So about that Social Security, Medicare, ObamaCare crap

[Cyrano]

Yes, I know that others keep posting that the American social safety net is in danger.

But it can't be said enough times. The Republican Party blueprint is to get rid of everything, EVERYTHING, that helps the "peasants." And those "peasants" just happen to be the majority of us Americans.

Social Security, Medicare, ObamaCare, school loan forgiveness, food programs for children, sane drug prices, rebuilding our infrastructure, and so, so many other humane programs, are on the Republican chopping block. Making the world a better place doesn't appear anywhere on their blueprint. So don't look for any basic decency, or empathy, or humanity among members of that Party Of Death. They really don't give a shit if, or how many "peasants," live or die. They really don't care about you.

Their voters will never "get" the fact that they too are "peasants' to elected Republicans. They buy the propaganda, they love "Dear Leader," and they will eat any shit fed to them by those who "own" them. And it's possible that their votes in the upcoming election will create a country, with many in power, who are fascists and who will destroy them along with all the rest of us.

So about that Social Security, Medicare, ObamaCare crap? Once they own us, it's all gone. Aside from voting, do we have a Plan B?

[cilla4progress]

1. Heads up FWIW, fact-checkers say that Dems assertions that Rs will be taking away our SS & Medicare

are at least overblown, and at most, untrue.

(gifted - no paywall)

https://wapo.st/3f1En2L



The false claim that Senate Republicans ‘plan to end Social Security and Medicare’

Republicans plan to end Social Security and Medicare if they take back the Senate.”

— Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), in a tweet, Sept. 25

When an election campaign enters its final weeks, year after year, both political parties rely on familiar themes to attack their opponents.

For Republicans, it’s crime and immigration. For Democrats, it’s Social Security and Medicare.

Murray, who has been in the Senate since 1993, is running against Republican Tiffany Smiley. Murray’s tweet is a succinct example of what we called “Mediscare” attacks — an effort to warn seniors that Republicans will take away their hard-earned benefits. Indeed, the rest of the tweet stated: “Washington seniors who have spent their lives paying into these programs deserve better — and I’ll keep fighting to make sure they get it.”

[leftieNanner]

3. They will not be able to completely destroy Medicare and Social Security

But they have said out loud that they will use the debt ceiling to force "cuts" in those programs.

Rick Scott put it in writing - he wants to sunset these programs by removing them from the "must fund" side of the ledger to the "we'll see if there's any money in the budget this year" side.

They want to increase the retirement age. None of this will likely impact those of us who are currently retired, but our children and grandchildren may not be so lucky.

[cilla4progress]

8. Yeah,

and I believe Mitch objected to Scott?

Dunno...

[Bettie]

27. And they will be able to destroy it

once they get SS and Medicare onto the discretionary funding side, they can just choose not to fund or renew them once they reach the Sunset time that they are promising to

Medicaid they will simply refuse to fund. If there is no funding, it ceases to exist in any real way.

Many of us who are over 40 will be fucked at that point.

[Cyrano]

5. Republicans have been trying to end these programs since they were created

Anyone who thinks they've give up on this is a fool. And if possible, they'll try to blame the death of these programs on Democrats.

Here's an example: Lets say they win/steal the House. When the next vote on the debt ceiling rolls around, they'll hold it hostage unless Dems agree to "adjust" some of these programs. Without a raise in the debt ceiling, the American (and world) economy could crash. Republicans are counting on the fact that Dems won't let this happen and will agree to "revisit" the safety net programs. This is blackmail at the highest levels. And here's a fact. Today's insane Republicans won't back down. Sane Democrats will. Thus, any cuts to the social safety net can be blamed on the Dems.

[cilla4progress]

9. Agree.

And it will crash the economy if seniors don't have the cash to flood it with, from their SS!

Truly, this is about vulture capitalism / libertarianism v. some sort of mixed / hybrid economy incorporating socialist principles.

[world wide wally]

7. Why are you posting Republican bullshit?

[cilla4progress]

11. This is Glenn Kessler,

fact checker for WAPO - not a Republican rag.

Here is his bio:

Glenn Kessler
Washington, D.C.
The Fact Checker
Education: Brown University, B.A. in history; Columbia University, M.A. in international affairs

Glenn Kessler has been editor and chief writer of The Fact Checker since 2011. In a journalism career spanning nearly four decades, Kessler has covered foreign policy, economic policy, the White House, Congress, politics, airline safety and Wall Street. He was The Washington Post’s chief State Department reporter for nine years, traveling around the world with three secretaries of state. Before that, he covered tax and budget policy for The Washington Post and also served as the newspaper’s national business editor. Kessler appears frequently on television and has lectured widely on U.S. foreign policy. He joined the Post in 1998 from Newsday, where he was part of two reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes in spot reporting.
Honors and Awards: Honorable Mention, Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, 2019; Media Literate Media award (for The Fact Checker), National Association for Media Literacy Education, 2015; Premier Award, Aviation/Space Writers Association; Investigative Reporting award, Society of the Silurians; Finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists for national reporting; Finalist, Gerald Loeb awards
Professional Affiliations: member, Council on Foreign Relations; advisory board, International Fact-Checking Network; Board of Editors, Brown Alumni Magazine

Books by Glenn Kessler:

Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth: The President's Falsehoods, Misleading Claims and Flat-Out Lies


The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy

[Cyrano]

14. An outstanding resume, doesn't mean he's right.

In 2016, everyone, including those with outstanding resumes, "knew" that Hillary was going to be the next president.

