Barack Obama Pushing for Major Changes to Medicare

Can you believe these Republicans? The way they bully and provoke and threaten the welfare of the country so that they can get what they want. How do they get away with it?

Oh, wait. Here's how…

President Obama is pressing congressional leaders to consider a far-reaching debt-reduction plan that would force Democrats to accept major changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for Republican support for fresh tax revenue…

As part of his pitch, Obama is proposing significant reductions in Medicare spending and for the first time is offering to tackle the rising cost of Social Security, according to people in both parties with knowledge of the proposal. The move marks a major shift for the White House and could present a direct challenge to Democratic lawmakers who have vowed to protect health and retirement benefits from the assault on government spending…

Rather than roughly $2 trillion in savings, the White House is now seeking a plan that would slash more than $4 trillion from annual budget deficits over the next decade, stabilize borrowing, and defuse the biggest budgetary time bombs that are set to explode as the cost of health care rises and the nation's population ages.

This is a very interesting deal. I'm genuinely interested in what exactly it will entail. And also what Obama offers next after Republicans refuse.

Is he legally allowed to privatize oxygen?

Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Tags: Barack Obama, Debt, Democrats, Economy, House of Representatives, Medicare, Republicans, Social Security, Taxes

From the Pork Barrel: The Loneliest Supporter

* Public Policy Polling discovers a Jon Huntsman supporter in the wilds of Iowa.

* Mitt Romney loves sparkling Mormon vampires.

* Sage advice for Anthony Weiner and his maybe-penis.

* Wondering why Weiner can't remember if that penis is his? Wonder no more.

* Fifty-eight percent of conservatives are Communists!

* What exactly is Glenn Beck planning to do at his Israeli rally?

* Rep. Paul Broun warns against dangerous strain of non-racism in TSA.

Tags: Anthony Weiner, Anthony Weiner's Penis, Books, Georgia, Glenn Beck, House of Representatives, Iowa, Israel, Jon Huntsman, Medicare, Mitt Romney, Paul Broun, Paul Ryan, Polls, Pork Barrel, Primaries, Racism, Republicans, Transportation, TSA

From the Pork Barrel: Eric Cantor, Humanitarian

* Does anyone know how one would go about nominating Rep. Eric Cantor for a Nobel Prize? I'm sure we can find some room in the budget for the registration fee.

* Michael "Brownie" Brown does a heckuva job criticizing President Obama for being overseas during Missouri tornado aftermath.

* Joe Biden promises to find $1 trillion to cut from budget. His salary isn't $1 trillion by any chance, is it? (Wouldn't that be convenient?)

* Uh oh. Things look even worse than I thought for Paul Ryan's budget plan. Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh are both defending it. Yikes!

* House passes bill to defund medical schools that teach how to safely perform abortions. Can't wait till they finally start defunding regular schools that use dictionaries that contain the word "abortion."

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Tags: Abortion, Eric Cantor, Health, House of Representatives, Joe Biden, Medicare, Michael Brown, Missouri, Money, Natural Disasters, Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan, Pork Barrel, Rush Limbaugh, Weather

Paul Ryan Explains Why His Plan to End Medicare Had Nothing to Do with NY-26 Congressional Loss

by Ryan Oringer

In the past week, Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan’s health care plan has taken a hit. From Newt Gingrich’s comment that it is "right wing social engineering," (according to Mr. Gingrich, this quoting of him is a falsehood…) leading up to yesterday’s special election in New York, where a Democrat won a long held Republican seat, a result that many are attributing to Ryan's plan.

In regards to the election, Ryan claims that it is a result of everything except for the plan itself…

"I saw the ads," Ryan said. "I saw burning people's Medicare cards. If you can scare seniors into thinking that their current benefits are being affected, that's going to have an effect. And that is exactly what took place here. So yes, yes, it's demagoguery, its scaring seniors."

Ryan also chalked up Hochul’s win to the candidacy of Jack Davis, a self-funded candidate who drew more votes than the margin of victory.

Yes, yes. People’s reaction to the plan and the New York election must be a result of scare tactics. And also because there was some guy who ran as a tea party candidate. Also, it's been sort of rainy in New York lately and people are just kind of grumpy about everything around here. And on top of that, the American idol finalists are both country singers (ugh). And let's not forget that people are too focused on Arnold's love children to pay attention to the issues.

And uh, there must be other good reasons, but certainly, it has nothing to do with the plan itself.

Photo by Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

Tags: House of Representatives, Jane Corwin, Kathy Hochul, Medicare, New York, Paul Ryan, Republicans, Tea Party

GOP Loses Four-Decade Congressional Seat in Special Election

When your party has held onto a congressional seat for several generations and you're capable of outspending your opponent by 3-to-1, it's a pretty safe bet that you're going to hold the seat in a mid-congress special election. In fact, some people might say, you'd have a hard time losing your seat.

Those people, however, are maybe not aware that you and your party have vociferously embraced the stellar idea of taking Medicare away from seniors (a.k.a. your party's base)…

Two months ago, the Democrat, Kathy Hochul, was considered an all-but-certain loser in the race against the Republican, Jane Corwin. But Ms. Hochul seized on the Republican’s embrace of the proposal from Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, to overhaul Medicare, and she never let up.

On Tuesday, she captured 47 percent of the vote to Ms. Corwin's 43 percent, according to unofficial results. A Tea Party candidate, Jack Davis, had 9 percent. Voters, who turned out in strikingly large numbers for a special election, said they trusted Ms. Hochul, the county clerk of Erie County, to protect Medicare.

"I have almost always voted the party line," said Gloria Bolender, a Republican from Clarence who is caring for her 80-year-old mother. "This is the second time in my life I've voted against my party." Pat Gillick, a Republican from East Amherst, who also cast a ballot for Ms. Hochul, said, "The privatization of Medicare scares me."

Hmmm…. Sounds to me like those voters were responding to fresh-face-iness of Kathy Hochul more than anything. Don't you think? You think that, right? Come on, p,lease think that…

Some Republicans suggested that it would be oversimplifying to attribute the results to a single issue, saying that Ms. Corwin proved a less nimble and ultimately less appealing candidate than Ms. Hochul, who campaigned energetically and with great focus. When Medicare erupted in the race, Ms. Corwin, a wealthy former Wall Street analyst, was knocked off balance and struggled to respond.

Less nimble and less appealing? Sounds like a Republican dream candidate to me.

Photo via kathyhochul.com

Tags: House of Representatives, Jane Corwin, Kathy Hochul, Medicare, New York, Republicans