Chris Christie will make entitlement reform central to a White House bid

[brooklynite]

Source: Washington Post

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) told leading GOP policy analysts this week that he will make overhauling Medicare, Social Security and other long-term entitlement programs a centerpiece of his likely presidential campaign, according to participants in the talks.

Christie’s decision to embrace a politically risky campaign theme is central to an attempt to revive his wilting national prospects, according to people familiar with his plans.

By casting himself in the coming months as a blunt truth-teller on issues that some in his party have resisted tackling, Christie hopes to win support among conservatives who have been reluctant to back him and are unsure of his rationale for running.

But voters have long been wary of attempts by politicians in both parties to cut popular entitlement programs, which account for about half of all federal spending. Christie himself has expanded Medicaid as governor, calling it “the right decision for New Jersey.”

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/chris-christie-will-make-entitlement-reform-central-to-a-whit

---

Haven't Republican's spent years yelling that Democrats were going to "take away your medicare"?

[PSPS]

1. "entitlement reform" = "stealing your lifelong insurance premiums and canceling your policy"

[appal_jack]

31. Nicely summarized. k&r, nt.

[Iliyah]

2. Most Americans want a decent cost of living wages (good jobs), and

good benefits. Most American don't want you nor anyone else effing with what they paid in for such as Medicare, SSN et al. Leave them alone.

[elleng]

3. crispy creme will work on ignoring those among the primary electorate who RELY on 'your medicare,'

and encouraging his controlled media to do the same. IMO.
and talking up the 'savings.'

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

4. Hey Christie

Go across the river to New York and touch the third rail on the subway. That's what the net effect will be if you mess with Social Security.

[pnwmom]

5. He thinks he's Frank Underwood.

Actually, maybe he IS Frank Underwood.

[elleng]

8. yes but nowhere as attractive!!!

[Cha]

24. Yeah, do away with Social Security and FEMA so he can do a jobs bill.. if that wasn't a bunch

of bullcrap.

[appal_jack]

32. I think he ate Frank Underwood. nt

[Agnosticsherbet]

6. So he is running to abolish Social Security, Medicare, Mecicaid, and

who knows what else.

[6000eliot]

7. He can't even win in NJ at this point.

[elleng]

9. Which we, and repugs, will count on.

[JustAnotherGen]

12. Plus 1. N/T

[Thinkingabout]

10. I can see it now, Democrats will be lining up to vote for him, huh.

Now if he was talking about farm subsidies, tax havens for companies going off shore and no bid contracts I just might be interested.

[JustAnotherGen]

11. He's not going to get far in his bid

Even the dumbest Republican is going to have a hard time voting in a Primary for a person who can't win the Primary in his own state.


Registered Democrats aren't going to cross over to vote for him in the Primary just because of his approach to drug addicts.

He's slaughtered the Pensions of our Public employees and the state infrastructure is a mess. He can't fix it in time to get out of the gate in 4th quarter.

[The Jungle 1]

13. Big mouth

Hey big mouth how about you reform corporate welfare first.

[BeyondGeography]

14. Jerry Jones' errand boy said wut?

Chris Christie is in need of entitlement reform.

[groundloop]

15. End entitlements to corporations - THAT would be popular

I was reading that Home Depot is bullying Cobb County here in Georgia to give it over $200 MILLION in tax abatements (or else it will move its' headquarters). THAT is the kind of entitlement we need to get rid of.

Christie and all of his damned goper buddies need to open their eyes and see that the only Medicare or Social Security reform that's needed is a small infusion of tax dollars from the highest earners.

[TheNutcracker]

16. Start going after the term "entitlement". People paid for it. Only reform by adding $$$$$

With the loopholes Warren speaks of, it's rigged. They know damn well they cannot have people use an investment strategy for their retirement. They want this, so a good portion of the money will be shared...with investment bankers. There won't be enough to live on, EVEN IF THEY START YOUNG!

This is 'we the people's benefit'. It's not an entitlement.

[Babel_17]

17. Getting his resume in order

Raising his negative numbers amongst those who value Social Security is just piling on what are his already moribund chances of getting nominated, let alone elected.
But this will burnish his credentials in the eyes of some who will be in the position to offer him employment after he leaves office.

