More Republican Hypocrisy

Cliff Stearns (R-FL) changes his wigs frequently

I think when most people hear the term "Republican hypocrite," they get ready for another story of some crazed homophobic right-wing loon being dragged out of the closet after a career of opposing equality for the LGBT community. When you saw the headline above did you think it was time for a post about Aaron Schock, Patrick McHenry or Miss McConnell? Sorry to disappoint but there's a whole wide world of Republican hypocrisy above and beyond the world of closet cases. And today it's time to meet the Republican pointman on their trumped up Solyndra "scandal," Florida wingnut Cliff Stearns. This weekend, one of his district's most important newspapers, the Gainesville Sun, let his constituents know what a hypocrite the have representing them in Congress.

U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns and his fellow Republicans have seized on the recent bankruptcy of Solyndra Inc. to discredit the Obama administration's efforts to stimulate renewable energy development and green job growth.

"I see no reason for the taxpayers to have any confidence that these funds could be spent wisely, and it should be returned to the Treasury to reduce our debt," Stearns said, calling the Obama administration's use of stimulus funds to encourage alternative energy development "suspect."

Funny, that's not what Stearns said last year, when the Energy Department provided $95.5 million to help Saft America Inc. open a lithium-ion battery plant in his district, at Cecil Commerce Center, in Jacksonville.

"I am honored to join in welcoming Saft's Li-ion battery manufacturing facility to the Cecil Commerce Center, which underscores that this is a good place to do business," Stearns said at the plant's ground-breaking.

"In addition, as a member of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, I recognize the contributions of these advanced rechargeable batteries in meeting our energy needs."

Did it really take the bankruptcy of just one stimulus-supported solar energy manufacturer to turn Rep. Stearns sour on green energy development?

If so, that's too bad. Because America's competitors in China, Europe and elsewhere have no such reluctance about subsidizing the cutting edge technologies and alternative energy development that will be so crucial to economic success and job growth in the coming years.

Stearns was right the first time.

And {{Cliff Stearns}} is rarely right about anything... ever. With a breathtaking 4.60 lifetime ProgressivePunch score-- worse than Allen West's, Vern Buchanan's, and Taliban Dan Webster's-- Stearns is a strong proponent of ending Medicare and Social Security. Many in his district were alarmed because of his consistent votes against Medicare and Medicaid. The proposal he supported and voted for in April raises costs for seniors and individuals with disabilities enrolled in Medicare, reduces their benefits, and puts private insurance companies in charge of the program. For current beneficiaries, important benefits-- such as closing the hole in Medicare’s drug coverage-- would be immediately eliminated. For individuals age 54 and under, Medicare’s guarantee of comprehensive coverage would be replaced with a “voucher” or “premium support” to buy private health insurance. By design, this federal contribution does not keep pace with medical costs, shifting thousands of dollars in costs onto the individual. The Committee on Energy and Commerce did a study on how that would impact people who live in Stearns' bizarrely gerrymandered district stretching from the Republicans suburbs of Jacksonville and the Republican suburbs of Gaineville down to Ocala and Leesburg (FL-6).

The Republican proposal would have adverse impacts on seniors and disabled individuals in the district who are currently enrolled in Medicare. It would:

• Increase prescription drug costs for 9,500 Medicare beneficiaries in the district who enter the Part D donut hole, forcing them to pay an extra $93 million for drugs over the next decade.

• Eliminate new preventive care benefits for 143,000 Medicare beneficiaries in the district.

The Republican proposal would have even greater impacts on individuals in the district age 54 and younger who are not currently enrolled in Medicare. It would:

• Deny 580,000 individuals age 54 and younger in the district access to Medicare’s guaranteed benefits.

• Increase the out-of-pocket costs of health coverage by over $6,000 per year in 2022 and by almost $12,000 per year in 2032 for the 117,000 individuals in the district who are between the ages of 44 and 54.

• Require the 117,000 individuals in the district between the ages of 44 and 54 to save an additional $27.3 billion for their retirement-- an average of $182,000 to $287,000 per individual-- to pay for the increased cost of health coverage over their lifetimes. Younger residents of the district will have to save even higher amounts to cover their additional medical costs.

• Raise the Medicare eligibility age by at least one year to age 66 or more for 65,000 individuals in the district who are age 44 to 49 and by two years to age 67 for 461,000 individuals in the district who are age 43 or younger.

Stearns loves to talk about these extreme right bullshit in DC but it isn't something he's ever been willing to talk straight about with the voters in central Florida who keep, blindly, sending him back to Washington year after year.