Hey seniors! This Flake wants to steal your Medicare for John McCain’s Neocon wars of adventure

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Remember back to the early days of the Koch brothers-funded astroturf campaign for the Tea Party and their signs with the red-paint hands that said "Keep your government hands of my Medicare"? I would suggest to seniors that what you really need are signs with the red-paint hands that say "Keep your Tea-Publican hands of my Medicare" and show up to protest everywhere that Rep. Jeff Flake appears. Why?

Because this Flake wants to steal your Medicare for John McCain's Neocon wars of adventure. Flake, at forum here: Cut entitlements, not defense:

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Flake said mandatory budget cuts set to begin in January as part of sequestration should be focused on entitlement programs such as Medicare rather than the Department of Defense.

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"In the House we are saying, 'Let's take the cuts from the real drivers of our debt, which is not defense.' The real drivers of our debt are the entitlement programs, in particular Medicare," Flake said. "With the reforms that we've already called for in the so-called Ryan budget, we've said let's realize those savings over time in entitlement programs rather than defense spending."

Mitt Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has a Medicare overhaul plan that would reduce the fixed insurance payment to retirees, which Republicans say would bring down costs by forcing retirees and doctors to be more cost-conscious about health-care decisions. Ryan's proposal also offers future retirees an option of private coverage that the government would help pay for through a voucherlike system, while keeping the traditional program as an option. [i.e., "Vouchercare."]

Republicans: Trying to Kill Medicare Since 1965!

As I have previously posted, Yes, let's focus on the drivers of our debt! GOP economic policies:

Steve Benen has this excellent post today, Political Animal – The drivers of our debt:

A leading House Republican recently proclaimed recently that policymakers should be focusing on “the drivers of our debt.”

GOP officials ought to hope that doesn’t happen. Bloomberg News has a piece today reminding folks of a point that’s too often forgotten in Washington: the biggest drivers of our debt are Republican policies.

House Speaker John Boehner often attacks the spendthrift ways of Washington.

“In Washington, more spending and more debt is business as usual,” the Republican leader from Ohio said in a televised address yesterday amid debate over the U.S. debt. “I’ve got news for Washington — those days are over.”

Yet the speaker, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell all voted for major drivers of the nation’s debt during the past decade: Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts and Medicare prescription drug benefits. They also voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, that rescued financial institutions and the auto industry.

Together, a Bloomberg News analysis shows, these initiatives added $3.4 trillion to the nation’s accumulated debt and to its current annual budget deficit of $1.5 trillion.

It’d be amusing if it weren’t so ridiculous. Literally the exact same people whose fiscal irresponsibility created the deficit mess are the ones whining constantly about the problem they’re responsible for. Worse, they keep blaming everyone but themselves. Worse still, they’re prepared to crash the economy on purpose unless the solution to their own fiasco meets their approval.

This isn’t in the realm of spin or opinion. The numbers are unambiguous: Republicans took a large surplus, turned it into massive deficit. Republicans could have paid off the debt within a decade, but they instead chose to pursue an ambitious agenda without paying for it.

And now they don’t want the nation to pay the bills. [Deadbeats!]

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So, when Republicans call for us to focus on “the drivers of our debt,” I’d suggest taking them up on the idea.

Our Neoconservative war monger Senator McNasty wants your Medicare dollars for his Neoconservative wars of adventure. And if this country is foolish enough to elect "Galt – Gekko 2012" this November, war is exactly what you will get. McCain says Obama lacks leadership on Iranian arms, aid for Syrian rebels:

McCain, an Arizona Republican and the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, criticized Obama for not aiding rebels in Syria, abandoning Iraq and Afghanistan, and delaying tough decisions on Iran's nuclear program.

This war monger has never met a war he did not like. Like MacBeth, this war monger will never be able to wash away the blood stains from his hands for the unnecesary war in Iraq for which he advocated and apparently wishes to reoccupy again.

Flake's opponent in the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Richard Carmona, said through his spokesman that Flake's desire to slash Medicare benefits is a "misguided" approach to solving the budget problems. Flake, at forum here: Cut entitlements, not defense:

Carmona, the former U.S. surgeon general, considers the sequester an embarrassing failure from "career politicians who refused to work together," said his spokesman, Andy Barr, in an email.

"Dr. Carmona knows we can cut the deficit responsibly, using a scalpel instead of an ax," Barr said. "And unlike Congressman Flake, Dr. Carmona would never use the threat of default as 'leverage' to try to slash seniors' benefits."