So now it’s official; all but four Republicans in the House are on record as having voted to end the Medicare program by voting for Paul Ryan’s budget proposal. The four dissenting Republicans were Reps. Ron Paul of Texas, Walter Jones of North Carolina, David McKinley of West Virginia, and Denny Rehberg of Montana. No Democrats voted in favor of Ryan’s plan, which is now the Republican plan.
There is no chance it will pass in the Senate. So, in one sense, it was a symbolic victory for the House Republicans.
But, WTF are they thinking?
I’ve heard the talking points already. They are not destroying Medicare, they say; they are saving it. It’s going to go broke anyway, so we have to scrap it and do something else that will be just as good. They seem to think that since people already aged 55 and over won’t be affected, no one is going to care.
One group that might care is private insurers. Ryan cooked this thing up without consulting them, one suspects, and they may not like it. As Josh Marshall says, “How much money do you think there is in insuring 75 year olds?” With Medicare gone, who is going to pick up the tab for the indigent seniors who can’t afford their own health care? There is real concern in the health care and health insurance industries that Ryan’s plan could end up costing them more, too.
But beyond that, I have a hard time believing the American people can be talked into accepting this, especially when it’s made plain to them that their hardships are necessary to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.
Amazing. See also “Crossing the Rubicon” and “The Grief the GOP Just Brought on Itself.”
The Democrats need to add all 235 Republicans who voted for Privatizing Ryan’s plan to their Christmas card list. I think “Thank You” cards today would also be a nice touch. And some flowers or chocolates.
So the plan they thought was too radical to display, let alone run on, before last years elections, has now been approved by all but FOUR Republicans in the House. Despite the fact that with a Democratic Senate and President, this law has as much chance of being passed as a ribeye lunch at a bulimic’s convention.
The question though is, even after the Republicans loaded the bases, and just ran a 3-0 count, and are throwing a nice, fat, batting practice fastball down the heart of the plate, can the Democrats hit it? Or will they pop it up? Or worse – wiff?
My question in all of this, and I was thinking about this last night, is, where are ANY adults on the Republican side? Not just in the House, but in the Senate. Or anywhere for that matter?
With this Medicare Death Panel bill, the attempts at turning SS into poker chips for Wall Street, the birther nonsense, and the constant legislation against immigrants, workers, and womens icky parts, where’s one person who’ll can stand up an say, “Hey folks, hold on! We’re getting waaaaay too crazy out here. We need to tone it down a few notches?”
I thought maybe Dole, or Luger, or George H.W. Bush might say something- but, they’re probably viewed as too old and out of touch by “The Young Guns.”
I mean, it seems like they no longer run on oxygen, but on crazy. And not just ‘regular’ crazy, but ‘high-test’ crazy.’
I’d say thank you to all of these Republican lemmings for following their leaders off a cliff, but remember, this is the Democrats we’re depending on to message this. These are the same people who allowed the Repbulican opposition to paint universal health care, for Chirst’s sake, as some euthanasia program for Grammy and Pawpaw, and, with a handful of exceptions, instead of proudly defending it before the 2010 elections, decided to see who could set the land speed record for getting the farthest away from what they fought for for well over a year. Not exactly “Profiles in Courage…”
Let’s see if Democrats can do anything after the opposition has exposed its own flanks, and turned its back on its one core base constituency, outside of racists and religious loony-tunes.
If the Democrats can’t message this, let’s face it, they can’t message anything, and may as well just bow their heads and go home like beaten dogs – blue, or otherwise.
Uhm, my comment just disappeared faster than an original thought in a troll’s noggin!l
I found it.
This will be our (the left’s) version of “they’re gonna take our guns away”.
No, the House GOP really did just vote to end Medicare, whereas there is no “they” in the Democratic Party advocating wholesale gun confiscation.
There is a difference between stuff that is actually happening and stuff that is a complete fantasy.
Thanks! 🙂