Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Schweikert makes pronounceement: Gutting Medicare is "honorable"

Big hat tip to David Safier at Blog For Arizona for noticing this.

ABC News featured an interview today with CD5's Congressman David Schweikert.  He spent his time whistling past the graveyard over the Republican loss in NY-26 last night, something which most observers (including me) attribute to the Republican candidate's whole-hearted embrace of the plan to turn Medicare into a corporate voucher plan.

Among the "highlights" -

Destroying Medicare is "based on the math."

Destroying Medicare will "save the republic."

Destroying Medicare is "the honorable" thing to do.

At the end of the interview, there was a staged, "awww, isn't that cute moment" moment with Schweikert's dog, Charlie.  Schweikert called to the dog to get him to jump up, but had to tug on his leash to get Charlie to move for the camera.

Wonder if Schweikert will be surprised when the seniors and working families that he is throwing under the bus tug on his leash?

1 comment:

Ann said...

Why do you use the word "destroy"? Rep. Schweikert is trying to save Medicare, which will run out of money in less than 10 years. With no money there will be no Medicare; it's that simple. The following is from today's (6/3/11) WSJ: "This [the Ryan Plan] is not 'the end of Medicare' as some would have you believe. As Rep. Ryan wrote in these pages in April: 'Medicare will provide increased assistance for lower-income beneficiaries and those with greater health risks. Reform that empowers individuals—with more help for the poor and the sick—will guarantee that Medicare can fulfill the promise of health security for America's seniors.'
These are also not 'vouchers' in which 'seniors would, in effect, be handed a coupon and told to go find private coverage,' as columnist Paul Krugman recently wrote in the New York Times. Under the Ryan plan, seniors would receive a menu of participating contractors to choose from. And because Medicare Administrative Contractors, the firms that pay Medicare claims, are already private, this is not exactly 'privatizing Medicare' either."
If you do not like the above, then when the money run out, what is your alternative?