[blkmusclmachine]

18. "Entitlements." Like Social Security, health care, and retirement.

Get ready to work til you drop.

[yurbud]

42. how about "entitlements" like Wall St bailouts, oil subsidies, and Defense contract profits?

[SoapBox]

19. A Tea Bagger's wet dream...

Screw the free loaders!

Fuck those that are using Medicare, Medicaid and Disability!


...too bad his supporters are so STUPID, that they will support him even though they would be hurt the worst.

[tclambert]

20. "Entitlement reform" is code for wrecking social security and stealing the money for his cronies.

Republicans want to "reform" the social security trust fund right into the pockets of Wall Street bankers.

[yurbud]

43. the good news is when they actually try to mess with SS or Medicare, even conservatives

who collect benefits tell them to back off.

Remember the signs during the Obamacare debate: "Keep your gov'mint hands off my Medicare"?

[tclambert]

44. I remember. But voters seem to have less memory than a fruitfly.

[yurbud]

45. yep. and, unless it's under current attack, it's hardly an exciting issue

[ReRe]

21. Any politician who mentions....

.... entitlements without mentioning "expanding" in the same sentence should be ignored. Period.

[Art_from_Ark]

22. He can start by reforming his own entitled attitude

How 60+ New Jersey Democrats could endorse this buffoon is beyond my understanding.

[lutefisk]

23. He's in a race with Scott Walker to burn it all down

Walker responding to an interview question on 11 March:

You go down the line–there is not a common sense conservative forum in America, at least at the state level, that we haven’t taken action on in the State of Wisconsin. Why do I say that? It isn’t a brag list as much as to your question, to me, when I say we should come in and talk about fundamentally moving power from the federal government to the states, and education, and transportation, and Medicaid and social service and other agencies. When people say that is pretty tremendously aggressive and vicious reform out there I say: been there, done that. We’ve done that. We have to do it early.

LINK to Walker interview

[NaturalHigh]

25. I wonder if he wil announce his candidacy...

from a luxury suite at a Dallas Cowboys game. Maybe Jerry Jones will be on hand to give him an incredibly awkward hug.

[7962]

46. You know, his Jerry Jones love-fest was the last straw for a lot of folks.

It just shows more of his character

[still_one]

26. He won't be the repug nominee, tank goodness, but all the others aren't any better, which

Is why this among many other reasons to vote Democratic

[MADem]

27. Who does he think he is? Frank Underwood? nt

[riversedge]

28. Maddow did a great segment on declining Christie last night-=worth the time

to see podcast. Christie is in trouble --deep with declining favor-ability. I think he sees WI gov Walker reaching the top with his hardline policies and figures he can do the same. We shall see.

[Enthusiast]

34. Rachel's piece on Christie was good.

At this point I think he might be just acting as a mouthpiece for the austerity advocates.

[freshwest]

29. Koch brothers platform coming to pass:

BERNIE SANDERS Uncovers 1980 Koch Agenda- "What Do the Koch Brothers Want?"

What else do the Koch brothers want?

In 1980, David Koch ran as the Libertarian Party’s vice-presidential candidate in 1980.

Let’s take a look at the 1980 Libertarian Party platform.

Here are just a few excerpts of the Libertarian Party platform that David Koch ran on in 1980:

“We urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws, and the immediate abolition of the despotic Federal Election Commission.”

“We favor the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid programs.”

“We oppose any compulsory insurance or tax-supported plan to provide health services, including those which finance abortion services.”

“We also favor the deregulation of the medical insurance industry.”

“We favor the repeal of the fraudulent, virtually bankrupt, and increasingly oppressive Social Security system. Pending that repeal, participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.”

“We propose the abolition of the governmental Postal Service. The present system, in addition to being inefficient, encourages governmental surveillance of private correspondence. Pending abolition, we call for an end to the monopoly system and for allowing free competition in all aspects of postal service.”

“We oppose all personal and corporate income taxation, including capital gains taxes.”

“We support the eventual repeal of all taxation.”

“As an interim measure, all criminal and civil sanctions against tax evasion should be terminated immediately.”

