be seeing a transfer of power in a year and a half," said John Weaver, a GOP strategist for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has called the Medicaid overhaul proposals of his fellow Republicans "unacceptable." Medicaid may not be quite as untouchable as Medicare and Social Security — the traditional "third rails" of politics that drive voter behavior. But "it's become even more of a national safety net," Rowland said. "And more people's lives have been touched by it."