Joe Lieberman Says Obama Must ‘Courageously’ Cut Medicare Benefits, Raise Retirement Age

[Report1212]

It looks like he wants his legacy to be making life as difficult for poor Americans as possible

--

LIEBERMAN: I’d say that sometime soon– both privately to Speaker Boehner and — and also publicly, he — he should– make clear that he’s prepared– to– to change some of — Medicare status quo. [...] But I think the President will have to make clear he’ll either support some– well, for instance, in– beginning to increase the age of eligibility. [...] Incidentally, increasing the age of eligibility to be more close (LAUGH) to the actual age at which people are living, as opposed to the age– that they were living in 1965, when Medicare was adopted, the average age It’s now closing in on 80 — saves a lotta money– every year. The president has to show the public, and the Republicans, who he’s asking to support higher revenue, or tax reform, that he’s prepared and Democrats are prepared to deal– courageously with– entitlements.

Read more: http://boldprogressives.org/joe-lieberman-says-obama-must-courageously-cut-medicare-benefits-raise-retirement-age/

[madaboutharry]

1. Fuck off, Joe.

No one gives a shit what you have to say.

[Report1212]

3. I know I don't

But if they reach a deal before 2013 he's a big part of it -- part of why the best deal right now is no deal at all.

[Angry Dragon]

4. +21,139

[L0oniX]

70. +1 Hey Joe ...here's a msg for ya...

[dae]

84. LOL, +1

[bongbong]

2. Joe Joe

Go cheney yourself, you Big Pharma Salesman.

[ebbie15644]

5. Who?

[Octafish]

99. ENRON Joe Lieberman

Saved BFEE bacon.

http://www.thenation.com/article/lieberman-enronland

[ebbie15644]

100. I know all about Joe LIEberman

I was just being sarcastic

[Octafish]

120. Sorry I wasn't a good netizen, ebbie15644...

Traitor Joe's ENRON connection is little known, even on DU. Your reply seemed a perfect place for it. Here is something else for those new to Liebermanistics:

KPOFCA

http://www.citizenvox.org/2012/05/25/kafkaesque-logic-kpofca-contractor-disclosure/

From what I can tell, this bill makes it easy to hide which contractors gives which politician how much campaign cash. Of course it doesn't get much press, so I give it a little plug.

Thank you for keeping up and giving a damn, DU Friend.

[ebbie15644]

122. Thank YOU!!

[Bluenorthwest]

6. Life Expectancy for African American Males is currently 67.5 years Joe.

Racist mush mouthed old rich fuck.

[Kolesar]

73. It's so cruel...eom

[NCarolinawoman]

7. If Joe Loserman says it, run and do the opposite! n/t

[Fresh_Start]

8. Obama should courageously put the entire federal government on medicare

and raise the age when they can receive retirement income

[BlueCaliDem]

52. Yep. Then we'll see how DroopyJoe's popularity among other senators

will be.

Joe just needs to STFU.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

9. This guy is still relevant?

[crazylikafox]

10. You give up your medical benefits first, Joe. You've got a few more working years left,

Since you're still capable of standing up & running your mouth, and that's all you ever did for a living anyway.

[warrior1]

11. fuck you joe

[treestar]

12. Ex-Senators don't get a vote

Piss off Lieberman.

[Report1212]

44. The do until Jan 2013

Which is why we can't reach a deal until then!

[treestar]

81. You're right

Can't celebrate Lieberman's disappearance until then.

[sabrina 1]

83. That's why they do these sneaky things in the Lame Duck Congress.

That's why they take important issues like SS OFF the table during an election, because deals have already been made and they don't want to talk about them.

And that is why some of us refuse to just stfu and vote until after the election as some insist we do, because by then it is always too late to force them to talk about what deals they have made.

I am so angry at those who tried to silence people during this election season. Anyone who does that cares nothing for the people and are now in no position to attack Lieberman because they enabled him.

We've seen this all before.

The only hope to stop them now is a fear that despite whatever deals they've made, the people THIS TIME did NOT stfu, they formed a huge coalition of dozens of organizations who will not stop speaking out and to them. If they touch SS, the Dems will be in big trouble and let's hope they know that.

