The Republican Party's Obfuscation Machine has been in high gear over the past year and has been incredibly successful. Millions of middle-class Americans have been persuaded that Obama's agenda is an attack on the middle class and that the Republicans are the ones fighting for them, and fighting to protect American values.
As a new legislative session begins in Washington, it is instructive to review briefly what are the real priorities and goals of the Republican Party. Let's take a look at the measures the Republicans would actually take, should they be given the opportunity to once again control legislation coming out of Congress
Here's a look back at an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities of the budget proposed in April 2009 by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. When juxtaposed with the rhetoric we've been hearing over the past year, the measures proposed within are absolutely stunning in the size and scope of their hypocrisy.
The House Republican budget, introduced April 1 by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), calls for a massive transfer of resources from the broad majority of Americans to the nation’s wealthiest individuals and corporations. It provides the richest households with a new round of very costly tax reductions by extending the Bush high-income tax cuts and adding another set of tax cuts that are particularly large at the top of the income scale (as well as a cut in corporate taxes). To help pay for these tax cuts, the proposal eliminates Medicare and Medicaid in their current forms, imposes large reductions on other domestic programs, and apparently repeals the Making Work Pay tax credit.
The House Republican budget extends the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for households with incomes over $250,000. In addition, it effectively lowers the top marginal tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent by setting up an alternative tax system in which families would pay at a 25 percent rate for all income above $100,000. And it completely eliminates taxes on capital gains, which are received primarily by upper-income taxpayers, for the rest of 2009 and for all of 2010.
The House Republican budget abolishes Medicare in its current form for everyone currently below age 55. Instead of qualifying for health coverage through Medicare upon turning 65, these individuals would instead receive a premium support payment, or voucher, to purchase private health insurance plans. The premium support payments are likely to become increasingly inadequate over time, with beneficiaries unable to find affordable, comprehensive coverage on their own. Moreover, the private insurance plans are likely to have a widely varying and confusing set of benefits and cost-sharing that would lead many beneficiaries to enroll in plans that do not cover certain needed benefits or impose onerous deductibles and co-payments. Many other beneficiaries, particularly those in poor health, could end up uninsured.
In all, the budget requires the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees Medicare, to cut spending by $605 billion over the 2010-2019 period. Most of these cuts would come from Medicare
The budget also eliminates guaranteed health coverage under Medicaid for low-income children, seniors, and persons with disabilities by turning the program into a block grant to the states. Under Medicaid’s current entitlement structure, everyone who meets the program’s eligibility rules qualifies for coverage. The House Republican budget, in contrast, limits Medicaid funding to a fixed dollar amount that would not be sufficient to cover everyone in need, especially during economic slowdowns when unemployment rises and incomes decline.
The budget requires the Energy and Commerce Committee to cut spending by $666 billion over the next decade, primarily by cutting Medicaid. These large Medicaid cuts would worsen state budget deficits and force states to limit Medicaid eligibility and benefits, increase premiums and cost-sharing, and reduce provider payment rates — all of which would have detrimental effects on the health of the poorest Americans.
Where does one begin? Perhaps this is why the Democrats are so hopelessly ineffectual at countering Republicans dishonesty and obfuscation. Where does one even start?
I suppose one could start with Medicare. Medicare is a program the Republican Party never wanted and is continually trying to cut, yet during the debate over heath care reform, they have portrayed themselves as the defenders of Medicare and they continue to issue dire warnings about the "cuts" that would ensue under "Obamacare." Meanwhile, in their own budget, they have plans to eviscerate it.
Democratic Party? Are you there? Anyone care to weigh in on this? Hello? The Media? Anybody home? Maybe, I'm crazy, but it seems to me that when a major political party successfully kills a health care reform plan that would help millions of people and then outright lies about their own plans for Medicare, that's newsworthy.
How about this?
"Today the Republican Party came out with a strong message against Obama's health care plan, claiming it makes too many cuts in Medicare. In truth, Obama's plan does not. It makes cuts mainly in subsidies to insurance companies who participate in the Medicare Advantage program. There would be some small reduction in benefits for those who participate in these plans. By contrast, the House Republican budget submitted in April proposes enormous cuts in Medicare that would effect millions of elderly recipients. Under the Republican plan, many people would lose their Medicare benefits entirely."
Anyone ever hear that on the evening news? Would anyone believe it, if they did? The moment a statement like that came out from a major news outlet, the Republicans would rip into the "liberal media" and accuse them of being "in the tank" for Obama. They would re-state their false claims even more stridently than before, in well-coordinated and well-timed attacks.
Then the headlines would read:
GOP Warns Again Obama's Health Plan Would Cut Medicare.
The facts would be buried in an avalanche of he said/she said claims and counter-claims that would confuse the issue entirely. Now no one would know what or who to believe. The Republican Obfuscation Machine will have done it again! Well done, Republican Obfuscation Machine! High fives all around!
The Republican Obfuscation Machine is a wonder to behold. The mainstream media gets played for fools time and time again, and never seem to catch on.
The same principle applies in the area of tax cuts. Can anyone look at the proposals in Rep. Ryan's budget and actually believe the Republican Party is the defender of the middle class?
Yet, here we are. Scott Brown is now in the Senate, mainly because he's good-looking, drives a pick-up truck and stayed on message brilliantly. Staying on message is not leadership, however, so I can't say I expect great things from him.
But the Republican Obfuscation Machine is all about message. The substance of their agenda is never fully revealed until they are in power.
Obfuscations, lies, distortions and mischaracterizations got George Bush elected in 2000 and again in 2004. They continued while he was in office. The policies he enacted consistently contradicted his message, and no one - the public, the media, the spineless wonders who made up the Democratic caucus at the time - no one called him or his administration to account until it was too late.
By then, the country was fighting two wars, on the verge of economic ruin and burying itself in debt.
The Republican Obfuscation Machine got revved up again during the fight over Obama's stimulus bill. It was remarkably successful. It hasn't stopped since.
I can't wait to see what happens next.
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