Month: May 2011

40 Republican U.S. Senators Vote to Kill Medicare

Jon Ponder

Talking Points Memo:

The GOP continued its bloody walk into the Medicare buzzsaw on Wednesday, when 42 out of 47 Senate Republicans voted for the House GOP budget, and its plan to phase out and privatize the popular entitlement program.

The budget failed by a vote of 57-40. But the roll call illustrates that Medicare privatization — along with deep cuts to Medicaid and other social services — remains the consensus position of the GOP despite the growing political backlash against them.

Voting with all of the Democrats were Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) — both 2012 incumbents — along with Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Rand Paul (R-KY) voted against it because it wasn’t radical enough.

List of the senators who voted to kill Medicare follows:

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Florida’s Scott Continues to Sink in Popularity

Trish

29%

Of Floridians approve of the job Rick Scott (R/Tea) is doing as governor, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. This figure represents a decrease from last month, when both he and the state’s legislature, which holds a Republican super majority, earned approval from 35%. Today, the legislature is even lower than Scott, at 27%. Both results are the lowest for any Florida governor or legislature in the history of the poll.

The Message from Voters in NY26 to GOP: Hands Off Our Medicare

Jon Ponder

The Republican spin machine is in over-drive trying to redirect attention away from the real reason a Democrat, Kathy Hochul, defeated the GOP candidate in New York’s 26th congressional district yesterday. Hochul, who won with a 47-43 percent margin, becomes only the fourth Democrat to hold the seat since 1857. Republicans who have previously represented the 26th include Jack Kemp, Bill Paxon and, most recently, Chris “Shirtless” Lee.

The real reason Hochul won — besides the fact that she proved to be an extremely effective campaigner — is, of course, the Kill Medicare provision in the House Republican budget bill:

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