Sometime later this week the Republicans will set out to take the toughest vote of 2011. Not the debt ceiling vote, but the vote that will be dubbed by Democrats as the "Throw Grandma off the train" vote!
Republicans will be voting inexplicably, for a budget that will eventually kill Medicare and Medicaid, raising uncertainty and costs for seniors health care. They are proposing to give vouchers to Seniors to go shop for private health insurance, providing them with premium support and increases to the vouchers that grow at the rate of inflation. Not something that seems bad on its face, however health care inflation is almost 4 times that of normal inflation, growing at 11% annually. This means that as Seniors get older and their retirement savings get smaller, health care insurance will become more and more expensive.
I just don't understand what Paul Ryan was thinking when he wrote this? He handed Democrats a political weapon that they will eagerly use.
I will give him credit, since everyone else is, he is changing the conversation. I mean instead of deficit and debt, we will start hearing Medicare and Medicaid.
Now it seems that Republicans are starting to get a little weak-kneed. As not a lot of them have come out and actually publicly supported the young Republicans plan. This may be out an overly concern of caution or it could be political survival? Well we will find out soon, no Democrats are expected to vote for the plan and Republicans can only afford 23 defections. So this should be a great week for political intrigue. Obama on Wednesday and the Republican vote sometime between Wednesday and Friday.
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