GOP Freak Show Is On, Ignorance and Corruption Lead

Wisconsin has joined the list of states prohibiting the use of the terms, climate change and global warming, in a government Board on state land management (Ivey, Capital Times).

This is a crazy policy, and is representative of the grotesque and diverse freak show coming everywhere Republicans rule in government.

The religious right's continuing attack on gay Americans is SOP for the GOP. (Ford, ThinkProgress and Jenkins, ThinkProgress)

The success of ObamaCare in helping lower income Americans can gain healthcare is a crime for Republicans. (Krugman, NYT)

Then there is the Republicans' most despised phenomenon in American life—even more than gays, blacks, women and the science behind climate change—Medicare and Social Security.

Medicare and Social Security are still pronounced as "unsustainable" by Paul Ryan and the GOP that has been trying kill these programs for decades. (Schaaf, Racine Journal-Times) (Krugman, NYT)

Ryan and the Republicans will be saying this until the day they retire on taxpayer-financed pensions.

Crazy policy on behalf on the Koch brothers and other special interests.

To beat the plutocrats, all progressive Democrats have to do is come out not only in defense of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security but propose expanding these earned social insurance plans for all Americans.

The idea has been around for years but only a handful of politicians and writers are pushing the idea. (Krugman, NYT)

Republicans hate the idea that blacks and other minorities get something, get anything despite a lifetime of work.

If Republicans were honest, gays, blacks, Latinos would just go (self-deport or die) and leave America for whites.

If voters ask Hillary Clinton her position on expanding Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, the terms of the 2016 presidential campaign will be set and the sensible center can slaughter the freak show.

Teixeira: Voucherizing Medicare a Non-Starter with Public

The Democratic Strategist has bad news for the Tommy Thompson-GOP-Tea Party set.

Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan privatization schemes shining through now

Romney-Ryan on earned social insurance:
Let 'em die

George W. Bush's audacious scheme to phase out Social Security in 2005 died a sudden death as an array of political forces joined to defend the popular social insurance program.

Still, this election cycle the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan privatization schemes targeting not just Social Security, but also Medicare and Medicaid are being revamped as the GO-Tea Partiers repeat the billionaries' cry that these programs are unsustainable.

The AARP, with the ready backing of many allies, is 100-percent behind protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid against the newest efforts to destroy these popular programs, and that includes Tommy Thompson's promise to do wway with Medicare and Medicaid..

And the AARP is mobilized to politically strike at the heart of Romney-Ryan and the party's plan to destroy these programs, to save them, they now say.

Open GOP ridicule of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is playing with fire. Hence the "save" language.

Check out the AARP's 2012 election coverage, and watch the debates.

You've earned a say on the future of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the powerful AARP says.

Even if Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan disagree.

Tommy Thompson taking hits on hostile stance against Medicare, Medicaid

Trashing popular social insurance programs is not working for Tommy Thompson and GO-Tea Party.

From Daily Kos:

Thompson's poll numbers have suffered an epic collapse and now to make matters worse, he's had his own version of Mitt Romney's "47%" video, specifically a video from a Tea Party event in June dug up by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel where Thompson bragged about "finishing off welfare" and said he'd "do away" with Medicaid and Medicare. And not too surprisingly, Tammy Baldwin and her campaign are all over it:

"Tommy Thompson now says he wants to 'do away with Medicare,'" Baldwin spokesman John Kraus told TPM. "He supports the Republican plan on Medicare that will provide billions in new profits for big insurance companies and a voucher for seniors instead of the guaranteed benefit they paid for...It's clear Tommy is not for Wisconsin anymore."

Kraus swiped Thompson, formerly the state's governor and President Bush's Secretary of Health and Human Services, as a "quarterback for George W. Bush on a sweetheart deal for drug companies."

Paul Ryan Is Apt Pick as GOP's Targets Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security

Romney and Ryan 2012

GOP extremism on display

"If you think Paul Ryan and his Ayn Rand-worshipping colleagues aren't after your Social Security and Medicare, I am here to disabuse you of your naiveté," said Mike Lofgren, a Republican legislative grunt who retired in June 2011 in dismay and anger at the Tea Party-GOP's radical plans to dismantle the most successful and popular social insurance programs in American history.