[WinkyDink]

13. The "average age" isn't "close to 80"! That would mean tons are living close to 100!

[RebelOne]

78. There are tons living close to 100 or into their 80s and 90s.

I am 73 and plan on living until I am 83 at least.

[barnabas63]

14. Take that mofo's government pension away...

....and tax his savings!

[Ilsa]

15. Joe needs to retire and let someone else have his job.

And everyone working on him or his family in the hospital should be 67+ years old.

[struggle4progress]

25. Someone like Chris Murphy!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Murphy_%28politician%29

[calico1]

30. I proudly voted for him!

He will be a great improvment over douchebag Joe.

[jpak]

16. LIEberman can go fuck himself

yup

[Johonny]

17. I want what I paid for, JOE!!!!!!

These are earned benefits.

[geek tragedy]

18. Soon to be ex-Senator Lieberman. nt

[RomneyLies]

19. Lieberman is obsolete

He is the lamest of ducks in the Senate.

[BeyondGeography]

20. Real courageous when you're walking away with Caddy coverage

Fuck off, Joe.

[hifiguy]

21. Crawl back under your rock, Moldy Joe.

You're as relevant to this country as buggy whips and whale-oil lamps.

What a shitheel.

[Auntie Bush]

103. "Oh no!" says the worm, "I was here first! I'm not going to share my space with that scumbag!"

[jschurchin]

22. Uh, excuse me Mr. Irrelevant.

GO FUCK YOURSELF.

That is all.

[krispos42]

23. 7 more weeks... 7 more weeks... n/t

[bowens43]

24. Joe who?

[yellowcanine]

29. Really. Your 15 minutes is over Joe.

Quack quack lame duck.

[Rambis]

26. Fuck off you muppet

[liberalhistorian]

27. Sure, Joey, we're prepared to deal

courageously with entitlements. After all, the Pentagon sucks up the largest share of the country's budget, dwarfing everything else, so we'll be glad to deal with that entitlement. Oh, wait....................never mind!

[calico1]

28. Joe Lieberman must courageously

STFU.

Chris Murphy is our new Senator and no one cares what Joe has to say.

[Report1212]

31. You guys in Connecticut need to protest loud

He doesn't have to be re-elected but he does have to come back home and face people's frowns.

[calico1]

40. He doesn't live here.

Just has a mail box somewhere. Which is fine with me.

[Autumn]

32. Fuck off Joe . You are the most miserable piece of shit

piss poor excuse for a human being that ever walked the face of the earth. You have no business talking about courage you lowlife scum sucking pig.

[BlueStreak]

33. Another good reason why we shouldn't do anything until January

Because Joe-mentum will be gone then.

The thing about "retirement age" is there is a huge disparity in the life expectancy figures. People with the most income and good health care are living longer, and some of them can be productive at their careers for a few more years. Those at the other end of the spectrum are not living longer, and many of them are in no shape to work a hard job at age 66.

How about we start indexing the retirement age to the life expectancy of those in the bottom 40% of income? That would give everybody an incentive to improve everyone's health. In other words, "Hey you one-percenters ... you want to see the retirement age go up? Well the only way that happens is if the lowest income citizens live longer."

[NV Whino]

34. Joe, you're irrelevant.

[Rocky888]

35. We're screwed

This has been in the works for years. All the billionaires got together and spent millions on paving the way to take this away from us. While all the politicians pad their wallets, they are looking for ways to take it from middle class. I think krugman or reich wrote an article about the formation of these foundations and money paid to networks to use certain talking points like "entitlements" to get the ball rolling. This is just the first step of many to finalize thir plan to get their hands on the trillions of social security dollars to gamble with on Wall Street.

[socialist_n_TN]

39. Agree. So what do we do about it?

nm

[Hydra]

95. Welcome to DU!

And Carlin had a great rant about this.

Somehow it all got derailed during Bush's term, but now it's back with a vengeance.

