GOP = Grand Old Politics, Medicare History: Recent and Past

Republicans Take Us To the Brink . . . Again

"Ending a dramatic, weeks-long political standoff, House Republican leaders agreed Thursday to pass a Senate-endorsed short-term extension of the payroll tax cut in return for House-Senate negotiations on a year-long package."  "The agreement ensures that a 2 percent tax break for about 160 million people will not expire on Jan. 1, and that Medicare payments will not be slashed for doctors.  Emergency unemployment benefits also will continue."

MORE:  "In a conference call with House Republicans early Thursday evening, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) took no questions after making it clear to his members that the game was up and they would have to swallow the Democratic payroll tax extension."

Chaos from the same political party that brought the U.S. to the precipice of bankruptcy, gave America a lower, more expensive credit rating, and introduced oral sex into our living rooms.  The Republicans have become an extreme, out-of-control, and out-of-touch political party.  Of course, we never thought it was poker or a high stakes game.  Yes, as President Obama said, this is high stakes.  But poker is gambling, and the Republicans should not be gambling with the everyday life of millions of Americans.

Medicare: Who Said That?

From Kaiser Health News:  "In the past year, Medicare politics and policies have grabbed headlines, with politicians from both sides of the aisle talking about 'saving Medicare,' 'protecting beneficiaries,' 'improving quality of care,' and 'curbing fraud and abuse.'  But a longer look at the program’s history shows that many of these ideas have been a part of the Medicare discourse since its earliest days, beginning even before the program was signed into law."

 "To test your knowledge of who has said what about Medicare, Kaiser Health News gathered the following 15 quotations.  For each quote, you will have multiple-choice answers and, when you are done, you can check your work against a detailed answer key.  Good luck!"

TAKE THE TEST; it's a perfect example of politicians saying whatever it takes to be elected or whatever the public wants to hear.  These are marvelously nuanced statements, crafted by the crafty.  Please do pay attention.  It's both entertaining (on some level) and sobering.

More History: JFK

We've featured this link before, but here it is again.  At a Medical Care for the Aged rally at Madison Square Garden on May 20, 1962, President John F. Kennedy spoke about the need for medical care for the aged:  "Now why are we here?  What is the issue which divides and arouses so much concern?  I will take a case which may be typical, a family which may be found in any part of the United States."

Here is the video -- John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden (Part 1) and here is the complete transcript -- Address at a New York Rally in Support of the President's Program of Medical Care for the Aged.

***