Now, Rep. Ryan has been enlisted by Mitt Romney to carry the torch as GOP nominee for the vice presidency.

It's a perfect fit.

Recommend James Vega, John Nichols and the Paul Ryan Watch for important insights on who Paul Ryan is and what he plans for our country.

Republican Hypocrisy on the Payroll Tax Cut

Sen. Blunt - Another Republican against families

We’ve seen Republicans in Congress vote to obstruct the American Jobs Act, a bill that independent economists have said could create up to 2 million jobs. They’ve voted against keeping teachers in the classroom, cops on the beat and firefighters on the job. They voted against putting construction workers back to work rebuilding our roads and bridges.

By Dan Pfeiffer

In addition to blocking these job-creating measures, Republicans in Congress refused to compromise to tackle our nation’s serious deficit problem. They chose to protect tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires at any cost, even if it means deep cuts to education, medical research and Medicare. They will not budge from that negotiating position.

And just last night, after weeks of saying “no” to just about everything, Republicans in Congress chose to allow taxes to increase on nearly 160 million hardworking Americans because they refused to ask a few hundred thousand millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. They voted against a bill that would have not only extended the $1,000 tax cut for a typical family, but expanded that tax cut to put $1,500 in their pockets next year, and given nearly six million small business owners new incentives to expand and hire. That’s not right. It’s not acceptable.

Now, you’ll hear Republicans try to come up with a substantive objection to the payroll tax cut. The fact is, we all know it’s a bad idea to raise taxes on 160 million working Americans. Independent economists agree. We can’t put our economy and the middle class at risk. We can’t play politics with the security of millions of American families and small business owners. Republicans know this. They’ve said so in past. Those same Republicans who voted “no” last night have previously supported the payroll tax cut. Let’s take a look:

Sen. Alexander

12/9/10: Sen. Alexander: “It Also Means That Your Employees Who Work There Will Get A One-Third Reduction In Their Payroll Tax Payments Every Two Weeks. And Maybe They’ll Spend Some More Money Creating More Jobs.” ”QUESTION: And if you look at the proportions, though, of the top, top sector of earners in this country getting the bulk of the benefits, why does that help?

ALEXANDER: Well, if you’re a small business person in Tennessee, what this means is that you won’t be paying tens of thousands of dollars, perhaps more, in taxes and you can use that to create a job. It also means that your employees who work there will get a one-third reduction in their payroll tax payments every two weeks. And maybe they’ll spend some more money creating morejobs. So it’s a combination of policies that all together are focused on jobs.” [NPR, 12/9/10]

Sen. Kyl

11/20/09: Sen. Kyl: “…What You're Suggesting Here Is That You Can Do Some Things To Stimulate Job Creation And Certainly Something Like Reducing The Payroll Tax, Which Has Been Written About Recently, Would Accomplish That…”“MR. KUDLOW: All right. Let me go to a couple of other things. We had Senator Thune on last night about ending TARP, putting a stake in TARP by the end of the year. But Mr. Kyl, let me just ask you. Suppose you got $300 billion from ending TARP. Wouldn't it be better to give it back to the taxpayers in the form of lower tax rates? Wouldn't that be a terrific thing with 10.2 percent unemployment, kind of "we, the people," the government works for us, and they could use the extra cash right now and maybe some incentives on lower rates for payroll taxes?

SEN. KYL: Yeah. As a matter of fact, the original intent here was that when the money was paid back by the banks, you didn't create a revolving account there, you lowered the debt. That is to say, you simply retired that aspect of the debt. Remember, this is all borrowed money from the Chinese and elsewhere. So you can do one of two things with it. You can either retire the debt, or what you're suggesting here is that you can do some things to stimulate job creation and certainly something like reducing the payroll tax, which has been written about recently, would accomplish that. There are other ways you can do it as well.” [CNBC, Kudlow Report, 11/20/09]

