Tag: Medicare

GOP Planning a Debt Crisis to Target Entitlements

Buck Banks

“The November elections will likely give Republicans control of the House of Representatives as a platform from which to oppose the Democratic-controlled White House. And one thing Republicans will do with this power, in all probability, will be to try to provoke a crisis in order to extort Democrats into accepting spending cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.”

— Jonathan Chait

Majority Wants to Keep Medicare

Buck Banks

54%

A recent Quinnipiac poll found that 54% of Republicans oppose cutting Medicaid. A Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll shows that 42% of Trump voters — and 51% of people who approve of Trump — say Medicaid “is somewhat or very important to them and their families.” Just 24% of Trump voters and 20% of people who approve of Trump want to decrease spending on Medicaid, while majorities of both want to keep it the same and many more want to increase it.

Paul Ryan’s Kill-Medicare Plan Has Republicans on the Run

Jon Ponder

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And, yes, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin is now the most unpopular Republican holding elected office, according to a Bloomberg poll. Only Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin are less popular.

At about the 3:00 mark, O’Donnell runs a clip from May 31 of a right-wing radio show host based in St. Augustine kicking an establishment Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson off his show after the pol weaseled around and would not come out in support of the Ryan plan. In many states, this politician’s astoundingly bad performance would be a career-ender. Transcript follows:

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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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