[AndyTiedye]

36. LIEberman's Friends in the Insurance Industry Would Love That

[dsc]

37. Men have gained less than 5 years and women even less

Lieberman should know better. http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/ss-2010-06.pdf

[hobbit709]

38. Hey Liarman! Fuck you and the horse you rode in on!

[Jersey Devil]

41. Time for Joe to get into the Joemobile and take a ride to oblivion

[demwing]

42. I'm sorry, losers and quitters shut the fuck up

because they don't know the meaning of terms like "courageous"

[agtcovert]

43. Who? nt

[still_one]

45. bye joe, don't let the door hit you as you leave

[madinmaryland]

46. Obama Must ‘Courageously’ tell Joe Lieberman to STFU!

[Report1212]

48. Yup! nt

[MineralMan]

47. As he steps off the edge of the stage and tumbles into the orchestra pit...

Bye, bye, Joe!

[closeupready]

49. It doesn't matter what he says or thinks anymore.

[Arkana]

59. Nope. Sorry. Sarah Palin has forever claimed this title.

The GOP would need to nominate a ham sandwich to beat how cataclysmically bad her nomination was.

[hifiguy]

94. The ham sandwich would not make a fool of itself

in public again and again and again. So the ham sandwich would be a better pick then Mooselini was. You have to get into poo-throwing simian territory before you get lower than Princess Dumbass.

[PoliticAverse]

51. Lieberman - "The Senator from the Insurance Industry". n/t

[Tom Ripley]

53. Saith the lame duck...wait a minute...make that lame dick

[socialindependocrat]

54. Lieberman needs to tell the truth and declair himself a Repuke! n/t

[speedoo]

55. Courage?. This POS has no clue what courage is.

Fucking traitor did more to elect Bush than almost anyone.

Which makes him responsible for the deficit Obama has to deal with.

[GoCubsGo]

62. Thank you for that much-needed reminder.

I hope the Democrats in Congress and in the Senate remember that.

[2naSalit]

56. He needs to

just STFU and go home, to Israel, already.

[Arkana]

57. So glad he's out of the goddamn Senate and being replaced by someone

who flat-out said that health care is a human right.

[GoCubsGo]

58. Go try moving furniture for a few years, and then get back to us about raising the age, Jerk.

Or, go get a nursing degree and move patients around for 12 hours a day for a few years. Or, pick up a bucket and mop, and start cleaning office buildings for the rest of your putrid life. Go dig some coal for your beloved coal barons, or deliver packages for your buds at FedEx, or wait tables for your pal at Denny's.

Asshole.

[Overseas]

89. +1

[geardaddy]

60. Go take a flying f*ck, Joe

[GoneOffShore]

61. Hey Joe - Bite me. That's all.

Bite me and crawl back under your bridge.

[PufPuf23]

63. Dropping Social Security age and increasing Medicare makes more economic sense.

Joe should shut up and take a break and enjoy his ill-gotten gains til he croaks.

[Report1212]

93. Exactly -- we should be asking for a lower age not higher nt

[magical thyme]

64. Dear Joe, Before we steal Medicare and Social Security EARNED BENEFITS from those who paid for them,

I think we should cut all aid to your BFF, Israel. Let THEM choose between their own defense and their socialized universal health care.

Oh, and btw: Go. Fuck. Yourself. You treasonous coward.

[berni_mccoy]

65. Joe Lieberwho?

[virgdem]

66. Joe, don't go away mad...

just go the fuck away!

[MightyAfrodite]

67. Ugh!

I can't stand this fucker.

[IDemo]

68. IDemo says Joe Lieberman must hold his breath until turning blue n/t

[riverwalker]

69. Joe is a sadistic ghoul

has he ever supported anything that didn't involve destruction, war, torture or the suffering of others?

[Kolesar]

71. Social Security benefits were cut twice in my lifetime

The retirement age was raised in 1986. The benefit I would get at age 65 is 16% less than I would have received so, yes, that is a benefit cut.

Social Security pensions became taxable in the 1990s. A portion of SS pensions are taxable: either at 50% or at 85% for pensioners with a total income of more than $45,000/year.* The $45,000 threshold is not indexed for inflation, so it affects more pensioners every year. That is a benefit cut because it is returning money to "the treasury".

*data from memory

[arthritisR_US]

72. The sod was rejected during the primaries, enough said..go away old man!

[Dawson Leery]

74. LIEberman needs to keep quiet.

He has less than 2 months left in his Senate career.

