Ryan Sees His Ultimate Goal As Achievable-- The Obliteration Of Social Security And Medicare

I know, I know... everyone hates Nancy Pelosi these days... and there are lots of reasons to disparage her (especially as relates to the way she's run the DCCC into the ground since taking it over and appointing one disaster after another to run it for her). But, honestly, she has been quite masterful in her main job as House Minority Leader and it boggles the mind at how she's smoothly managed to hold the entire usually fractious caucus together on the spate of recent tough votes-- like the GOP Tax Scam. Not even the worst and most Republican-oriented crap Blue Dogs like Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Jim Costa (CA), Henry Cuellar (TX), Stephanie Murphy (FL), Charlie Crist (FL), Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Collin Peterson (MN), Dan Lipinski (IL) and Tom O'Halleran (AZ)-- have made their usual moves to cross the aisle to the Republican side during the most recent series of roll calls. Bravo, Nancy!

On Friday night, though, I noticed some defections from the Democrats in the Senate. When Bernie introduced an amendment to the GOP Tax Scam that would prevent the Republicans from cutting Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits without a two-thirds vote, it failed 46-54. Needless to say, every single Republican scumbag-- including the fake "moderates" like Collins, Murkowski and McCain-- voted NO... but so did 3 Democrats. One of the Democrats, Dick Durbin (IL), a Sanders ally, voted NO for procedural reasons. Knowing it was about to fail, Durbin took advantage of a Roberts Rules of Order point that will allow someone on the winning side to move to bring the amendment back for consideration at a later date. So... good for Durbin. The other two Democrats-- arch-conservatives Mark Warner (VA) and Tom Carper (DE)-- are just... conservatives who disagree with Bernie and agree with the Republicans-- kind of that simple.

But is an attack on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid really something to be worrying about now? You bet it is. Look at the video up top for how easy it was for Bernie to get Wall Street whores Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) to admit that they plan to wreck the program for future generations. And look at the crap bill the Republicans just passed through both Houses of Congress, despite it's approval by only a quarter of American voters!

American voters disapprove 52 - 25 percent of the Republican tax plan. Republican voters approve 60 - 15 percent, with 26 percent undecided. All other party, gender, education, age and racial groups disapprove.

The wealthy would mainly benefit from this tax plan, 61 percent of American voters say, while 24 percent say the middle class will mainly benefit and 6 percent say low-income people would mainly benefit.

American voters say 59 - 33 percent that the Republican tax plan favors the rich at the expense of the middle class.

Only 16 percent of American voters say the Republican tax plan will reduce their taxes, while 35 percent of voters say it will increase their taxes and 36 percent say it won't have much impact on their taxes.

Only 36 percent of voters believe the GOP tax plan will lead to an increase in jobs and economic growth, while 52 percent do not believe it.

They have the feeling they can do whatever they want now-- and it's no secret what Speaker Paul Ryan wants. Last month he told his caucus that he wants Republicans to focus in 2018 on reducing spending on government programs. Trumpanzee followed up by declaring that welfare reform will "take place right after taxes, very soon."

As Republicans advocate spending cuts, they have frequently cited a need to reduce the national deficit while growing the economy.

“You also have to bring spending under control. And not discretionary spending. That isn’t the driver of our debt. The driver of our debt is the structure of Social Security and Medicare for future beneficiaries,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said this week.

While whipping votes for a GOP tax bill on Thursday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) attacked “liberal programs” for the poor and said Congress needed to stop wasting Americans’ money.

“We’re spending ourselves into bankruptcy,” Hatch said. “Now, let’s just be honest about it: We’re in trouble. This country is in deep debt. You don’t help the poor by not solving the problems of debt, and you don’t help the poor by continually pushing more and more liberal programs through.”

The GOP tax bill currently under consideration in the Senate would increase the federal deficit by nearly $1.5 trillion over a decade, according to Congress’s official tax analysts and multiple other nonpartisan analysts. When economic growth the measure could create is included in the analysis, Congress’s official tax scorekeeper predicted the bill would still add $1 trillion to the deficit over 10 years.

Trump has not clarified which specific programs would be affected by the proposed “welfare reform.”

During the presidential campaign, Trump vowed that there would be “no cuts” to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, although the president has reversed many of his economic campaign promises since taking office.

The remarks from leading Republicans have fueled a growing fear among liberals that the GOP will use higher deficits-- in part caused by their tax bill-- as a pretext to accomplish the long-held conservative policy objective of cutting government health-care and social-service spending, which the left believes would hit the poor the hardest.

“What’s coming next is all too predictable: The deficit hawks will come flying back after this bill becomes law,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) the ranking Democrat on the finance committee. “Republicans are already saying ‘entitlement reform’ and ‘welfare reform’ are next up on the docket. But nobody should be fooled-- that’s just code for attacks on Medicaid, on Medicare, on Social Security, on anti-hunger programs.”

On the Senate floor Thursday night, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) asked Rubio and Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-PA) to promise that Republicans would not advance cuts to Medicare and Social Security after their tax bill. Toomey said that there was “no secret plan” to do so, while Rubio said he opposed cuts to either program for current beneficiaries. However, neither closed the door to changing the programs for future beneficiaries.

“I am not going to support any cuts to people who are on the program and need those benefits. But I want this program to survive,” Toomey said. To which Sanders responded: “He just told you he’s going to cut Social Security.”

Many conservatives have long argued for cutting and changing social safety net programs, arguing that anti-poverty programs have failed and that Social Security spending is growing at an unsustainable rate.

Still, members of both parties have long been reticent to cut benefits, especially for seniors, due in part to the potential political cost of doing so. And in discussing changes, Republicans, including Rubio, have largely confined their ideas to plans that would affect new beneficiaries, rather than current ones.

Still, it may be particularly difficult for Republicans to push those measures before the 2018 midterm elections, in which many in swing states and districts face well-funded Democratic challengers hoping to ride an anti-Trump wave into office.

And don't forget, when Trump signs the tax scam $400 billion is automatically cut from Medicare. And with him in the White House the Republicans can pretty much destroy Medicaid entirely through more of his executive actions. They'll call that "saving" or "improving" the programs. It will be up to voters in the 2018 midterms to decide if they understand what that means and how it will impact their children and grandchildren and our country. Conservatives and the Republican Party in particular have always been-- and will always be-- obsessed with destroying the social safety net. It's time to wipe them out at the ballot box-- starting with Paul Ryan in Wisconsin and going right down the list of every conservative-- again, particularly Republicans-- in the House. We can start the process in 2018 and finish it in 2020. See that ActBlue thermometer on the right? You can contribute to the campaigns of progressive Democrats like Randy Bryce (running against Ryan), Jenny Marshall (running against Virginia Foxx in North Carolina), Doug Applegate (running against Darrell Issa in California), Sam Jammal (running against Ed Royce in California), Jared Golden (running against Bruce Poliquin in Maine), Marie Newman (running against Blue Dog/GOP-enabler Dan Lipinski in Chicago), Lillian Salerno (running against Pete Sessions in Texas) and so on. Just click on the thermometer to see the whole list.