So gutting Medicare is going to pay for the wall since Mexico won’t pay for it.
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You are correct.
When asked if entitlement reforms were going to be necessary to accomplish the Trump agenda, Hatch said, "I think that is probably the understatement."
They need to substantially scale back the money spent on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security to be able to afford new round of huge tax cuts (primarily) to the wealthy (“the Trump agenda”) (plus a few other expensive things, like a massive increase in military spending).
Rs didn’t want the programs in the first place, and have wanted to get rid of them every day of every year since they were instituted. Remember the recordings of Ronald Reagan, pre-President, “warning” against the evils of socialized medicine when Medicare was originally proposed? Now that they control both houses Congress plus the White House, they think they actually do it. We’ll see.
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I don’t fucking care if they propose universal single payer delivered by gay healthcare providers riding fucking unicorns, no! No cooperation, no cover, no giving them a chance. They get the full McConnell for every awful thing they do, they take responsibility and get no bipartisan happyface stickers from the MSM for their entire agenda because they threw a few treble-hooked lures at Democrats and pass a couple of laws with Democrats, which is what will happen if Democrats take the bait.
Only thing Democrats ought to cooperate on is keeping them from defaulting on the national debt.
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…on the wealthy. Too bad none of the Presidential candidates advocated for that. Oh wait…
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Come on now Steve… unicorns are cool!
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You are. Orrin Hatch is an unprincipled, cowardly hack who cares about nothing but reelection, whatever the cost and whatever he has to do or say. He’d fellate Satan in the Mormon Tabernacle if that’s what it took. He’s Claude Rains’ character in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” except without the moment of redemption. He was the single most important figure in the Republican campaign to block Bill Clinton’s judicial nominees, using whatever lies and slander he had to against the character of good and decent nominees and he tripled down on it under Obama.
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Yep. He wasn’t too bad “back in the day,” but things changed.
I think you’re correct in identifying one of the reasons for the change, but I think at least as big was the shock of his fellow senator from Utah, Bob Bennett, being primaried from the right & replaced by a Tea Party guy, Mike Lee.
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Virtually extinct. Every one that’s left is locked up in a secure undisclosed stable so they can be bled out one by one to keep Dick Cheney alive.
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For the past eight years Hatch and all the others who may qualify as better Republican senators have occasionally made sane statements to the press followed by lock step votes in total GOP opposition to Obama. I see no reason to expect this public pronouncement to be any different from the others unless they now realize there is no place left to hide and they may finally be held accountable by their credulous constituents.
It would be nice to see your hopefulness trump my cynicism.
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Damn, I’d wondered how that soulless bastard was still hanging on. Should have guessed I suppose. What an asshole!
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Trump will change that on Day 1. His sons need to add to their collection.
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I’d add Hatch to my list of people who can suck one if he hasn’t been on that list for about 15 years already
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OK Democrats, can you at least all vote No together on everything they throw at you to “modernize,” “fix,” “change,” and most certainly “phase out” or “privatize” Medicare. This is war and you have got to stick together on this one.
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If any Democrat–House or Senate–“gives Republicans cover,” I will hound every single one of them until the day I die and haunt them afterward. Just say ‘NO.’
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"…unless they now realize there is no place left to hide and they may finally be held accountable by their credulous constituents.
This is my hope.
I agree the Obama years have given the often-fractious Republican caucus something to rally around – opposition – but with Trump in the big seat I think their unity will begin to fray.
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Exactly! Medicare is working quite well, thank you, Mr. Hatch. If we need more funds, perhaps you should consider NOT giving the rich anymore tax breaks but actually start taxing them fairly. The super wealthy individuals and corporations of this nation benefit tremendously from the infrastructure, physical and legal. It’s time they pay a fairer share of the basic burdens of society. We are not very civilized if we shun and basically neglect the ill, the elderly and less fortunate among us. Life isn’t perfect, but we can damn sure help folks live productive, healthy, worthwhile lives. The super wealthy already enjoy luxuries the vast majority of us would never even dream exists. Seriously, Mr. Hatch, your Jesus would be ashamed of you folks.
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He has t he ability to be a good guy. I personally believe he’s too ideological on all social issues. That said, I do think he can be approached one-on-one to reason with when it comes to budget or military issues (except gays in the military, anything social, etc.). He’s also in a pretty safe seat and has been there forever, so he usually can afford to be approachable.
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This true claim was in fact rated lie of the year by Politifact, if I recall correctly.
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Me and the white idiots that voted for trump have something in common… we will be terminaled fuc…d … Congress Republicans are about to dismantle the safety net just as we were about to need it after contributing all my working life… and Trump and his minions are going to steal everything that they can get their hands on.
The difference between me and racists and sexists is that I never never though that Trump was going to be the saviour that brought deliverance. I will be totally screwed but I will still get to laugh at those morons that thought a shifty millionaire was going to save them.
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“Privatized Medicare” is like private public schools, or private public roads, or even private public armies. Once we get everything privatized, they are just another products sold by corporations who are concerned, by law, with profit and share value at the expense of everything else. That, of course, is exactly why the GOP supports “privatization” - to enhance the profits of their corporate supporters.
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