Repealing Obamacare is not going to happen. Medicare is not going to change fundamentally from a federal based program and major changes in food stamps and Medicaid are pipe dreams. Social Security needs reasonable changes, but remains essential; Americans depend on it like it or not and that will never change, in fact it will become more so … … so why do Republicans keep making absurd proposals for all these programs?
Because they are as blinded by their ideology as is Obama.
They think what people say is actually what they mean. Republicans don’t understand what motivates the average person. Republicans say stupid things that trigger questions in the back of even the most conservative mind … gee, what’s this going to do to me … how much will this cost me … how are my wife and I going to afford this when we are older?
Sure, we need a more realistic federal budget, we need to assure that entitlements are both meeting real social needs and are affordable to current and future generations, but you can’t get there simply by blowing something up without a viable alternative. Com’on Ryan, what does doing away with the IPPAB accomplish? What is a measurable alternative?
As flawed as Obamacare may be, saying you are going to repeal it is just stupid. The most vocal opponents of health care reform for the most part have little understanding of the subject, but they know the personal benefits they may have received. What Republicans should be talking about is serious modifications that make things better.
Obama and company rely on idealistic assumptions about the future and Republicans are doing the same thing. Note to both parties; tell people the truth. We can neither continue to tax and spend with unattainable utopian goals nor can we slash and burn our way back to 1776.
What we really need is a zero based budgeting exercise and then let the American people decide what they want to pay for. What we need is less rhetoric on both sides, less divisiveness, less promoting class envy and scapegoats. We need a viable strategy and then stick with it. Oh wait, now I’m the one who is delusional.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
Well said, Mr. Quinn, and let’s not forget that the GOP claims to be the party that’s “strong on defense and fiscally responsible” – and let’s not forget that most of this debt that we’re so concerned about resulted from the Bush wars, the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, the Bush prescription drug program for old people and the recesson which was caused by Republican de-regulation of financial institutions. And, let’s not forget that President Obama probably averted a great depression, gave our nation universal healthcare (after many others had tried and failed), got our nation out of the Iraq war that never had to happen, killed Bin Laden, killed Gaddafi, reformed Wall Street, passed The Dream Act, repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, saved the American auto industry, appointed two women to the Supreme Court, advanced stem cell research, promoted equal pay for women and stopped torturing terrorists. And now there is yet another Bush making noise about running for president and a Kentucky hick, Rand Paul, (with the IQ of Sarah Palin) who could not hit the ground with his hat. Dear Lord, please spare us from another Republican president!
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Ah, how quickly we forget. Talk about inheriting a problem.
It was 1998, and Iraq and the U.S. were edging toward war.
The Iraqi dictator, President Clinton warned that February, “threatens the safety of his people, the stability of his region, and the security of all the rest of us. Some day, some way, I guarantee you, he’ll use the arsenal.” In October, the Iraq Liberation Act, which made regime change in Iraq official U.S. policy, passed 360-38 in the House and by unanimous consent in the Senate. In December, Mr. Clinton ordered Operation Desert Fox, a four-day bombardment of Iraq with the declared purpose of degrading Saddam’s WMD capability.
“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process,” said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, justifying the case for military action on the eve of Mr. Clinton’s impeachment.
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The two policies that national Democrats blame for massively unbalanced federal budgets—the Bush tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—have been largely repealed. Yet deficits are projected to average $700 billion a year over the next decade before rising again to $1 trillion.
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I recall the slam against the go-along to get-along Republicans of the past: if Democrats voted to burn down the Capital, the Republicans would ensure that it was phased-in for six years.
As your comment makes clear, that was then. Today’s Republicans do want to make fundamental changes to Medicare and Social Secuirty, and now Obamacare.
I suspect you are right, the programs will instead remain largely intact, with changes which are not fundamental, but, I hope, are nevertheless significant enough to save Medicare and Social Security. Regarding Obamacare, I confess I’m as confused as Nancy Pelosi.
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