Seems that even "the best and the brightest" can be wrong.

Actually, the only one that predicted Trump's win in 2016 was Michael Moore. And, (please, please let him be right), he's predicting a "blue wave" in the upcoming election.

[ancianita]

18. Given the last two blue waves -- which corporate media still downplay -- doesn't mean he's wrong.

However they come up with "close" numbers, corporate polls also downplay their corporate anti-Democratic Party bias.

So the best and brightest of Dems got screwed by the Comey FBI "report."
Now corporate Repubs are waiting to screw Dems with another red October surprise from the Durham "report."

But when Democrats' best and brightest warn Americans that Republicans will "take away" X (SS, Medicare, Roe, ACA), that doesn't mean Dems are selling wolf tickets and not to be taken seriously; and it doesn't mean that Republicans won't actually keep trying to take away everything until they do.

The hardest thing for polls to predict has been Democratic turnout, especially in red states like ours.

[cilla4progress]

21. Agree -

on all points!!

[Liberal In Texas]

20. Yeah well, it's still the Washington Post....notoriously RW sympathizers with their thumbs on the

editorial scale skewing right wing.

I'll believe what the fascists are saying, they're going after SS and Medicare if they get back in power. It's a huge tranche of money and they want it.

[JHB]

26. I'll see your "overblown" and raise you a "they won't actually overturn Roe v Wade"

Because, gosh, it was too useful a fundraising and vote-getting tool to actually get rid of it. How's that working out?

The 40-year project to pack the court with conservatives wasn't initiated by religious righties out to overturn RvW, it was initiated by Movement Conservatives out to overturn various rights decisions and even the decisions that said New Deal programs like Social Security were constitutional. They really do want to eliminate every program and policy since the late 19th century that works for regular people. It might be a small portion of their party, but it is a disproportionately influential one, and the rest won't balk until it's too late.

And why does "overblown" even matter? They use fantasy and horseshit to get people to the polls, are we supposed to feel bad about using their desire to send us back to a Dickensian society against them, even if "realistically" they can't quite pull it off?

[DURHAM D]

2. Basically they want to go after anything Franklin Roosevelt

might have thought of/ supported/ passed.

But why aren't the Repugs going after the Farm Bill? Those subsidies are the biggest welfare program in the world. It was Franklin's idea.

[LakeArenal]

4. Eff fact checkers. Ron Johnson has said it out loud.

What fact checkers…. Not

[leftieNanner]

10. He didn't just say it out loud

Ol' Ronnie put it in writing.

[Walleye]

6. And what did the fact checker say about the likelihood of abortion being outlawed?

[FalloutShelter]

12. Settled law... they said.

Never happen… they said.

[The_Casual_Observer]

13. From my experience the idiots that do trump flag waves

And are most vocal about "commies" are for the very most part on govt disability plans of one sort of another or have a county job of some kind.

[Rebl2]

19. They love their

social security as well as Medicare and Medicaid. If they vote republican and R’s do this, do you think they are going to like it? I remember with ACA (which some republicans are on) they were angry that their Medicare would disappear. Don’t know why they thought that, but I remember some screaming about it.

[The_Casual_Observer]

25. The bottom line is that it's all racially motivated 100%. It's the only

Kind of hate that runs so deep that people will act against their own self interest.

[doc03]

15. They would be going after biggest supporters. But if

they can steal elections they are no longer needed.

[dlk]

16. Republicans have reliably used fear to win elections

They can be counted on to come up with a terrifying threat every election cycle.

[OldBaldy1701E]

17. A Plan B? Yes.

I certainly don't want to do it, but we may not have any choice. There are just too many people out there who are far too self absorbed to care about society as a whole. They have been too programmed and they have accepted this programming without hesitation. We have to be ready to defend that which is dear to us, because that is what is at stake. So, yeah, there is a Plan B alright. It won't be pretty, but it exists.

Will we grow a pair and implement it should the time come?

Drum roll please?

[SergeStorms]

22. Much easier to achieve....

in a dictatorship.

The ruling minority party will do just about anything they like.

[chowder66]

23. Their voters drain their bank accounts for the privilege of get screwed.

[Katcat]

24. Do they never wonder

What a population without food, healthcare are or money will do to survive?