Sen. DeMint

11/29/11: “Republican Leaders Said Tuesday They Would Join Democrats In Supporting An Extension Of The 2011 Payroll-Tax Cut Despite Some Reluctance Within The GOP, Virtually Assuring That American Wage-Earners Will Continue To Receive The Benefit Next Year…..Mr. DeMint Said He Would Support The Extension Because ‘I Just Don't Think It's A Good Time To Increase Any Taxes.’” “Republican leaders said Tuesday they would join Democrats in supporting an extension of the 2011 payroll-tax cut despite some reluctance within the GOP, virtually assuring that American wage-earners will continue to receive the benefit next year. Republicans still oppose Democrats' plan to pay for the tax break with a tax on people earning more than $1 million a year. GOP leaders said they would find another way to pay for the tax break and predicted it would pass. ‘I think at the end of the day, there's a lot of sentiment in our conference—clearly a majority sentiment—for continuing the payroll-tax relief that we enacted a year ago in these tough times,’ Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said. Republicans and some economists have questioned the value of the payroll-tax break, saying its economic impact is limited by its temporary nature and the fact that some people use the spare cash to pay down debt, rather than buy things. Some argue Congress should revamp the whole tax code rather than temporarily reducing individual taxes. ‘I think it's a mistake to do this little tax and that little tax,’ said Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.). ‘We need to reform our tax code if we're going to be competitive internationally.’ Nonetheless, Mr. DeMint said he would support the extension because ‘I just don't think it's a good time to increase any taxes.’” [Wall Street Journal, 11/30/11]

Sen. Kirk

9/10/11: AP: “Kirk Said Obama's Proposals To Cut The Payroll Tax…Should Receive Quick, Bipartisan Action.” “Republican Sen. Mark Kirk said Obama's proposals to cut the payroll tax and approve trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama should receive quick, bipartisan action.” [AP, 9/10/11]

Sen. Blunt

7/8/10: Pulaski County Daily: “Blunt Agreed That A Payroll Tax Holiday, A 100 Percent Depreciation Of Capital Expenses, And Other Ideas Could Have Worked To Stimulate The Economy…” “Blunt agreed that a payroll tax holiday, a 100 percent depreciation of capital expenses, and other ideas could have worked to stimulate the economy, but said the $800 billion federal spending plan happened in 2009 because President Barack Obama has a fundamentally different view of how to help the economy than most Republicans and many rural Americans.” [Pulaski County Daily, 7/8/10]

Sen. Johanns

11/30/11: New York Times: “Another Republican Senator Has Opened The Door To Tax Increases On High Earners As A Way To Pay For A Payroll Tax Cut, Showing More Movement In The Party Ranks After Resistance All Year To Tax Increases. ‘I Sense A Change In Mood,’ Senator Mike Johanns, Republican Of Nebraska, Said Wednesday. ‘It’s A Little More Bipartisan. My Position Has Always Been, ‘Let’s Not Raise Taxes,’ But On The Other Hand, I Don’t Want Our Country To Collapses Under A Mountain Of Debt. If That Means Compromise, I Am Going To Do Everything To Get That Done.’” “Another Republican senator has opened the door to tax increases on high earners as a way to pay for a payroll tax cut, showing more movement in the party ranks after resistance all year to tax increases. ‘I sense a change in mood,’ Senator Mike Johanns, Republican of Nebraska, said Wednesday. ‘It’s a little more bipartisan. My position has always been, ‘Let’s not raise taxes,’ but on the other hand, I don’t want our country to collapses under a mountain of debt. If that means compromise, I am going to do everything to get that done.’…Democrats are seeking to reduce the Social Security payroll tax paid by employees by half, to 3.1. percent of wages, a position many Republicans support.” [New York Times, 11/30/11]

2009 Republican Stimulus Proposal Included a Payroll Tax Cut

2/5/09: 40 Republican Senators Voted For The Republican Substitute Stimulus Which Included A Payroll Tax Cut. On February 2, 2009, 40 Republican senators voted for a McCain motion to consider an alternative Republican stimulus bill that “would have cut income and payroll taxes….” according to the Associated Press. The motion was rejected 40-57. [Senate Roll Call Vote #45, 2/5/09; AP, 2/5/09]

