Mother Jones - The GOP's Medicare Defectors - Welcome to Medicarepalooza!

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http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/05/gop-medicare-defectors

By Suzy Khimm

Tue May. 24, 2011 7:54 AM PDT.

Welcome to Medicarepalooza! The political brawl surrounding the entitlement program will come to a new head this week, as Republicans face a series of tough challenges to Paul Ryan's proposal to "end Medicare as we know it," as the Democrats are fond of saying.

The Senate is likely to hold a vote on Rep. Paul Ryan's budget in the upcoming days. The measure is all but assured to fail, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has insisted on the symbolic vote to hold the GOP accountable for the plan, which the GOP-controlled House passed in April. All Senate Democrats are expected to vote against it, but a small handful of Republicans could defect as well, primarily because of the Ryan plan's Medicare overhaul.