GOP Never Learns: Hands off Social Security, Medicare & Low-Income Assistance Programs

Biden leading; McCarthy can't even spell leadership

GOP back at it again looking to propose cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and food and other assistance programs for middle to low-income Americans.

Will this “new” far, far right GOP ever learn? Will they ever give up their pipedream failed proposals relating to raising the nation’s debt ceiling to pay bills already due as noted in this excellent CNN opinion piece with this headline (formatted for the blog):

“Nikki Haley just handed Joe Biden a major gift”

Also, related is another CNN article with this story from GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in his more or less threatening letter to President Biden addressing the same subject [click for that story here].

Nikki Haley (R-SC), who is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, floated a proposal to change the retirement age for Social Security and Medicare and limit benefits for upper income Americans. But she remained vague about the details, failing to pinpoint a specific age she would set for retirement.

Haley's proposal comes as the budget wars are heating up, and the more Republicans touch the third rail of entitlement programs, the more Democrats will benefit.

President Biden, showing the power of the bully pulpit to shape the national agenda, has put forth a bold budget proposal that seeks to cut the deficit by increasing taxes on higher income Americans while protecting Medicare and discretionary spending, reducing prescription drug costs for seniors and capping insulin at $35 a month for all Americans.

Following several months of Republicans doubling down on culture war issues that they hope will peel away the support of disaffected Democrats and independents while energizing the Republican base.

Biden is hitting back hard on real issues that affect millions of Americans' daily lives.

Rather than spending time on issues like policing classroom textbooks or stoking fears over transgender Americans, Biden wants to put money where his mouth is.

The president is offering a fiscal blueprint steeped in the traditions of his party by ensuring the commitment of the federal government to provide a social safety net — and funding those programs in the most progressive way possible.

Seeking to put Republicans calling for cutbacks in support to Ukraine in a difficult position, he is also asking for increases in military spending so that the United States can continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

As for Haley's proposal, it is not surprising that Republicans like Trump have now attacked fellow GOP candidates for wanting to raise the retirement age or cut Medicare, while others in the party are scrambling to distance themselves from a House Republican Caucus that is pushing for draconian cuts to domestic programs.

The GOP seems to have backed away from touching Social Security and Medicare, for now, they are still pushing for massive reductions in other programs such as food assistance and housing programs for low-income Americans.

Raising the national debt ceiling is still unsettled. House Republicans are threatening to send the nation into a financial spiral if the administration does not concede to its demands. It's not a great look for Republicans, and there is good reason that many Americans don't trust the GOP's promises to back off Social Security and Medicare.

First: Republicans have shown they are capable of resorting to extreme measures.

Second: Gov. DeSantis (R-FL) and Mike Pence both have previously endorsed privatizing the programs or making cuts, as have other prominent members of the party.

The problem for Republicans is that these and other domestic programs remain popular and especially in their own mostly low-income base states.

Thus, Haley's and other GOP proposals to increase the retirement age and means test benefits won't sit well with millions of Americans who count on and support these two universal social insurance programs that have done so much to alleviate the challenges of old age.

Other domestic policies also command strong support as polls show that voters want the government to play a major role on a number of issues — including ensuring access to health care and helping people get out of poverty — even when they don't trust in the government to always do the right thing.

Some Republicans learned these hard lessons with Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has become increasingly popular despite strong opposition from most Republicans in office then and most still today, who have spent years and failed voted trying to repeal the legislation.

This is the GOP's approach to getting and keeping power in Congress ... a well-known fact:

That effort culminated in the famous moment in 2017 when the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona gave a dramatic thumbs down on the Senate floor, blowing up Trump's “skinny repeal bill.” 

Ironic, but not surprisingly, Trump now insists that the GOP should vow that they won't touch Social Security and Medicare benefits.

Biden's plan to raise taxes from 37% to 39.6% on those who earn more than $400,000 a year and impose a minimum tax on billionaires is a winning strategy, since Americans tend to support that progressive taxation that. The move also makes predictable criticisms against the president as a “tax-and-spend liberal” more difficult.

The shadow of Reagan's famous line that “government is not the solution to the problem, government is the problem,” continues to shape GOP anti-government rhetoric, but the reality was that Reagan failed to make any promised draconian cuts to domestic spending.

While Reagan succeeded in reducing spending in some areas, he failed to dismantle any major domestic programs. Indeed, his administration quickly backed off from a plan to curtail Social Security benefits in 1981, after Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill pounced on the White House, saying: “For the first time since 1935 people would suffer because they trusted in the Social Security system. I'm not talking about politics. I'm talking about decency. It is a rotten thing to do. It is a despicable thing.” 

It was from that battle cry that the concept of Social Security being a “third rail” in politics emerged.

As Republicans continue to wade into this issue, they are poised to hand Biden and the Democrats a big win. Biden understands this, as he demonstrated during his State of the Union address, when he backed Republicans into a corner on Social Security and Medicare. It is for this reason that he is forcing Republicans to have a conversation, with specifics, about what they mean when they attack the government and federal spending.

It is one thing for Republicans to tell Americans that Washington is broken and another to say they will slash the federal benefits upon which so many of them have come to depend on.

My 2 Cents: How do we label that last sentence above – oh, yeah, GOP infamous hypocrisy strikes again just at the image above clearly shows.

Yep, that GOP who can’t even scratch their own backsides with hand full of fishhooks yet claim they can. They are as sorry lot for sure and the issues addressed above once again prove that point.

Thanks for stopping by.