• 18 Republican Senators Voted Against Both Payroll Tax Cut Extension Bills On December 2, 2011 But Voted For A Payroll Tax Cut On February 5, 2009: Alexander, Burr, Chambliss, Coburn, Cochran, Corker, Cornyn, DeMint, Graham, Hatch, Inhofe, Isakson, Johanns, Kyl, Roberts, Sessions, Shelby, And Thune. [Senate Roll Call Vote #45, 2/5/09; Senate Roll Call Vote #219, 12/1/11; Senate Roll Call Vote #220, 12/1/11]
• 10/15/09: Sen. McCain: “Mr. President, Earlier This Year I Put Forward A Proposal To Eliminate The 3.1 Percent Payroll Tax For One Year For All Employees In Order To Put More Money In Every Working American’s Pocket During These Difficult Economic Times. This Would Have Been A Real Stimulus To Our Economy.” “‘Mr. President, earlier this year I put forward a proposal to eliminate the 3.1 percent payroll tax for one year for all employees in order to put more money in every working American’s pocket during these difficult economic times. This would have been a real stimulus to our economy. Unfortunately, every Democrat in this chamber voted against this common sense proposal. ‘The regressive payroll tax oppresses all Americans, especially young men and women, and burdens small businesses that must match the tax that their employees pay. About 41 percent of Americans have no income tax liability. But every wage-earner is hit by the payroll tax no matter how much or how little one earns. For 86 percent of all working Americans, the payroll tax they pay is more than their income tax liability.” [Sen. John McCain – Floor Statement, 10/15/09– video available via C-SPAN]
• 3/26/09: Sen. McCain: “Our Proposal Would Have . . . Put Money Immediately Back Into The Hands Of All Americans Through A Payroll Tax Holiday.” “Our proposal would have helped fix the housing crisis, invested in our nation’s infrastructure through effective and restrained spending, put money immediately back into the hands of all Americans through a payroll tax holiday, and allowed businesses to keep more of their profits to hire new employees, invest in capital and expand their businesses.” [Sen. John McCain – Remarks to the Heritage Foundation, 3/26/09]

Paul Ryan Has Senior Arrested and Jokes about Blood Pressure Meds; Video - Updated

Paul Ryan mocks seniors,
seeks to take away Social Security and Medicare

If it's me and senior speaks at a public forum, I shut up and listen. It's about respect and maybe learning something.

Updated II: Paul Ryan flees constituents as his palace guard smiles. I have had numerous talks with 100s of politicians, aides, operatives, strategists, flacks of all parties; but never have I witnessed the contempt that Paul Ryan, Scott Walker and today's brand of Republicans have for the people they are supposed to serve.

Interview with 71-year-old who had the temerity ask Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) a question by Noise of Rain at Kos:

UPDATE: Phone Interview with Tom Nielsen:
9:35 pm CST, September 9

I just conducted a phone interview with Tom Nielsen, the [arrested] man mentioned [below].

Describe what happened to you?

I had a ticket for the event, so it is not trespassing. I no more than voiced my opinion. I'm 6'4, 235 pounds but recently had a car accident and a broken clavicle. I told the policemen that. They were not too impressed. One policeman had my head down on the ground, and was six inches from my face, growling and snarling at me. I was worried about my shoulder, and said please don't hurt me. I said it five times. It fell to deaf ears. I was not a danger to anybody. Why throw me on the ground and cuff me with plastic handcuffs and cut my circulation? I have big hands, you don't have to put them on that tight. Shanon, one of the other people arrested, had bruises on her arms and wrists. They were obviously hired for crowd control. I don't think Rotary did that, I think that there was anticipation on Paul Ryan's part. There were two paddy wagons on deck … this shows that they anticipated something. We were not trying to do this, and they manipulated it to become about arrests.

How do you respond to people who were frustrated with the noisy protestors?

I'd say, "You are mad at me because you came to listen to him present all these falsehoods and sit there like you accept them and believe in them? Are you American, or what are you? You can't believe that these so called "entitlements" are ruining the economy!" I paid into Social Security for 52 tears and am now collecting some of what I paid. My wife passed away recently. She'll never collect what she paid into. Can you imagine your retirement money if it is all up to the stock market? I think Paul Ryan has been mislead by the Koch Bros. He ain't got enough guts to stand up to them. He used to be an Oscar Meyer Wiener salesman. Now he is a big shot in charge of all this whole government finances. How can he get such authority in only ten years? He spews this and tells us he gets all this encouragement from supporters so that he knows he is moving this country in the right direction. Of course he has to say something, but it is a fiasco.

