Deja vu all over again
by digby
[A] national Republican group will hit 12 Democrats–all running in Senate elections next year–over changes to Medicare.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee will highlight Wednesday the candidates’ support for the federal health care law, better known as Obamacare, and what Republicans call $717 billion in cuts to the popular entitlement program that guarantees health insurance to seniors.
Democrats defending the program, however, say the changes aren’t cuts, but savings of projected costs of Medicare over the next 10 years.
The $717 billion figure comes from a Congressional Budget Office report that measured the impact of repealing the health care law. The figure was a big campaign issue during the 2012 presidential election.
The report says that under the repeal measure, “Spending for Medicare would increase by an estimated $716 billion over that 2013-2022 period.” Those spending increases would be a result of more spending on hospital and medical insurance, offset by a decrease in prescription drug coverage.
That should be easy to explain to senior citizens.
This was entirely predictable. It was the GOPs main selling point in 2010 and I’m sure they’ll use it to great advantage this time too. Elderly people always vote and in off-year elections it makes a difference. The question will be if the 12 Democrats can come up with something that brings their people out to balance it out. So far, I haven’t seen what that’s going to be. The off year election in a president’s second term is rarely a good one for the president’s party, unfortunately.
On the other hand, these Republicans never seem to learn from their own mistakes:
History will record that on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary met to consider the impeachment of Barack Hussein Obama.
They didn’t use that word, of course. Republican leaders frown on such labeling because it makes the House majority look, well, crazy.
It is, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said from the dais, “the word that we don’t like to say in this committee, and I’m not about to utter here in this particular hearing.”
One of the majority’s witnesses, Georgetown law professor Nicholas Rosenkranz, encouraged the Republicans not to be so shy. “I don’t think you should be hesitant to speak the word in this room,” he said. “A check on executive lawlessness is impeachment.”
This gave the lawmakers courage. “I’m often asked this,” said Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) “You got to go up there, and you just impeach him.”
Bless their hearts …