Address Shuns Medicare
As we've already noted, President Obama had little to say about Medicare (or health care) in his State of the Union Address. Naturally, we weren't the only ones to notice.
From Kaiser Health News: "KHN's Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about President Obama's State of the Union speech. Obama talked little about health care, reflecting maybe the hard sell they're having getting the public to buy into the health law's benefits. Republicans talked about reforming Medicare in their response." [transcript and audio]
Follow Up: Romney Medicare Fraud
The problems created by Mr. Romney's ties to a company involved in Medicare fraud are dogging him and intensifying. Sometimes an issue or concern which is not terribly startling or notable somehow captures people's imaginations or begins to look like a serious problem. Like a pack mentality, they attack. Will that happen in this case?
November Elections in Focus
"A Republican plan to remake Medicare, set forth in a budget blueprint devised by Representative Paul D. Ryan, has largely faded from public view. But it is about to come back in a big way as Democrats try to win control of the House by battering Republicans over Medicare in Congressional races around the country." "The fights suggest that Medicare will be a perennial point of contention in politics in the coming decade, as the number of beneficiaries is projected to grow by one-third, to 65 million."
"From Florida to the Midwest to the Southwest and the Pacific Coast, Democrats are urging voters to oust Republicans who supported the Ryan proposal, which they say would gut the guarantee of health benefits for older Americans."
Santorum: Romney Wrong Man For GOP On Health Care
More from Kaiser Health News: "Health care, especially the individual mandate, was the focus of a tense and angry exchange in Thursday night's last debate before the crucial GOP Florida primary. In answering a question from the audience, all four candidates -- Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Rep. Ron Paul and Rick Santorum -- had sharp words as they tried to claim they were the right candidate on this crucial election issue. Moderator Wolf Blitzer tried to contain the discussion, but Santorum pursued Romney doggedly."
Transcript and video. Well done, Kaiser Health News.
Shameless Conservative Lies
"One benefit of the prolonged campaign for the Republican presidential nomination has been the revelation that most of the 20 or 30 percent of Americans who describe themselves as conservatives live in a fantasy world. In their imaginations, Barack Obama, a centrist Democrat with roots in Eisenhower Republicanism rather than Rooseveltian liberalism, is a radical figure trying to take America down the path of 'European socialism.'"
"How can otherwise sane people believe such lunacy? The answer is that members of the right-wing counterculture are brainwashed -- that is the only appropriate term -- by the apocalyptic propaganda ground out constantly by the conservative media establishment."
Somewhat entertaining but very relevant discussion about how the right wing media still are fighting against Social Security and Medicare -- a war lost long ago, but a battle they still seek to wage. (How can anyone be so destructive of the middle class?) The Conservative media's "intellectually dishonest maneuvers" clearly show that they don't care about the facts. I have a Conservative friend who used to send me lots of that crazy anti-Clinton email -- sometimes a few a day. I finally said to him, "Hey, if you want to have an honest discussion on the facts, OK. But, if you just want to lie because you don't care about a rational decision, don't bother me." We're still friends, and he doesn't send crap to me anymore.
The Republican Reality-Free Zone
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