Are you thinking of legal action?

You don't have to plea until the last minute. We are here for jobs. He is ignoring us totally. Listen to us! What he is saying and what we need done are two things traveling in different directions!

Why did you go to the event in the first place?

I wanted to hear what my Representative had to say. When I got there, I didn't want to get into any discussion with the Tea Baggers protesting outside. I didn't want to resist any police. I went inside to listen to what he had to say. He came in and was talking and making big jokes. I'm just a citizen, and heard the stuff about social security and health insurance, and when he called it "entitlement" I wanted to correct him. That was it for me. We were willing to leave when we were asked to. I was probably talking so loud that I didn't hear anyone ask me to leave. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor!

What was your response to Ryan's joke about you?

I am in perfect health.. everything. Back, heart, prostate, lungs: everything! Maybe he should check his own blood pressure rather than worrying about mine. I take care of my own self. If anyone has a stressful job, he certainly has, trying to do what the big machine wants him to do. His health must be suffering. How can it not suffer when he is causing so much suffering to so many people?

Will any Republican challenge this despicable show of disrespect for this man? Will any Republican stand up for democracy. Seems unlikley as Republicans are locking down Town public events to stifle critics, the people.

By Marie Diamond
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), the author of the House GOP plan to phase out Medicare, does not like it when constituents publicly challenge him. In fact, people who disagree with Ryan have a habit of getting arrested for it. A few weeks ago, several of Ryan’s unemployed constituents staged a peaceful sit-in at his Kenosha, Wisconsin office to protest his unpopular decision not to hold any free public town halls during the August recess.

These constituents didn’t think they should have to pay to ask their elected representative a question. Instead of meeting with them, Ryan’s staff called the police.

So it should come as no surprise that this week, three people who paid to see Ryan speak were arrested and charged with trespassing for protesting the event. One constituent, a 71-year-old retired plumber from Kenosha, Wisconsin, was handcuffed and pushed to the ground by security:

Video footage taken by an attendee at the event shows that one of them, Tom Nielsen, received particularly harsh treatment — he was pushed to the ground and handcuffed. Nielsen received an additional charge of resisting arrest.

Ryan was speaking Tuesday afternoon at the Whitnall Park Rotary Club. Protesters gathered both outside his event and inside, standing up and disrupting the congressman’s remarks.

According to Oak Creek Patch, as many as a dozen protesters were escorted out of the event. Another dozen or so left willingly.

Ryan seemed supremely undisturbed that a senior citizen worried about receiving the Medicare he’s paid into his whole life was treated so brutally. Indeed, Ryan made light of the arrest and quipped to the audience, “I hope he’s taking his blood pressure medication.”

Watch it, courtesy of Wisconsin Jobs Now:



Another woman was shown the door when she challenged Ryan’s claim that the jobs crisis is directly related to the debt crisis. “Our debt is out of control because of the tax cuts you’re giving,” she said. “Our unemployment in 2003 was 6.2% before the tax cuts went through. Now our unemployment rate is 9.1%. What are you doing to create jobs, Congressman?”

Another woman was escorted out when she stood up while Ryan was speaking and said, “You won’t talk to us. How can we give our opinions when you refuse to talk to us?” Ryan has consistently faced angry constituents at his events since his Medicare-killing budget became a top GOP priority. Tired of being publicly embarrassed by constituents who voice their disagreement and say his policies are hurting them, Ryan has resorted to increasingly harsh responses to deal with people who have the audacity to speak up at his events.

Sen. Whitehouse's Resolution: No Cuts to Soc. Security and Medicare

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) is introducing a Senate resolution to tell the President and congressional budget negotiators on both sides of the aisle in unambiguous terms: Cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits should be off the table.

No, President Obama is not a grandmaster at negotiations. He's veered into beltway land where our commitment to our seniors is seen today as better managed by the insurance industry and for-profit schemes.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi: No Cuts in Medicare, Social Security Benefit on Debt Limit Bill.

