Biden at his worst in DC’s latest BS battle

BIDEN WORST IN DC’S LAST BS FIGHT. One of the most commented-on moments in President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address occurred when Biden accused some Republicans of letting Medicare and Social Security “go under.” In other words, Biden said, these Republicans want Medicare and Social Security, the two foundations of the retiree safety net, to go away.

The weird What Biden was saying was that just the day before, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) declared in a widely publicized speech that “cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table.” McCarthy clearly foresaw Biden’s attack and ensured that the position of House Republicans in the upcoming debt ceiling negotiations would be clear: no cuts to Medicare, no cuts to Social Security.

Nevertheless, During the State of the Union, Biden went on the offensive. “Rather than let the rich pay their fair share, some Republicans — some Republicans — want Medicare and Social Security by sunset,” the president said as boos began to rise from the GOP side of the floor. “I’m not saying it’s the majority,” Biden continued to more boos. “Let me give you – anyone in doubt, contact my office. I’ll give you a copy – I’ll give you a copy of the proposal.”

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The “proposal” that Biden was referring to was an election agenda released last year by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who was in charge of the 2022 GOP Senate midterm election. Like any Republican, Scott demanded financial responsibility. He wanted to reduce the size, scope and cost of government. To that end, Scott advocated all sorts of measures, such as drastic simplifying tax laws, “removing the benefits of those who can afford tax attorneys and lobbyists,” moving much of the federal government out of Washington, and “selling out nonessential government assets, buildings.” and land and us[ing] the proceeds to pay off our national debt.”

And then Scott added: “All federal laws expire in five years. If a law is worth enforcing, Congress can re-enact it.” To which the Democrats immediately yelled: All Legislation? That would include Medicare and Social Security! See! Republicans want to kill Medicare and Social Security!

The fact is, the Democrats have long blamed the Republicans Wanting to kill Medicare and Social Security. In 2012, they made an ad depicting the Rep at the time. Paul Ryan (R-WI), at the time Senator Mitt Romney’s running mate, pushes a terrified grandmother in a wheelchair off a cliff. They really did. You can watch it today – it’s really funny. But it was just a tiny bit more extreme than the allegations that Democrats have actually leveled against Republicans over the years.

So, as Scott suggested A five-year sunset for the legislature, and Democrats began clamoring that this must surely include Medicare and Social Security, nearly all Republicans began running from Scott—including Scott himself, who loudly proclaimed that he had no intention of enforcing Medicare and Social Security to shorten . “No one I know wants to quit Medicare or Social Security,” Scott said. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has repeatedly told the press that Republicans have done so forcefully not supports Scott’s plan. additionally Washington Post Fact checkers gave the Democratic indictment “Four Pinocchios,” which the newspaper defined as a “whopper.”

Despite this, the Democrats continued the attack because they accuse Republicans of wanting to kill Medicare and Social Security, that’s what they’re doing. So no one was surprised when Biden did what he did in the state of the nation.

Republicans, knowing that McCarthy had declared just the day before that “Medicare and Social Security cuts are off the table,” booed and scolded. That’s just not their position, many of them suggested, albeit not in as many words. Biden engaged. “I’m telling you, I’m enjoying the conversion,” he said, implying that Republicans had somehow sided with him. But he continued, “You know [sunset] means if Congress doesn’t keep the programs the way they are, they go away. Other Republicans say — I’m not saying it’s a majority of you, I don’t even think it matters significantly — but it’s being proposed by individuals. I won’t name them out of courtesy, but some of you have suggested it.”

The person Biden “polite” Of course, Rick Scott was not named. And then Biden concluded, “So folks, as we all seem to agree, Social Security and Medicare are off the books now, right? You are not allowed to be touched? In order. We have unanimity!” Democrats and their media allies cheered. Biden may be 80 years old, but he certainly outsmarted those Republicans!

It was a perfect Washington BS moment. But here’s the thing. Everyone knows that Congress must make significant changes to Medicare and Social Security to keep those programs solvent. And the government can’t just keep spending more and more on the programs lest they one day consume the entire federal budget.

That’s just a fact. Republicans were the only ones trying to address the coming crisis, and Democrats beat them to death for their problems. So now McCarthy has come to an understandable conclusion. He still knows the program’s costs will spiral out of control, but he can’t come out and address it because Democrat attacks, which are being amplified in media reports, will spell another debacle for Republicans. So he will have to look for other ways to tackle the problem if there are other ways.

Now Biden stays on offense, cheered on by these partisans in Congress and the media. The day after the State of the Union, he traveled to Wisconsin, where he again accused Republicans of wanting to abolish Medicare and Social Security. “They seemed shocked when I brought up plans by some of their members and their caucus to cut Social Security,” Biden told the crowd in DeForest, Wisconsin. “And Marjorie Taylor Greene and others stood up and said, ‘Liar! Liar!’ It’s reminiscent of ‘liar, liar, house on fire.'” Everyone laughed. A moment later, Biden held up a copy of the Scott proposal and read it aloud. On Thursday, Biden traveled to Florida to do more of it.

Meanwhile the problem grows. Just google “Medicare bankruptcy date” – you’ll find out that it’s around 2030 at best – and “Social Security bankruptcy date” – it’s around 2035. If the programs continue unchanged, the government will have to devote more and more money to them age and health care. The result could be a fiscal catastrophe. Something must be done. Given Washington’s habit of not addressing problems until they become crises, any action is likely to be closer to 2030-2035 than it is today.

Everyone knows that. Republicans have sometimes been honest and brave enough to say it. With ongoing attacks from Biden, Democrats and their allies in the media, GOP lawmakers are now taking a different approach. Let’s try to work around the edges, they say, until it gets too bad to ignore, and then maybe the Democrats will work with us to fix Medicare and Social Security. Until then, Biden will continue playing the game. It has worked reliably throughout the many decades of his career in government and democratic politics. Why switch now?

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