“We support repeal of all law which impede the ability of any person to find employment, such as minimum wage laws.”

“We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended.”

“We condemn compulsory education laws … and we call for the immediate repeal of such laws.”

“We support the repeal of all taxes on the income or property of private schools, whether profit or non-profit.”

“We support the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency.”

“We support abolition of the Department of Energy.”

“We call for the dissolution of all government agencies concerned with transportation, including the Department of Transportation.”

“We demand the return of America's railroad system to private ownership. We call for the privatization of the public roads and national highway system.”

“We specifically oppose laws requiring an individual to buy or use so-called "self-protection" equipment such as safety belts, air bags, or crash helmets.”

“We advocate the abolition of the Federal Aviation Administration.”

“We advocate the abolition of the Food and Drug Administration.”

“We support an end to all subsidies for child-bearing built into our present laws, including all welfare plans and the provision of tax-supported services for children.”

“We oppose all government welfare, relief projects, and ‘aid to the poor’ programs. All these government programs are privacy-invading, paternalistic, demeaning, and inefficient. The proper source of help for such persons is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals.”

“We call for the privatization of the inland waterways, and of the distribution system that brings water to industry, agriculture and households.”

“We call for the repeal of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”

“We call for the abolition of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”

“We support the repeal of all state usury laws.”

In other words, the agenda of the Koch brothers is not only to defund Obamacare. The agenda of the Koch brothers is to repeal every major piece of legislation that has been signed into law over the past 80 years that has protected the middle class, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the most vulnerable in this country...

Tomorrow it will be Social Security, ending Medicare as we know it, repealing the minimum wage. It seems to me that the Koch brothers will not be content until they get everything they believe they are entitled to.

Our great nation can no longer be hijacked by right-wing billionaires like the Koch brothers.

For the sake of our children and our grandchildren, for the sake of our economy, we have got to let democracy prevail.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/koch-brothers

http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a7980koch

We've heard these memes for years, Americans have come to believe this is how it has to be. It's the recipe for neo-feudalism.

[father founding]

39. something missing

No mention of eliminating the most inefficient agencies, Commerce, DHS and Defense, why should we have to pay for protection of the 1 per cent, let them handle it.

[freshwest]

41. It's implied.

[octoberlib]

30. Christie's as politically

tone deaf as he is corrupt.

[n2doc]

33. Chrispie's done

And this will just deep fry his chances even further.

[geek tragedy]

35. This is good news for Hillary.

He'll force Jeb and Walker to take positions popular with the base but poisonous with the electorate.

[valerief]

36. With any luck, he's explode before 2016. nt

[candelista]

37. This clown doesn't have a prayer of getting elected.

He's a sideshow act.

[lark]

38. Fucking idiot.

He's going all in for the 1%ers. He thinks they can buy him the presidency and convince the 99% that the poison he's suggesting they swallow is actually good for "the masses". Hopefully people are smart than that and will come out in droves to vote against this travesty.
1%ers though, they think money is everything so think they can convince enough people to commit economic suicide to win the presidency. They were wrong with Romney and will hopefully be wrong with Christie, Scott or Jeb.

[Grins]

40. My question to Christie...

QUESTION: Governor Christie, the country is faced with a dysfunctional federal government, uncontrolled government surveillance on its own citizens, foreign intrusion into government and commercial computer systems, housing getting more expensive while families have to work longer hours, globalization pushing down wages, higher education costs impossible for many Americans to afford, a crippled and far-too-long neglected infrastructure, expanding income inequality, diseases entering the country for which we are unprepared to handle, immigration, a still-rising national debt, ISIS, an aging population that threatens greater costs for social benefits and pensions, a shortage of younger people to fill jobs, rising racial tensions, rising Russian militancy, a defense budget at an all-time high, Iranian nuclear weapons, same-sex marriage, un-vaccinated children spreading once contained diseases, contamination of our food supply by viruses and/or corporations, inadequate care for our veterans, and of course, a War on Christmas™ and encroaching Sharia Law.

What will be the centerpiece of the Christie administration?

GOVERNOR CHRISTIE: Uh....entitlements.

Thank you, Governor. You're a "real" Republican.