From Whitehouse for U.S. Senate and the Democratic Underground:

Text of the Sense of the Senate on Protecting Social Security and Medicare
(a) Findings -- Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Over 34 million retired workers currently receive Social Security benefits -- averaging a modest $14,100 a year.
(2) In 2008, 23% of retirees receiving Social Security depended on it for all or almost all of their income.
(3) According to the AARP, Social Security kept 36% of seniors out of poverty in 2008.
(4) Reducing Social Security benefits would cause many seniors to have to choose between food and drugs and rent and heat.
(5) Ninety-five percent of seniors -- almost 37 million in 2008 -- get their health coverage through Medicare.
(6) Without Medicare, seniors -- many of whom live off of Social Security -- would have to turn to the costly and uncertain private market for health insurance.
(7) Social Security and Medicare are extremely successful social insurance programs that permit America’s seniors to retire with dignity and security after a lifetime of hard work, and relieve young American families of worry about their own futures, allowing freedom of opportunity in America.
(b) Sense of the Senate: It is the Sense of the Senate that any agreement to reduce the budget deficit should not include cuts to Social Security or Medicare benefits.

Mr. President, Are you really this dumb?

By Michael Leon

Update: David Sirota says not 'dumb,' rather that "we are watching a sort of Orwellian dystopia. Indeed, it is a sight to behold: a regime that believes it can say one set of things over and over and over again, and then do exactly the opposite."

Firedoglake says, "We’ll fight this, because it’s the right thing to do. We will probably lose. But we will make it as painful as possible for any politician from any party to participate in this wholesale looting of the public sphere, this 'shock doctrine' for America. And maybe along the way we’ll get a vision of what comes next. Because what we believe in as Americans, and what we stand for, is not something the Democratic party represents any more."

We expect you to lay down the law: Cuts in Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid are OFF the table.

If the Times piece is correct in reporting ...

The president’s renewed efforts follow what knowledgeable officials said was an overture from Mr. Boehner, who met secretly with Mr. Obama last weekend, to consider as much as $1 trillion in unspecified new revenues as part of an overhaul of tax laws in exchange for an agreement that made substantial spending cuts, including in such social programs as Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security — programs that had been off the table.

... then for me it's: See ya, Mr. President, you are not with me and I am not with you.

Same as it ever was?

Well, a new report says: Obama Aide on Social Security Cut Story: Times Report 'Overshoots The Runway.' It better.

You do not deserve a second term, unless this is simply a ploy. To the extent you are serious, you are one foolish jellyfish.

Guess the acoustics of defending seniors against the GOP vultures didn't play well with you.

Ralph Nader, guess we need you again in Florida, Wisconsin and Ohio again.

Honestly, President Obama has given every reason in policy, rhetoric and spinelessness to regard him as the same craven, chicken-hawk coward that we so fervently hoped he would not be.

Same as it ever was?

Obama Should Learn from Wisconsin

Update: See Protesters Spread the News: Keep Hands Off Medicare and The 7 most awful truths you need to know about Paul Ryan’s war on Medicare.

President Obama should mention Protecting Medicare so often that it brings to mind how endlessly Brent Musburger used to tout: "On CBS" in the 70s-80s.

The vast majority of Americans wants Medicare and Social Security protected from Republicans like Rep. Paul Ryan and the insurance industry.

What President Obama has not achieved is to develop a communication strategy reflecting this popular sentiment of the Americans who voted him into office.

Medicare and Social Security are great economics, demonstrate respect for the citizens who lived in our country the longest, and are great politics.

Wisconsin Recall

Here in Wisconsin the Republicans similarly target popular programs and guarantees that make Wisconsin a great place to live: Access to and protection of voting rights, local control of government, craft breweries, open and clean government, freedom to assembly; the list seems endless.

But unlike the Obama administration, citizens here have in every way, on every day made their views and voices heard.

No one has to guess how Wisconsin feels about the Scott Walker-Randy Hopper regime.

As for President Obama, just over two years into his administration, his message is: Whaaat?

Working families matter; our seniors deserve our respect; the freedom to associate and organize is valued; and people are aching to participate in our country's public affairs in the hope and with the faith that we still live in a democracy.

President Obama, clarify your commitments and fight for us ... like now. One more thing, on the White House issues page, list Medicare! Also: I have been surfing the White House site and I cannot find one photo of the president with the cutline: 'I will not allow any attacks by the enemies of Medicare.'