[forestpath]

75. Fuck that shit! Since when is it "courageous" to screw over the elderly and vulnerable??

[backscatter712]

76. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out! n/t

[RagAss]

77. Go take a flying shit, Joementum !!!!!

[barbtries]

79. i thought he was gone.

no, really, i thought he was gone!
jerk. i guess if things ann coulter or sarah palin says still end up being reported upon this guy would too.

[ljm2002]

80. It is hard for me to express...

...how much I despise Joe Lieberman.

Sooo glad he is leaving the Senate!

[Zorra]

82. Lieberman is the poster boy of DLC/Third Way assholes. nt

[rudycantfail]

116. Former #2 of our great party.

Now he's just #2.

[Liberal1975]

85. Dear Joe Lieberman

Go courageously fuck yourself.

[Spock_is_Skeptical]

86. Shut the fuck up Joe. No, seriously though-

Just shut the fuck up.

[HereSince1628]

87. kicking to establish proximity to it's parody

[louslobbs]

88. Louslobbs says: "Fuck You Joe Lieberman."

Lou

[Vincardog]

90. Democrats are prepared to deal– courageously with– entitlements LOWER the Medicare

age to ZERO. And tell LIEberman to FO

[Scuba]

91. Go away Joe, you had your moment and fucked it up.

[Egalitarian Thug]

92. I just wish this asshole, and all the others that agree with him, could be made to live

in the world they created.

[JoeyT]

96. Oh Joe.

He just couldn't leave without being a dipshit one last time.

That useless old nutsack can go pound sand.

[Hugin]

97. Joe? Who is this, Joe?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

98. Fuck you Joe

Bust your ass doing physical labor for 30+ years instead of sitting at a desk then come back to me.

[k8conant]

101. Courage is putting up with bullshit like this

without punching Joe in the face.

[Agony]

102. I say Medicare for all and lower the retirement age!

lets get civilized.

[daa]

104. Right, cut our benefits and then send bombs to Gaza. Nt

[orpupilofnature57]

105. What would a Clinton Dem, Shrub Rep know about courage ?

Which way the wind blows today, you fair weather fiend .

[exboyfil]

106. ACA, Medicare, Medicaid, Federal Health Insurance, Tricare

and all others should be put into some continuum of benefits based upon income and assets (ie Single Payer). Medicare is already income means tested and Medicaid is asset tested. The complexity of someone on Medicare is simply astonding (I try to work through my grandmother's stuff).

At least all the federal programs should be placed under one negotiation for services.

[LVdem]

107. Lieberman must GO AWAY. Nt

[Politicub]

108. Evil. He knows what he is doing

[Lydia Leftcoast]

109. Joe, not everyone gets to be a Senator

The guys on the loading dock, the gals making beds in the hotels--they need to retire early. NEED TO, because their bodies give out.

[Faygo Kid]

110. I'd like to courageously spit in his face.

Go away, Joe.

[The Second Stone]

111. Another great victory in the 2012 election

is that Lieberman gets to retire and be heard from so much less.

[MjolnirTime]

112. Your time has come to an end, Droopy Dog. Good riddance!

[OldDem2012]

113. Piss off, Joe. nt.

[dawg]

114. I think that any politician who proposes this should be told to stick it up their ass!

Not just Joe.

[Monk06]

115. To think that he was the Democratic nominee for Vice President. He's as liberal as Paul Ryan. In

fact he would loudly approve the RR platform. That is their actual one not the, 'vote now and we'll tell you later' platform.

I mean Lieberman could actually be Reagan II, if only they had brought him on the team in 2008.

Well not really he couldn't stand toe to toe with Obama. But how about 2016? He would be 76 years old, a perfect age for a Republican presidential candidate.

[MrMickeysMom]

117. And he ought to know...

eh?
[url=http://www.cosgan.de/smilie.php][img][/img][/url]

[Historic NY]

118. Lets raise the age a Congressman can get his benefits to age 92.

[DBoon]

119. Killing old people is courageous now?

I guess it takes courage to oppose tax hikes for the wealthy knowing the cost is an elderly person dieing painfully

[demgrrrll]

121. Now I know why he will be on the Sunday gasbag hour. One more finger in the eye before he leaves.