Reid Set to Force Vote on GOP Medicare Plan in Senate

OK, this is classic politics. Of course neither Reid nor any other Democrat wants to see Paul Ryan's Budget pass but forcing Republicans to go on record and to vote for it or not vote for it does two things. First, it angers seniors if they do vote for it or it angers the extremists running the party if they don't vote for it. Look what happened to Newt for even criticizing it last Sunday. This is classic damned if you do damned if you don’t and the Republicans did it to themselves. How do you think the Republicans in the Senate should vote? “Present” isn’t an option.

Nevada's Harry Reid set to force vote on GOP Medicare plan

WASHINGTON -- Seizing on a political opportunity, the Senate's top Democrat Harry Reid told USA TODAY on Wednesday that he will schedule a vote next week that will force Republicans to endorse a GOP plan dramatically revamping the popular Medicare health-care program.

"It's a horrible, horrible piece of legislation, and what it does to Medicare -- changing it permanently -- is really unfair to the poor and middle class," Reid said of the 2012 budget blueprint crafted by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Ryan's budget plan, which passed the Republican-led House last month, would convert the federal health-care system for older and disabled Americans into voucher-like program. Starting in 2022, new Medicare beneficiaries would choose a private health plan, and the U.S. government would subsidize the cost.

The proposal stands little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate, but Reid's move is part of an effort by his party to tie GOP lawmakers to the plan in advance of next year's elections.

"If I were running for re-election, Democrat or Republican, I would want to stay as far from that Ryan budget as possible," Reid, the Senate's majority leader, said during the interview in his U.S. Capitol office.

Republicans say the program will go bankrupt without action.

"Instead of working together with House Republicans to save Medicare, Sen. Reid has chosen to play politics with the health security of America's seniors," Ryan said in a statement.

The first big political test of Ryan's plan comes Tuesday in a three-way House special election in Upstate New York.

The district has been solidly Republican, supporting GOP presidential nominee John McCain in 2008 and President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. But political handicappers, such as the Rothenberg Political Report, now say Democrat Kathy Hochul has the edge after using Medicare to slam Republican Jane Corwin, who has said she would have voted for the Ryan budget.

"Whether the Democrat wins or the Republican wins, the main issue in that campaign is Medicare." Reid said. "This race is much closer than anyone ever anticipated."

 

Why not? Obama voted "Present" 129 times.

 

Illinois State rule. Oddly enough, the U.S. Senate has different rules. That's why I said, “Present” isn’t an option."

Are you squirming right along with your Republican friends? He he he he he!

 

Harry Reid cares nothing for the seniors in this country. This ploy proves he's simply a political hack. The Republicans should vote for the legislation and then use it against the Democrats once Medicare fails (and it's headed off a cliff, as we speak).

 

Actually it's not heading off a cliff and I do hope that Republicans vote for it. I suspect that many will take the cowards way out and find a way to avoid voting on the bill. Since when is it a ploy to ask Republicans to vote on their own bill? That's the beauty of this move, Reid isn't asking them to do something they wouldn't ordinarily do anyway. You should be happy that they are going to vote on this bill. I don’t sense any joy coming from you right now.

 

Hmmmmmmmm:

Medicare Will Go Broke By 2018, Trustees Report - washingtonpost.com

Medicare To Be Broke By 2024

» Got Medicare? Not For Long-It’s More Broke Than We Thought - Big Government

Could You Die Faster? Medicare’s Broke. - CBS MoneyWatch.com

USATODAY.com - Report: Medicare could go broke by 2019

Medicare bankrupt by 2024, says government

The coming crisis for Medicare - The Boston Globe

Is Medicare Going Bankrupt?

Me, too! Maybe it will finally stop the downward spiral the Democrats have led us in to.

No. This isn't Wisconsin.

It's only a ploy in the sense that Harry Reid is thinking that he's getting something over on the Republicans. He ain't.

I couldn't be happier! If you don't sense the joy, my friend, then you've misinterpreted my posts!

 

Ryan recently said the Democrats were "playing politics"... I'm confused, they ARE politicians right? Isn't that what politicians do? Ryan's a politician... does that mean he's against "playing politics"? But he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't "play politics". Should he be fired for not "playing politics"? He's getting paid for something he doesn't do that he's supposed to do... and ...and... I just blew a brain cell... damn politics... Ryan owes me a brain cell, but I think he's a little short on those right now...

 

I sure hope the Repubs have the nads to cast their votes and at least begin to correct BO's out of control spending fiasco.

 

I like how they call it playing politics if you ask them to vote on their own bill.

 

Let's vote!! We can decide to make changes in order to save the system or we can trod along as we have & bankrupt the entire country. Let's decide.

 

We could always cut subsidies for oil companies, we could raise taxes on those making a million or more a year, we could close loopholes so that corporations actually paid any tax at all, or we could just listen to the Right wing drumbeat that tells us we are too broke to fix anything. I don’t know about you but I think I’d try the first three before I decide that “WE” are actually broke.

 

Or we could try something that has been proven to work in stead of the same bs that got us into this fix.

 

Yeah, the tax, tax, tax thing really doesn't work though, does it?
More revenue in a libs hand = more spending....I think we've figured that out now.

 

Really, name the last time we raised taxes. Starving government isn't that answer especially when it involves cutting programs for seniors, children, and impoverished Americans. That is the very definition of time to raise taxes. What are you proposing we do, give even more money to the wealthy so they can create jobs for the elderly, the children, the handicapped, etc? Giving tax breaks to industries making record profits is insane. The industry heads have even said that they do not need the tax breaks but Republicans refuse to stop subsidizing their country club buddies in spite of 80% of Americans that think it is unfair. You have no argument or no sane one anyway.

 

Last time "we" raised taxes was last year - Obamacare did that for us.
The next time we try to cut the corporate profits, we begin loosing companies. Now convincing the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board members to pay taxes taxes for their companies might help.

 

I heard that all of the Republicans are going to hide in Canada to avoid voting. Sound familiar?

 

If only you had so much as a clue you would be scary. In the last 10 years, 50,000 factories have closed in this country. At the same time, there has been 10 years of the Bush tax cuts. Must be all those burdensome taxes that have closed all those plants or as you say the Obama health care law. What a hack.

 

Are you implying that the tax cuts caused those factories to close, or simply that they didn't prevent them? Following the Obama lead, it can be stated that without the tax cuts, even more factories would have closed due to the crushing force of globalization. Just as the stimulus money didn't cure the recession but prevented another depression. But I bet in your world, the logic is only sound when it benefits the Democratic policy.

 

So 9/11 had nothing to do with our economy? The union's excessive wages? Beside that, I never stated that Bush's handling of the economy was correct and still for a fair chunk of those closings, the dip were in charge of congress - both houses.

As a topper to this, I was not saying the the "factories" (your word, mine was companies) would close. How many do you think would start moving? i.e. Germany, Mexico, S. Korea, etc.

 

Just a quick question.....I understand the libs are going to be against any budegetary attempt to curb BO's spending but what, exactly, is the Lib budget proposal? When was the last time the dims prposed a budget? I heard Paul Ryan state earlier today that the last dim budget proposal was over 750 days ago.