GOP CouponCare Tanking; Ryan and GOP Delusional

"Amazingly, despite the strongly negative reaction so far to the Ryan budget's plan to end Medicare as we know it, conservatives are continuing to back it, arguing that all they need is better messaging about the plan. This is clearly delusional. No message is going to change the simple fact that the public doesn't like the plan and wishes it would go away ... ."
- Ruy Teixeira, quoted in The Democratic Strategist

Wisconsin's Paul Ryan Wants Seniors to Fend for Themselves; Trust Insurance Industry

- Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) whose top funder is the insurance industry [congressional campaign gets $556,071 for 1998 - 2010] wants Medicare destroyed and the insurance industry to take over -

By Stephanie Cutter at the White House

As we know from last week’s Medicare Trustees report, the Affordable Care Act will strengthen Medicare by extending the Trust Fund for 12 years -- the largest extension in history -- and cut costs for seniors. The new law will also save Medicare $575 billion over the next ten years and provisions of the law that are already being implemented will save $8 billion for Medicare in just the next two years alone. At the same time, the new law protects seniors’ guaranteed benefits and helps bring costs down. By 2018, seniors will save on average almost $200 per year in premiums compared to what they would have paid without the new law and the law ultimately will completely close the prescription drug donut hole.

But as we’re moving forward, cutting health care costs and protecting seniors, some in Congress want to take us back and tell seniors they are on their own. Today, Rep. Paul Ryan published an op-ed in the Washington Post on his plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program.

Under the Ryan plan, the Medicare seniors know and trust would disappear. In its place, seniors would receive a voucher to buy insurance on the private market. Last month, former OMB Director Peter Orszag spoke about Rep. Ryan’s voucher plan and its impact on our seniors and the cost of health care:

Over time, the voucher would increase far more slowly than projected increases in health care costs, and seniors would be asked to cover the widening difference in costs… Proponents envision seniors buying high-deductible health insurance plans—insurance plans in which seniors would pay out-of-pocket for ‘regular’ medical expenses and in which insurance only covers catastrophic costs.

Unfortunately, these plans would do little if anything bring down health care costs and would leave seniors with bigger bills. As Orszag noted:

For such high-cost patients, high-deductible plans would do little to change the delivery of health care—since these patients would rapidly run through their deductibles and most of their costs are above the deductibles.

Indeed, in the context of traditional health plans, CBO concluded that universal high-deductible plans would reduce costs by only about 5 percent relative to conventionally designed PPOs—and may not reduce costs at all relative to HMOs.

And Orszag discussed how the Ryan plan would cut Medicare and put seniors at risk:

…The plan simply mechanically cuts Medicare by increasing its vouchers more slowly than health care costs.

The result is that most of the budget savings would come from simply by shifting more and more cost and risk—ultimately including catastrophic risks—onto seniors without substantially altering the course of overall health costs.

The bottom line under the Ryan plan: Costs would continue to rise, the value of benefits provided to seniors would continue to fall, and seniors would be stuck with fewer benefits and bigger bills. And, according to outside analysts, his plan would substantially increase the deficit in the medium-term.

We won’t go down Rep. Ryan’s road.

The President has stated repeatedly that we have a solemn vow to protect and strengthen Medicare. Under President Obama’s leadership we have taken historic steps to do just that. There’s more work to be done, but the President and his team are committed to protecting Medicare and ensuring seniors have the high-quality care they expect and deserve.

Stephanie Cutter is Assistant to the President for Special Projects

Wall Street, GOP Want Your Social Security

These people are unbelievable. Henry M. Paulson says in a New York Times op-ed (Feb. 15, 2010) the biggest problem facing America is Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Paulson, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs and the Secretary of the Treasury 2006-2009, manages to work this gem into his column suggesting how to watch the banks.

We must also tackle what is by far our greatest economic challenge — the reduction of budget deficits — a big part of which will involve reforming our major entitlement programs: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

That means privatize and reduce benefits, an effort tried by Bush in 2005 that failed miserably in a rare political victory for the American people over capital. Nothing is beyond those dedicated to making Wall Street richer and the rest of us poorer. In Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan loves the idea.

Paul Craig Roberts sets the record straight.

