Welcome to For The Record, the Colorado Times Recorder’s series where you can hear public figures in their own words. We’ll give you the clip and the context, so you can listen for yourself.
Deborah Flora, a longtime Republican activist and occasional candidate for office in Colorado, recently said on a right-wing radio show that kicking large numbers of people off of government health care would be supported by Jesus, because it would help “take care of the most needy.”
“I would always ask myself, ‘Deborah, what would Jesus do?’” Flora said while guest-hosting The Mandy Connell Show on July 17. “He’d want us to take care of the poor. I wanna say, 100% agree with that. A sign of a civil society, a caring society, is a safety net for those who really need it. And there are those who really need it. I am all for that. But here’s an example. When it is abused, and people who are able-bodied are not required to at least try to get work, there is not the money for those who actually need it.”
Flora’s activist career has been defined by a focus on conservative education reform, including issues such as pushing back on LGBTQ-inclusive school policies, advocating for charter schools, and decrying a ‘cultural Marxist’ threat in public schools. She ran as a Republican for U.S. Senate in 2022 and Colorado’s 4th Congressional District in 2024, both unsuccessfully. In 2025, Flora joined the national Board of Directors for Moms for Liberty, a far-right anti-LGBTQ school activist group.
Medicaid has recently been undermined by Republicans in the federal government. Last year, lawmakers in Congress passed a budget with over $1 trillion in cuts to healthcare, most of which have been delayed until later this year.
Republicans like U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO), who voted for the cuts, have justified them similarly to Flora, by saying that “able-bodied” people should not be allowed on Medicaid unless they are working. However, there is no official “able-bodied” designation within Medicaid. Many so-called “able-bodied” people who Flora, Evans, and other Republicans would want to kick off Medicaid have difficulty finding work due to chronic medical or psychological problems.
Listen to Flora’s full quote:
“I would always ask myself, Deborah, what would Jesus do? He’d want us to take care of the poor. I wanna say 100% agree with that. A sign of a civil society, a caring society, is a safety net for those who really need it. And there are those who really need it. I am all for that. But here’s an example. When it is abused and people who are able bodied are not required to at least try to get work, there is not the money for those who actually need it. Right here in Colorado with our budget deficit, they’re calling, they’re looking to cut part of where the real need is for a network and a safety net. They’re looking under the dome to cut care for medically fragile children who truly are exactly what Jesus would point us to do. What a good society would do is to take care of the most needy. When it is abused the way it has been, when it has gone far beyond what even FDR called it. It should be a temporary fix to help someone get on their feet, not to make them dependent on government. That’s when it goes too far.”
This year, Colorado’s legislature had to make serious cuts to Medicaid and other government programs due to a $1.5 billion budget shortfall. Colorado’s budget woes will not be aided by the budget passed by Republicans in Congress, which is estimated to cut $5 billion from Colorado’s budget over five years.