Wall Street Targets the ElderlyBy PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

Hank Paulson, the Gold Sacks bankster/US Treasury Secretary, who deregulated the financial system, caused a world crisis that wrecked the prospects of foreign banks and governments, caused millions of Americans to lose retirement savings, homes, and jobs, and left taxpayers burdened with multi-trillions of dollars of new US debt, is still not in jail.

He is writing in the New York Times urging that the mess he caused be fixed by taking away from working Americans the Social Security and Medicare for which they have paid in earmarked taxes all their working lives.

Wall Street’s approach to the poor has always been to drive them deeper into the ground.
As there is no money to be made from the poor, Wall Street fleeces them by yanking away their entitlements. It has always been thus. During the Reagan administration, Wall Street decided to boost the values of its bond and stock portfolios by using Social Security revenues to lower budget deficits. Wall Street figured that lower deficits would mean lower interest rates and higher bond and stock prices.

Two Wall Street henchmen, Alan Greenspan and David Stockman, set up the Social Security raid in this way: The Carter administration had put Social Security in the black for the foreseeable future by establishing a schedule for future Social Security payroll tax increases. Greenspan and Stockman conspired to phase in the payroll tax increases earlier than was needed in order to gain surplus Social Security revenues that could be used to finance other government spending, thus reducing the budget deficit. They sold it to President Reagan as 'putting Social Security on a sound basis.'

Along the way Americans were told that the surplus revenues were going into a special Social Security trust fund at the U.S. Treasury. But what is in the fund is Treasury IOUs for the spent revenues. When the “trust funds” are needed to pay Social Security benefits, the Treasury will have to sell more debt in order to redeem the IOUs.

Social Security was mugged again during the Clinton administration when the Boskin Commission jimmied the Consumer Price Index in order to reduce the inflation adjustments that Social Security recipients receive, thus diverting money from Social Security retirees to other uses.

We constantly hear from Wall Street gangsters and from Republicans and an occasional Democrat that Social Security and Medicare are a form of welfare that we can’t afford, an 'unfunded liability.' This is a lie. Social Security is funded with an earmarked tax. People pay for Social Security and Medicare all their working lives. It is a pay-as-you-go system in which the taxes paid by those working fund those who are retired.

Currently these systems are not in deficit. The problem is that government is using earmarked revenues for other purposes. Indeed, since the 1980s Social Security revenues have been used to fund general government. Today Social Security revenues are being used to fund trillion dollar bailouts for Wall Street and to fund the Bush/Obama wars of aggression against Muslims.

Swiftboating Healthcare

Among one of very bad things that the GOP hates Obama for is healthcare reform to guarantee that every American will have access to what is perceived by the vast majority of the world as a human right.

Not surprisingly the GOP and its allies are out to swiftboat Obama's initiative that is planned to get through Congress by June 31.

Obama is fighting back, with the same innovations that knocked back the GOP in the 2008 campaign. The GOP is going to find out very quickly 2009 is 1993.

Medicare needs this for to halt the costs of healthcare; America needs this and so does the administration that needs to repair some bridges with the people who put him into office very fast.

From the Obama Organizing for America:

We knew healthcare reform would face fierce opposition -- and it's begun.

As we speak, the same people behind the notorious 'swiftboat' ads of 2004 are already pumping millions of dollars into deceptive television ads.

Their plan is simple: torpedo healthcare reform before it sees the light of day by scaring the public and distorting the President's approach.

We need the resources to take them head on with an urgent, grassroots campaign to pass real healthcare reform in 2009.When the swiftboaters flood the airwaves with distortions, we'll flood the streets with volunteers armed with facts. When they send lobbyists to tell Congress to back down, we'll send millions of calls, letters, and stories from real Americans asking them to stand up.

Please donate $5 or more by midnight Sunday to fight back against these phony attacks and take our message of reform to the American people.

The swiftboaters are once again trying to sell the American people short. As during the election, we deserve a serious conversation -- not fear-mongering and deceit. You and I see the importance of healthcare reform every day. We can't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to face one of America's greatest challenges head on.

Passing real healthcare reform will be the toughest, most important challenge we've faced together since electing Barack Obama President.

But it's also a big reason we fought so hard to get here. I know that by working together, and speaking with one, determined voice, we can prevail over the cynics and defenders of the status quo. America's families are counting on us to do just that.